The Roman Auxiliary Cavalry of Britannia

The Roman Auxiliary Cavalry of Britannia
 
Who guarded the Wall? For much of its first 300 years of use Hadrian's Wall marked the north-west frontier of the Roman Empire. In movies such as The Eagle or Centurion we see the Roman foot soldier astride its battlements looking north, spear and shield in hand. But was its defence all about the humble infantryman? What of the cavalry? Why did many Wall forts include a mounted contingent within its garrison?
 
It has been calculated that sustaining a cavalryman with his kit and horse cost 5 times that of an infantryman. Why would the Romans invest so much in such an expensive asset?
 
We know from more recent times that cavalry can move at lightning speed, and are highly mobile, making them effective on patrols and as scouts, which would have been particularly important north of the Wall. They make speedy messengers, giving warning of sudden threats and incursions. In Roman times they would also have ensured food security, protecting local farmland and guarding supply trains to the Wall’s outlying forts.
 
But to my mind possibly the greatest significance of their presence is, they projected the image of power and renown of Rome and its imperial might. If you have ever seen the Household Cavalry in London or mounted police outside of a football (soccer) stadium you will get an idea of what a disciplined, armoured unit of Roman cavalry must have looked like to an Iron Age population.
 
Outlying forts, such as at Birrens and Netherby housed specialist, double-strength, mixed infantry and cavalry cohorts (milliaria equitata) as well as specialist scouts (exploratores) enabling them to command the local area and suppress any uprising of the local tribes. The effect on the indigenous people must have been as much psychological as physical.
 
But who were these cavalrymen? Well they certainly weren’t drawn from the Roman aristocracy as they often were in the time of the Republic. No, the names of their units give a clear indication the Romans recruited from all over the empire and mainly from the homelands of its conquered peoples. Germanic and celtic Gaulish units were prevalent, such as the Germanic units of the I Nervana Germanorum and the Cohors II Tungrorum. But regiments from as far away as Spain, modern day Bulgaria and Croatia have also been identified. However, as the needs of the empire changed over time individual units increasingly recruited from the local populations. With sons moving into the family business by joining the cohorts of their fathers and grandfathers.
 
So what was life like for the cavalryman? Well each troop, known as a turma, typically 30 men when at full complement, were housed in a single barrack block. Trios of men lived at the back of the building with their horses stabled at the front. There were surely few nights that troopers fell asleep without the sound of the snorts of their mounts and the sweet smell of hay and manure in their nostrils. Each room had a hearth set against the stable-side wall for warmth and cooking. The decurion, who commanded the turma, lived in rooms at the end of the block along with his family. Troopers ate, slept and kept their weapons and tack in these small rooms. It is also thought grooms and slaves may have slept in the roof space above.
 
The training for cavalrymen and their mounts was extensive and intense. If you have seen horses being drilled for modern day dressage you will get the idea, with each trained initially on a long rein to teach basic skills as well as special steps. It is likely horses were broken and prepared by specialists before being assigned to its rider. They learned to overcome their instinct to flee when startled and to cope in the noise and fervour of combat. The early instruction of the cavalryman would have focussed on mastering the basic skills of controlling and riding the horse whilst holding a sword or spear in the right hand and the shield and rein in the left. From there they would have progressed to learning to fight as a turma, with unit drills enabling large numbers of men to manoeuvre in battle.
Image from unsplash.com

The average cavalryman was well armed and armoured. He typically wore chainmail armour that allowed greater movement whilst on horseback. Their weapons consisted of the long cavalry sword often referred to as the spatha. They had a fighting lance and two shorter throwing javelins. Their shields were a variety of shapes including square and oval, but were usually flat with a steel rim and a rounded metal boss to enable it to be used as a weapon. It is not hard to imagine the damage the charge of even a small unit of auxiliary cavalry could inflict on the largely unprotected bodies of the tribal warriors of the north of Britain.
 Memorial stone of Insus of the Treveri tribe, cavalryman of the Ala Augusta, Lancaster Museum. Image Alistair Tosh personal
 
When researching for my Edge of Empire series, which focuses on the lives of the men of a mixed Germanic cohort, I was surprised by the amount of detail we now have on the everyday life of a Roman cavalryman. In their adventures I have worked hard to be faithful to that knowledge and attempted to bring it to life for the present day reader.
 
