The ''extraordinarii'' were the elite troops of the Roman alae, recruited from the ''

socii The ''socii'' ( ) or ''foederati'' ( ) were confederates of ancient Rome, Rome and formed one of the three legal denominations in Roman Italy (''Italia'') along with the core Roman citizens (''Cives Romani'') and the extended ''Latin Rights, Lat ...

'', Rome's Italian military allies. The name refers to their nature; i.e., ''extraordinary'' or ''chosen'' men. In battle they had many functions. Sometimes they were reserve troops. Other times they were rearguard, scouts, and pickets. The ''extraordinarii'' also served as bodyguards of the general. They were created after the Latin War and were dissolved after the

Marian reforms The Marian reforms were putative changes to the composition and operation of the Roman army during the late Roman Republic usually attributed to Gaius Marius (a general who was consul in 107, 104–100, and 86 BC). The most important of ...

Recruitment

Almost all the details we know of the ''extraordinarii'' are described to us in '' The Histories'' of the ancient Greek historian

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

. The standard Consular army of the Republic was made up of two legions and a comparable number of Italian allied troops, termed the alae. In theory, the alae would be the same size as the legions, except for the cavalry, which was tripled; so, a standard ala would contain about 900 cavalry and 4,200 foot. In practice, there was often more allied infantry than Roman infantry; for instance, the four legions (numbering 15,000 Roman infantry) were supported by 20,000 allied infantry at the

Battle of the Trebia The Battle of the Trebia (or Trebbia) was the first major battle of the Second Punic War, fought between the Carthaginian forces of Hannibal and a Roman army under Sempronius Longus on 22 or 23 December 218 BC. Each army had a strength o ...

. From the whole force of the alae, the Consul would request the praefecti sociorum (commanders of the allied forces) to select for the ''extraordinarii'' about a third of the cavalry (the ''equites extraordinarii'') and a fifth of the infantry (the ''pedites extraordinarii'') of those men best fitted for service.Polybius VI.26. The ''extraordinarii'' for a standard consular army as described by Polybius would thus number 600 cavalry and 1,680 infantry. Like the rest of the alae, the ''extraordinarii'' are divided into

cohort Cohort or cohortes may refer to: Cohort Sociological * Cohort (military unit), the basic tactical unit of a Roman legion * Cohort (educational group), a group of students working together through the same academic curriculum Scientific * Cohort ...

s and turmae.Livy XXXIV.47. The members of the ''extraordinarii'' were picked by the

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

s based on who had the best character and the best experience.

Usage

On the march, the ''extraordinarii'' had the dangerous privilege of leading the army, though they could also be used as a rearguard if the army was threatened from that direction.Polybius VI.40. They would also be used for other perilous tasks, such as pickets and reconnaissance.Livy X.34. The ''extraordinarii'' also served as the general's reserves and an elite fighting force. In camp, the ''extraordinarii'' had their tents in the command section of the Roman army camp, just behind the tents of the tribune. The ''equites extraordinarii'' were camped closest to the command tents, along with the household troops of the consul (i.e., volunteers); while the ''pedites extraordinarii'' were camped behind them closes to the camp walls.Polybius VI.30. During the early and middle

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

the '' evocati'' and some members of the ''extraordinarii'' also served as a bodyguard for the general.

History

It is uncertain when the selection of ''extraordinarii'' began. Franz Fröhlich, in his work on the Guard troops of the Roman Republic,Franz Fröhlich, Die Gardetruppen der Römischen Republik und der Kaiserzeit speculates that they were created shortly after the

Latin War The (Second) Latin War of 340–338 BCThe Romans customarily dated events by noting the consuls who held office that year. The Latin War broke out in the year that Titus Manlius Imperiosus Torquatus and Publius Decius Mus were consuls and ende ...

, which ended in 338 BC. Livy mentions ''delectae cohortes'' (chosen cohorts) of the ''socii'' in an episode as early as 310 BC;Livy IX.37. this is assumed to be the first mention of the ''extraordinarii''. Livy's description of the campaign leading up to the

Battle of Sentinum The Battle of Sentinum was the decisive battle of the Third Samnite War, fought in 295 BC near Sentinum (next to the modern town of Sassoferrato, in the Marches region of Italy), in which the Romans overcame a formidable coalition of Samni ...

Livy X.26. in 295 BC also references both Campanian ''equites delecti'' as well as the use of allied troops to defend against an assault on the headquarters tents of a Roman camp, consistent with the description of the camp layout given by Polybius. Polybius, writing after 146 BC, describes the ''extraordinarii'' in detail as referenced above, though there are few mentions of these troops in other sources at this time. The formation was presumably phased out with the so-called Marian reforms when the separation between citizen legions and alae was abolished. There is no mention in the sources of the ''extraordinarii'' after the Social War.

Citations

{{Reflist

References

Ancient

, The Histories *

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

, The History of Rome from the Founding of the City

Modern

* Franz Fröhlich, "Die Gardetruppen der Römischen Republik und der Kaiserzeit", 1879. Military units and formations of antiquity Military units and formations of ancient Rome Military units and formations of the Roman Republic Socii