Britannia, page 39
‘I— I’ll see to it, sir. At once.’
He bowed his head, put away his writing materials and pulled up his hood before leaving the gatehouse.
Macro settled back against the wall with a contented expression. ‘Thank the Gods for army regulations. Rations for each cohort, and enough to go round, for once.’ He gave Cato a nudge. ‘We’ll eat our fill and toast the lads.’
‘Yes. Let’s do that. We’ll honour the men.’
‘And while we’re waiting . . .’ Macro sat forward and rummaged in the bottom of his waist purse before pulling out the small box containing his lucky dice. He took out the dice and kissed them before turning to the auxiliaries sitting around the room.
‘So, boys . . . I’ll need plenty of coin for wine at headquarters. Who fancies a game?’
AUTHOR’S NOTE
From the earliest conflict between Rome and the various Celtic nations, the Romans were vexed by the Druid cults who continued to be at the heart of the ongoing resistance to Roman expansion. From what little is known about them it is apparent that they were an educated elite who were revered amongst the tribespeople of Gaul, Britain and Ireland. As such they provided a unifying influence that the Romans – from Caesar onwards – were determined to eradicate. Like all imperial powers, Rome understood that it is never enough to destroy the enemy’s armies. You also have to destroy the ideological ties that bind the peoples you conquer and reforge and impose new ones that bind those you have conquered to your world view.
It is likely that part of the planning for the Claudian invasion of Britannia would have dealt with the suppression of the Druid cult as a means of establishing and then strengthening Rome’s control over the native tribes. Divide and conquer has always been a strategy adopted by imperial powers and Rome was no different. If Rome could remove the Druids from the scene then one of the most powerful forces that helped to cement opposition to the invaders would be dissolved, and the tribes would be easier to control as a result.
The difficulty for the Romans was that the Druids could move freely between the tribes and were fairly elusive. However, it soon became known to the Romans that the spiritual home of the Druid cults was the island of Mona – modern Anglesey – with its sacred groves and gory trophies of the Celts’ enemies. If that could be taken, the Druids wiped out, and every trace of their existence extinguished along with them, then a blow would be delivered to the native tribes from which they would never recover. As a consequence, the man who achieved this end would win a great deal of popular acclaim. And if there is one thing that we know about Roman aristocrats, it is that they lived their lives with one eye firmly focused on posterity.
The historical record, patchy as it is, shows that Governor Ostorius died in office, probably as a result of the strains of trying to subdue the remaining hostile tribes of Britannia. There was a brief interregnum before a replacement governor could be sent out, during which the mountain tribes of modern Wales sorely tested the Roman forces and defeated one of their legions. This is the raw material out of which I have fashioned Cato and Macro’s latest adventure. Knowing what we do about Roman political culture I could well imagine a scenario whereby an army commander would take charge of the province and grasp the political opportunity that presented itself, with the prospect of finally eradicating the Druids’ influence. He would need to act swiftly, and recklessly, but the potential gains would be priceless. So it was with the hapless Quintatus, and I have depicted the possible story of an ill-starred campaign that left Britannia in a very vulnerable position when the new governor, Aulus Didius Gallus, arrived on the island to take up his office.
The challenges facing Didius were considerable. The mountain tribes had triumphed over Roman forces and were now more determined than ever to continue their resistance. Opposition to Rome in those tribes still beyond the frontier, and indeed some of those within it, was bolstered by the setback, and the Druids were still as influential as ever.
For Cato and Macro, exhausted though they are by the rigours of the campaign they have just survived, there will be little rest now. The frontier is aflame and the Roman position in Britannia is more precarious than it has ever been, not least because of the political games being played out back in Rome where the future of the new province hangs in the balance. Only when the aging emperor, Claudius, finally dies will that be resolved.
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE ROMAN ARMY
The Fourteenth Legion, like all legions, comprised five and a half thousand men. The basic unit was the century of eighty men commanded by a centurion. The century was divided into eightman sections which shared a room together in barracks and a tent when on campaign. Six centuries made up a cohort, and ten cohorts made up a legion, with the first cohort being double size. Each legion was accompanied by a cavalry contingent of 120 men, divided into four squadrons, who served as scouts and messengers. In descending order, the main ranks were as follows:
The Legate was a man from an aristocratic background. Typically in his mid-thirties, the legate commanded the legion for up to five years and hoped to make something of a name for himself in order to enhance his subsequent political career.
The Camp Prefect would be a grizzled veteran who would previously have been the chief centurion of the legion and was at the summit of a professional soldier’s career. He was armed with vast experience and integrity, and to him would fall the command of the legion should the legate be absent or hors de combat.
Six tribunes served as staff officers. These would be men in their early twenties serving in the army for the first time to gain administrative experience before taking up junior posts in civil administration. The senior tribune was different. He was destined for high political office and eventual command of a legion.
Sixty centurions provided the disciplinary and training backbone of the legion. They were handpicked for their command qualities and a willingness to fight to the death. Accordingly, their casualty rate far exceeded other ranks’. The most senior centurion commanded the first century of the first cohort and was a highly decorated and respected individual.
The four decurions of the legion commanded the cavalry squadrons, although there is some debate whether there was a centurion in overall command of the legion’s mounted contingent.
Each centurion was assisted by an optio who would act as an orderly, with minor command duties. Optios would be waiting for a vacancy in the centurionate.
Below the optios were the legionaries, men who had signed on for twenty-five years. In theory, a man had to be a Roman citizen to qualify for enlistment, but recruits were increasingly drawn from local populations and given Roman citizenship upon joining the legions. Legionaries were well paid and could expect handsome bonuses from the emperor from time to time (when he felt their loyalty needed bolstering!).
Lower in status than the legionaries were the men of the auxiliary cohorts. These were recruited from the provinces and provided the Roman Empire with its cavalry, light infantry, and other specialist skills. Roman citizenship was awarded upon completion of twenty-five years of service. Cavalry units, such as the Second Thracian Cohort, were either approximately five hundred or a thousand men in size, the latter being reserved for highly experienced and capable commanders. There were also mixed cohorts with a proportion of one third mounted to two thirds infantry that were used to police the surrounding territory.
Simon Scarrow, Britannia