Get this Paperback (USA) at https://amzn.to/3GAIopg
Get the Kindle (USA) at https://amzn.to/3t4lTpH
Get the Paperback(UK) at https://amzn.to/41h8Ai6
Get the Kindle (UK) at https://amzn.to/47S3BqG
 
Best selling author, Alistair Tosh was born in Dumfriesshire, a place filled with ancient place names such as Torthorwald and Caerlaverock. But it was his visits, as a boy, to nearby Burnswark Iron Age hillfort and its Roman siegeworks that first fired his interest in Roman and Dark Ages history.
 
On leaving school he began a 35 year communications career, firstly with the Royal Navy, that included covert riverine and seaborne operations during the height of ‘The Troubles’ in Northern Ireland, before moving into the corporate telecommunications world. Military life is unique, and Alistair aims to reflect an authentic view of that experience and its language in his stories.
 
His debut historical novel, Siege, the first book in the Edge of Empire series, is set against the backdrop of the Antonine push into Caledonia. When not writing or researching, Alistair likes to spend time with family. He and his wife also love hill walking and have spent a great deal of time exploring the mountains of both the UK and Andalucia accompanied by their dog Hurley.
 
Follow Alistair on: X (Twitter) at https://twitter.com/alistair_tosh
 
Follow Roman History on X (Twitter) at https://twitter.com/romanhistory1
 

WARRIOR - Edge of Empire (Book Three) by Alistair Tosh

WARRIOR - Edge of Empire (Book Three)
by Alistair Tosh
 
Best selling author, Alistair Tosh was born in Dumfriesshire, a place filled with ancient place names such as Torthorwald and Caerlaverock. But it was his visits, as a boy, to nearby Burnswark Iron Age hillfort and its Roman siegeworks that first fired his interest in Roman and Dark Ages history.
 
On leaving school he began a 35 year communications career, firstly with the Royal Navy, that included covert riverine and seaborne operations during the height of ‘The Troubles’ in Northern Ireland, before moving into the corporate telecommunications world. Military life is unique, and Alistair aims to reflect an authentic view of that experience and its language in his stories.
 
His debut historical novel, Siege, the first book in the Edge of Empire series, is set against the backdrop of the Antonine push into Caledonia. Lucius Faenius Felix, cheated of his ancestral estates and still grieving the murder of his father, arrives in Britannia as an inexperienced Tribune to command the First Nervana. A cohort drawn from the homelands of the fierce Nervii tribe. With the comradeship of Cai Martis, the veteran cavalry Prefect, he endeavours to uncover the conspiracy of the resurgent Novantae people.
 
Praise for the Edge of Empire series
 
"An excellent, exciting debut. Gripping, gritty, and blood-spattered. Fans of Roman historical adventure will love it! Alistair Tosh is a writer to watch." Matthew Harffy, Author of the Bernicia Chronicles.
 
"A taut bowstring of a story with a climax sharp as a warrior's blade." Alistair Forrest, author of Sea of Flames
 
"Tosh takes his band of heroes through an ancient heart of darkness. An epic adventure that will leave warriors changed and have the reader's pulse-rate soaring." Fiona Forsyth, author of the Lucius Sestius Mysteries
 
Book 3 in the series 'Warrior' is now out now
 
When not writing or researching, Alistair likes to spend time with family. He and his wife also love hill walking and have spent a great deal of time exploring the mountains of both the UK and Andalucia accompanied by their dog Hurley.
 
