The Last Century of the Republic portionofthe‘‘Roman’’armymadeupofcontingentsfromtheItalianallies
isnotprominent.Itisthusnotsurprising,thoughitisregrettable,thatthe
quitedifficultandobscurequestionofthebasisonwhichCiceromadehis
generalisationisnotreallybroachedatall.Cicerohad,atleastonthefaceof
it,beentalkingaboutnavalcontingents,ashedoeselsewhereintheVerrines
inrecordingVerres’outrageousbehaviourwhen,asalegateinAsiaMinor
in/,hesoldoffaship(amyoparos)suppliedbyMiletus,whileitssoldiers
andoarsmenweretoldtomaketheirownwayhome.Thisvesselcountedas
partofthenavyoftheRomanpeople,andwasoneoftenshipsbuiltbythe
peopleof MiletusfromitsownresourcesfortheRomanpeople(Verr. II,
–).Similarobligationsapplied,itseemsclear,tolandforces.Hencewe
have theveryexplicit indication in the decree from Lete in Macedonia of
..inhonourofthequaestor,M.Annius,thatitwasabenefactiononhis
partnottohavecalledoutmoresoldiersfromtheMakedonestoconfront
aCelticinvasion,inordertosparethecities(Syll.^3 ,no.,ll.–).The
same right to call out troops clearlyapplied also in thewestern provinces.
HenceCicerosaysof FonteiusaspropraetorofGalliain–that‘‘asfor
those(Gauls)whohadoftenbeenconqueredingreatwars,sothattheywere
personallyobedienttotheRomanpeople,herequiredofthemgreatforces
ofcavalryforallthosewarswhichwerethenbeingwagedthroughoutthe
worldbytheRomanpeople,greatsumsofmoneyfortheirpay,andavery
largequantityofgrainforthesupportofthewarinSpain’’(Font.).
Thereisnoneedtopursuethequestionhere.Tounderstandwhatbeing
under Roman power meant, however, it would be important to know
whatdistinctions,ifany,weshoulddrawinthisrespect,betweenordinary,
tribute-paying provincial communities on the one hand, or free cities, or
oneswithatreaty,whetherlyingwithinoroutsidethegeographicalbounds
ofaprovinceontheother.Royalforces,veryprominentinthecivilwars,are
alsorelevant.IsthedespatchofacontingentbyAphrodisiastohelpOppiusin
Laodiceain..(Reynolds,AphrodisiasandRome,nos.–)tobeseenasthe
voluntarygestureofanally,ortheobligationofasubject?Suchformsofre-
cruitmentbecameparticularlyimportantinthelarge-scalecivilwarswhich
Romans fought, largelyon provincial territory, in the s and s. More-
over,asisclear,theregularRomanauxiliaryforcesofthePrincipategoback
to these provincial auxiliaries of the later Republic; see D. B. Saddington,
The Development of the Roman Auxiliary Forces from Caesar toVespasian (..–
..)().Sincetheselaterauxiliaryforcescomeintoviewpreciselyby
virtueofthedischargecertificates(diplomata)whichgavethemthecitizen-
shipondischarge,therepublicanprovincialauxiliariesdobelongalso,inthe
longerterm,tothehistoryofRomancitizens.