Roman light cavalry could decide a battle They manned frontier strongholds, such as the Hadrian wall in Britain or the Danube forts in Central Europe. The auxiliary units served also as the border troops. During the battle, they fought on the legion’s flanks.

They operated independently or were attached to the legion. They fought in smaller units, called cohorts. The best auxiliary infantry was from Britain, Illyria (Balkans), and Batavia (Netherlands). In the second century AD, the Roman army had 220,000 auxiliary troops compared to 150,000 legionaries. The number of auxiliary troops increased during the Imperial era. Often they used spears instead of javelins. The auxiliary units used oval shields and the legionaries had rectangle shields. Visually, the most significant difference in the equipment was their shields. The Roman auxiliary infantry had similar equipment and training as the Roman legionaries. Roman legionary (left) and Roman auxiliary infantryman (right) (Images: Бел and Empires) Auxiliary infantry was as good as the legionaries The auxiliary soldiers served as infantry, cavalry, archers, and slingers. There were cases of auxiliary soldiers from Syria being deployed to Scotland! The Romans stationed the auxiliary troops away from their place of birth to prevent rebellions. After twenty-five years of service, they and their children became Roman citizens. The salaries of the auxiliary units were twenty percent lower than the ones of the legionaries. For these men, serving in the Roman army meant the escape from poverty. The auxiliary soldiers were non-Roman citizens from provinces who volunteered in the military. They were famous for their battle prowess.Īt the peak of the Roman power in the second century AD, over half of the Roman army was comprised of auxiliary units. The Roman army was much more than just the legionaries.Ĭontrary to the popular belief, auxiliary soldiers were an important part of the Roman army. Though definitely effective, they shouldn’t get all the glory. When we think about the Roman army, we think about the mighty Roman legionaries. The Roman auxiliary infantry during the riots in Israel (Image: Pinterest)

Rome 2 auxiliary units