Follow Alistair on: X (Formerly Twitter) at https://twitter.com/alistair_tosh
 
 
WARRIOR - Book Summary
 
'The ultimate blend of betrayal, vengeance and brutality in this thunderous thriller set in Roman Spain.' Fiona Forsyth, author of Rome's End
Get this Paperback (USA) at https://amzn.to/3GAIopg
Get the Kindle (USA) at https://amzn.to/3t4lTpH
Get the Paperback(UK) at https://amzn.to/41h8Ai6
Get the Kindle (UK) at https://amzn.to/47S3BqG
 
AD 150
 
Lucius Faenius Felix - a battle hardened Tribune, scarred in body and mind - journeys to his home province of Hispania Baetica. Accompanied by his friend Cai Martis - warrior of the Nervii tribe and veteran Praefect of cavalry - Felix has high hopes of recovering his family lands and avenging his father’s murder.
 
 But the soldier's homeland is being terrorised by roving bands of outlaws. Felix and Martis are thrust into a perilous world of powerful men and rival factions. When his brother is captured by one of the gangs Lucius goes in pursuit with his own small band and unwittingly starts a war with a formidable enemy who are not what they initially seem.
 
 Felix's honour is tested when told he must forgo seeking revenge against his father’s killer, Malor, the head of the villainous Castricae clan, as the price for the return of his lands.
 
Friends and enemies are not always what they seem, as Felix draws Malor’s forces in to give battle.
 
The soldier will risk everything to see his sense of honour - and desire for vengeance - satisfied.
 
 
Follow Roman History on X (Twitter) at https://twitter.com/romanhistory1

Marcus Furius Camillus: The Life of Rome's Second Founder

Marcus Furius Camillus: The Life of Rome's Second Founder
Get the book (USA) at https://amzn.to/3YTpOkj
Get this book (UK) at https://amzn.to/3DYQwi9
Camillus served as a censor, was elected to six consular tribuneships, appointed dictator five times, and enjoyed four triumphs. He toppled mighty Veii, ejected the Senones from Rome following its sacking, and helped orchestrate a grand compromise between the patricians and plebeians. The Romans even considered him Rome's second founder - a proud appellation for any Roman - and revered him for being an exemplar of Roman virtue. Interestingly, he never held the consulship. Plutarch stated that Camillus had avoided it on purpose, and for good reason. The office was often at the heart of controversy, given that patricians dominated it for most of Camillus' life. The appointment of a dictator was an emergency measure taken only in the direst of situations and the fact that Camillus was repeatedly appointed speaks of a period when the young Republic was surrounded by enemies and still fighting for survival. Without Camillus' efforts the city may never have fulfilled its great destiny. Marc Hyden sifts the fragmentary and contradictory sources and, while acknowledging that much legend and exaggeration quickly accrued around Camillus' name, presents the story of this remarkable life as the ancient Romans knew it.
 
You Can Follow Roman History on X (Twitter) at https://twitter.com/romanhistory1
 

Justinian: Emperor, Soldier, Saint

Justinian: Emperor, Soldier, Saint
Get this book USA at https://amzn.to/3EO0Aee
Get the book UK at https://amzn.to/3Lvj2vO
A definitive new biography of the Byzantine emperor Justinian
 
Justinian is a radical reassessment of an emperor and his times. In the sixth century CE, the emperor Justinian presided over nearly four decades of remarkable change, in an era of geopolitical threats, climate change, and plague. From the eastern Roman—or Byzantine—capital of Constantinople, Justinian’s armies reconquered lost territory in Africa, Italy, and Spain. But these military exploits, historian Peter Sarris shows, were just one part of a larger program of imperial renewal. From his dramatic overhaul of Roman law, to his lavish building projects, to his fierce persecution of dissenters from Orthodox Christianity, Justinian’s vigorous statecraft—and his energetic efforts at self-glorification—not only set the course of Byzantium but also laid the foundations for the world of the Middle Ages.
 
