IV. FINANCES.—The ordinary expenditure of the Roman state was not large. All the magistrates discharged their duties without pay; and the allied troops, which formed so large a portion of a Roman army, were maintained by the allies themselves. The expenses of war were defrayed by a property-tax called Tributum, which was usually one in a thousand, or one tenth per cent., but after the last war with Macedonia the treasury received such large sums from the provinces that the tributum was abolished. From this time the expenses of the state were almost entirely defrayed by the taxes levied in the provinces. The other revenues of the state, which bore the general name of Vectigalia, may be dismissed with a few words. They consisted of the rents arising from the public lands, of the customs' duties, of the taxes upon mines, salt, etc.
V. THE ARMY.—The Roman army was originally called Legio; and this name, which is coeval with the foundation of Rome, continued down to the latest times. The Legion was therefore not equivalent to what we call a regiment, inasmuch as it contained troops of all arms, infantry, cavalry, and, when military engines were extensively employed, artillery also. The number of soldiers who, at different periods, were contained in a legion, does not appear to have been absolutely fixed, but to have varied within moderate limits. Under Romulus the legion contained 3000 foot-soldiers. From the expulsion of the Kings until the second year of the Second Punic War the regular number may be fixed at 4000 or 4200 infantry. From the latter period until the consulship of Marius the ordinary number was from 5000 to 5200. For some centuries after Marius the numbers varied from 5000 to 6200, generally approaching to the higher limit. Amid all the variations with regard to the infantry, 300 horsemen formed the regular complement of the legion. The organization of the legion differed at different periods.
1. First Period. Servius Tullius.—The legion of Servius is so closely connected with the Comitia Centuriata that it has already been discussed,[49] and it is only necessary to state here that it was a phalanx equipped in the Greek fashion, the front ranks being furnished with a complete suit of armor, their weapons being long spears, and their chief defense the round Argolic shield (clipeus).
2. Second Period. The Great Latin War, B.C. 340.—The legion in B.C. 340 had almost entirely discarded the tactics of the phalanx. It was now drawn up in three, or perhaps we ought to say, in five lines. The soldiers of the first line, called Hastati, consisted of youths in the first bloom of manhood, distributed into 15 companies or maniples (manipuli), a moderate space being left between each. The maniple contained 60 privates, 2 centurions (centuriones), and a standard-bearer (vexillarius). The second line, the Principes, was composed of men in the full vigor of life, divided in like manner into 15 maniples, all heavily armed. The two lines of the Hastati and Principes taken together amounted to 30 maniples, and formed the Antepilani. The third line, the Triarii, composed of tried veterans, was also in 15 divisions, but each of these was triple, containing 3 maniples. In these triple maniples the veterans, or Triarii proper, formed the front ranks; immediately behind them stood the Rorarii, inferior in age and prowess, while the Accensi, or supernumeraries, less trustworthy than either, were posted in the extreme rear.
3. Third Period. During the Wars of the younger Scipio.—Under ordinary circumstances four legions were levied yearly, two being assigned to each Consul. It must be observed that a regular consular army no longer consisted of Roman legions only, but, as Italy became gradually subjugated, the various states under the dominion of Rome were bound to furnish a contingent, and the number of allies usually exceeded that of the citizens. They were, however, kept perfectly distinct, both in the camp and in the battle-field.
The men belonging to each legion were separated into four divisions. 1. 1000 of the youngest and poorest were set apart to form the Velites, the light-armed troops or skirmishers of the legion. 2. 1200 who came next in age (or who were of the same age with the preceding, but more wealthy) formed the Hastati. 3. 1200, consisting of those in the full vigor of manhood, formed the Principes. 4. 600 of the oldest and most experienced formed the Triarii. When the number of soldiers in the legion exceeded 4000, the first three divisions were increased proportionally, but the number of the Triarii remained always the same. The Hastati, Principes, and Triarii were each divided into 10 companies, called Maniples. The Velites were not divided into companies, but were distributed equally among the Hastati, Principes, and Triarii. Each maniple was subdivided into two centuries, commanded by a centurion. Each legion had six superior officers, called Tribuni Militum. The legion was also divided into 10 cohorts; and as the cohorts were all equal to each other, the strength of the cohort varied from time to time with the strength of the legion, and thus at different periods ranged between the limits of 300 and 600.
Three hundred horse-soldiers were apportioned to each legion, divided into 10 troops (turmæ), out of which three officers were chosen named Decuriones.
The infantry furnished by the Socii was for the most part equal in number to the Roman legions, the cavalry twice or thrice as numerous, and the whole were divided equally between the two consular armies. Each Consul named 12 superior officers, who were termed Præfecti Sociorum, and corresponded by the Legionary Tribunes.