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Written by: Dave Galvin

A citizen soldier could transfer to the non-citizen auxiliary cavalry units from the legions. Generally though tribal groups were enlisted en masse (Marcus Aurelius sending some 5,500 Sarmatians to Britain as part of a peace treaty). They were promised regular pay and citizenship upon discharge, which followed 25 years service. Normal citizens could also apply and would have to come with letters of recommendation as well as satisfying certain physical requirements e.g. eyesight, height, occupation etc. Weavers and basket makers would be discouraged!

Four months basic training would then follow (probatio) to see if the recruit was at all suitable. Good food and a roof over his head during the winter months coupled to a medical corps, ensured that the trooper remained fit, active and available to serve. Naturally in times of war, food and resources were allocated to the military long before being given to the civilian population. You then settled down to your 25 years often in a country that was alien to you and away from your family. Discouraged from marrying, you would have a common law wife (often native) living outside the fort in the Vicus (civilian settlements that clung to a fort). You maybe had children that would follow you in your profession. Land ownership would also be discouraged yet with the aid of servants this could be farmed by proxy. Unlike citizen soldiers, the auxiliary did not receive grants of land or money upon discharge.

Whether you threw a spear in anger or not depended upon the province in which you served and the state of affairs at the time. There were often long periods of boring peace.

When it all ended, and a record of when it started had been kept, you were allowed to go, a new fledgling citizen with legal and financial rights. A bronze diploma was awarded to you and upon this your service record and awards for bravery noted. This was effectively the story of your Roman military life. What is more you could now refer to yourself in the Roman fashion of taking three names (praenomen, nomen and cognomen) instead of the military usage of one Roman name coupled to your tribal name.

Returning home depended upon where you were in the Empire and where you had come from but in the age old fashion of sending tribal groups far from their homeland and sympathies meant that it was a long journey for which the army was not going to pay for. Now accustomed to your adopted land and able to communicate in mediocre Latin, surrounded by familiar religious army tokens meant that for many ex-soldiers retirement meant staying close to the fort in which they had served.