You Can Follow Roman History on X (Twitter) at https://twitter.com/romanhistory1

Rome and Persia: The Seven Hundred Year Rivalry

Rome and Persia: The Seven Hundred Year Rivalry

Get this book UK at https://amzn.to/3QpK1w6
Get the book USA at https://amzn.to/3qMyBIa
 
 The epic rivalry between the ancient world's two great superpowers

The Roman empire was like no other. Stretching from the north of Britain to the Sahara, and from the Atlantic coast to the Euphrates, it imposed peace and prosperity on an unprecedented scale.

Its only true rival lay in the east, where the Parthian and then Persian empires ruled over great cities and the trade routes to mysterious lands beyond. This was the region Alexander the Great had swept through, creating a dream of glory and conquest that tantalized Greeks and Romans alike. Tracing seven centuries of conflict between Rome and Persia, historian Adrian Goldsworthy shows how these two great powers evolved together. Despite their endless clashes, trade between the empires enriched them both, and a mutual respect prevented both Rome and Persia from permanently destroying the other.

Epic in scope, Rome and Persia completely reshapes our understanding of one of the greatest rivalries of world history.

Roman History on Twitter at https://twitter.com/romanhistory1

Author biography: Robert Bruton

Author biography: Robert Bruton
New author whose first book on the life of Roman General Flavius Belisarius is scheduled to come out later this summer
 
I am an American author and a former CIA operations officer who was primarily assigned to Africa and the former Soviet Union. I have a BA in history from the University of St. Thomas and a MA in world history from Norwich University, where I completed my thesis on the role of climate change in the decline of the Roman Empire. I live near Washington, D.C. with my wife and children.
Author Robert Bruton
www.authorrobertbruton.com
 
I became interested in Roman history during my undergraduate studies and pursued graduate studies to further my knowledge. When I was thinking about what to write my thesis on, I decided I wanted to add some new insight into the decline of the Roman Empire. An increase in evidence from the "natural archives" (ice cores, tree rings, sedimentology, palynology, entomology, etc.) made me realize that we in the twenty-first century have access to a wide range of new scientific evidence about paleo-climate change that was not available to previous students of Roman history. Evidence pointed to a series of massive volcanic eruptions in the year 536 AD that led to a climate catastrophe such as had never been seen in human history. The decade that followed 536 was the coldest in the past six thousand years. Trees stopped growing; summer frosts killed crops; food shortages and famine followed. And then in 542, the Empire got hit with a double-whammy: the cold temperatures created the ideal climate for the Yersinia pestis bacteria that causes bubonic plague, and within a year, perhaps half the population of the empire was gone. I thought it was a story worth telling, and General Flavius Belisarius, one of the most brilliant and resourceful generals in history, seemed to be the best one to do it.
 
 
Get the Kindle at https://amzn.to/3s3TC1r
Get this book at https://amzn.to/3qqCSks
 
Roman History on Twitter https://twitter.com/romanhistory1
 

Pax: War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age

Pax: War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age
Get this book UK at https://amzn.to/3Nzs7UC
Get the book USA at https://amzn.to/3qG1Ooa
 
The definitive history of Rome's golden age - antiquity's ultimate superpower at the pinnacle of its greatness
 
The Pax Romana has long been revered as a golden age. At its peak, the Roman Empire stretched from Scotland to Arabia, and contained perhaps a quarter of humanity. It was the wealthiest and most formidable state the world had yet seen.
 
Beginning in 69AD, a year that saw four Caesars in succession rule the empire, and ending some seven decades later with the death of Hadrian, Pax presents a dazzling history of Rome at the height of its power. From the gilded capital to realms beyond the frontier, historian Tom Holland portrays the Roman Empire in all its predatory glory. Vivid scene follows vivid scene: the destruction of Jerusalem and Pompeii, the building of the Colosseum and Hadrian's Wall, the conquests of Trajan. Vividly sketching the lives of Romans both ordinary and spectacular, from slaves to emperors, Holland demonstrates how Roman peace was the fruit of unprecedented military violence.
 
