Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 2 - Government, Society, and Culture in the Roman Empire

Cash Distributions in Rome 99

ofdischarge(aftertwenty-fiveyears)andwillthushavereceivedtheirprae-
mia.Sothetotalexpenditureeachyearisquiteuncertain.Butinanycase,in
thisinstancetoowefindourselvesconfrontedwiththesameproblem,that
ofgeographyandtransport.Obviously,thevastmajorityofthesoldiersin
theRomanarmywerestationedintheprovinces,andgenerallyinareason,
oratanyratenear,theactualfrontiers.Iwouldpresumethatitwastherefore
inthecampitselfthatthesoldierreceivedhisdischargeandhispraemium—
inthetimeofAugustusatleast,3,000denariior120aurei.Itwillbeworth
notingthat120aureiwillhaveweighedabout1kilogram,but3,000denarii
rathermorethan11kilograms.
Orisitpossibletoimagine,onthecontrary,thatinordertoreceivehis
praemiumeverydischargedlegionaryhadtopresenthimselfinRome?Surely
not. But, before giving a confident answer, we have to take into account
somerelevantanalogies.Firstly,theauxiliaryunitswerealsostationedinthe
provinces.ButitwasatRome,ontheCapitol,thatthebronzetabletsrecord-
ingtheprivilegesgiventoauxiliariesofanyoneprovince,whendischarged
enmasse,wereputup.^33 Thedocumentswhichwehavewhichrelatetothis
processaresecondaryones,namelytheportablediplomata(certificates),each
inthenameofoneauxiliarysoldier,discharged,alongwithmanyothers,on
suchanoccasion.Weretheseindividual,passport-sized,bronzediplomatades-
patchedautomaticallytoeachsoldierinhiscamp?Surelynot.Theevidence
quiteclearlysuggeststhatanyauxiliaryveteranwhowantedanindividual
diplomahadtogetacopyofthetextwhichwasinscribedontheCapitoland
haveitattestedbywitnesses.Therefore,eithersomeonehadtogotoRometo
getthecopymade,ortheveteranhadaccesstoacopyheldsomewhereelse,
presumably in his province. But the latter possibility is a pure hypothesis.
Whattheindividualdiplomareferredtoasitssourcewasthebronzetabletput
upontheCapitol.Thecommunications,andthegeographicalrelationships,
involvedremainmysterious.
Sofarasweknow,dischargedauxiliariesdidnotreceiveapraemium.But
itispreciselyoneoftheindividualiseddiplomatarecordingtherightswhich
auxiliaries received on discharge which must make us hesitate before ex-
pressinganycertaintyastohowandwherethepraemiaincashtowhichthe
dischargedlegionaries(bycontrast)wereentitledweredeliveredtothem.
Foritisanauxiliarydiplomaofa.d.65whichrecordsthattheaerariummilitare

33. Forvaluablediscussionsofdiplomataandtheprivilegesgrantedtodischargedauxil-
    iaries,seeW.EckandH.Wolff,eds.,Heer und Integrationspolitik: Die römische Militärdiplome
    als historische Quelle(1986). See also M. M. Roxan, ‘‘The Distribution of Roman Military
    Diplomas,’’Epigr. Stud.12(1981):265–308.