Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

The ethnic composition of roman legions

Have any records been preserved that give us a clue about how the ethnic composition of the roman legions evolved over time? How would the legions in the different parts of the empire have looked like?

Do we know anything about it?

(Please state if you know any good materials on this subject)

Reply 1

Kansspel

You could generally expect legions based in certain parts of the Empire to have been made up mostly by conscripts from that part of the Empire with a very small minority of legionaries from farther flung parts of the Empire.

However, the composition changed overtime. The original, professional roman army was made up of the men/citizens of Italy (the legions were originally just citizens of the empire). The auxiliary units were made up of non-citizens that spanned across the Empire. When virtually all men of the Empire were granted citizenship however, this difference faded.