A stunning portrait of Rome's glory days, this is the epic history of the pax Romana.
 
Roman History on Twitter https://twitter.com/romanhistory1
 

Rex: The Seven Kings of Rome

Rex: The Seven Kings of Rome
 
 
The regal period of Roman history is studied much less than other periods of Rome, which is a tragedy. It is so intertwined with myth that it provides fertile ground for academics and general readers alike. Peta (Dr G) and Fiona (Dr Rad) of the Partial Historians podcast retell the stories of the seven kings of Rome, using scholarship on this early period to help readers dissect the events recorded in narrative and annalistic sources like Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus. It interweaves mythology, written sources and archaeological material into a narrative of the period, examining each of the kings in detail. A final chapter explores the expulsion of the monarchy.
 
Links
 

Walking the Antonine Wall

 

Walking the Antonine Wall:
A Journey Across Scotland from East to West
 
Get this book at https://amzn.to/3Jbmxad
Walking the Antonine Wall charts a voyage on foot along one of Scotland's most fascinating ancient monuments - a 38 mile rampart constructed in the second century AD by the Romans to mark what would briefly become the northernmost frontier of their vast empire. It is a personal account of Dr Alan Montgomery's encounters with the enigmatic remains of this Roman frontier which have inspired myths and legends and intrigued and baffled generations of chroniclers, antiquarians and archaeologists. Leading through wild open spaces and along city streets, past curiosities man-made and natural, ancient and modern, it records a journey across central Scotland and through 2000 years of Scottish history.
  
 You Can Follow Roman History on Twitter at https://twitter.com/romanhistory1

Raven Kamali Writes Roman Historical Fiction

Raven Kamali Writes Roman Historical Fiction
and Launches Her New Book
 
I was born in Iran into a family of historians and poets, so I grew up loving both disciplines. When I migrated to Australia, the first history book I bought was Thucydides’s History of The Peloponnesian War from the Penguin Classics series. I enjoyed it so much that I read it multiple times. The next book was Polybius’s. Now I had to read every book on the Punic Wars and my favorite hero, Scipio Africanus the Elder. Several books later, I enrolled at the University of Queensland to study ancient history and the classical languages of Latin and Greek. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life as the veil to the past lifted, and I stepped into the ancient world.
Raven Kamali - Author of 'The Dark Side of Glory'
After my gradunation, it was time for me to make a career choice: become an ancient historian or a novelist. As a busy mum, I couldn’t do both, so I chose the latter. And I had a dream. I wanted to write a historical novel that was relevant to our times. The inspiration for the story was primarily based on my personal experience and reading Josephus. The Battle of the Teutoburg recorded by Tacitus, Cassius Dio, and Velleius Paterculus added the necessary dimension I needed to advance the plot.
Get the book at https://amzn.to/39Dd75w
Thus, I began my journey and wrote The Dark Side of Glory. A powerful novel of love and friendship, deceit and treachery, hatred and vengeance, and political intrigue that tells the story of a young Jewish woman facing unimaginable horrors for refusing to bow to religious fanaticism.

Raven Kamali writes on
'The Fall of The Roman Republic'
Read this article at https://tinyurl.com/RavenKamaliRomanRepublic

Read Raven Kamali's Reflections on “The Dark Side of Glory” at
http://romanancienthistory.blogspot.com/2020/12/reflections-on-dark-side-of-glory.html

Links
Roman History on Twitter https://twitter.com/romanhistory1
Roman History Website http://romanancienthistory.blogspot.com/
  Get the Kindle at https://amzn.to/3fKgOYe
Get the book at https://amzn.to/39Dd75w
 
 Copyright © 2020 David Lee