Emperor and the Military

In front of the eagles marched the prefects... tribunes and centurions... all dressed in white, the other centurions... bearing their arms proudly and showing their decorations, as for other ranks they sparkled with phalerae and neck torcs.’

Tacitus Histories 2.89

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Although the Emperor was in control of all Roman military forces, he could not afford to lose their support. It was important for the Emperor both to reward military service, and to act as patron.

Elite males of both senatorial and equestrian status were given military appointments through direct acts of Imperial beneficia (benefaction). The poet Martial, for example, was appointed to the equestrian tribunate (Epigrams 3.95.9). Senators such as Pliny the Younger, in fulfilling their own roles as patrons, also wrote to the Emperor (in this case, Trajan) in the hope of securing appointments for men who had just begun their military careers, as Pliny did for Nymphidius Lupus, the son of a former chief centurion (Letters 10.87).

The award of military honours, including phalerae (ornaments), as displayed here, was strictly controlled by the Emperor. This example depicts Mars, the Roman god of war, standing between two military standards. Although phalerae may have been purely decorative, those worn in special parades organized to celebrate military victories held special significance, as suggested by Tacitus in his Histories 2.89.

The equestrian order was very important during the Imperial period, and its members filled key positions in the Imperial army and administration. Augustus first honoured the equestrians by reviving the recognitio equitum (inspection of the equites), a spectacular parade on horseback, as possibly reflected by the image on this lamp.

Emperor and the Military