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A ''vexillatio'' (: ''vexillationes'') was a detachment of a
Roman legion The Roman legion (, ) was the largest military List of military legions, unit of the Roman army, composed of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens serving as legionary, legionaries. During the Roman Republic the manipular legion comprised 4,200 i ...
formed as a temporary task force created by the
Roman army The Roman army () served ancient Rome and the Roman people, enduring through the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (509–27 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC–AD 1453), including the Western Roman Empire (collapsed Fall of the W ...
of the
Principate The Principate was the form of imperial government of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the Dominate. The principate was ch ...
. It was named from the standard carried by legionary detachments, the ''
vexillum The ''vexillum'' (; : ''vexilla'') was a flag-like object used as a War flag, military standard by units in the Roman army. A common ''vexillum'' displayed imagery of the Aquila (Roman), Roman ''aquila'' on a reddish backdrop. Use in Roman arm ...
'' (: ''vexilla''), which bore the emblem and name of the parent legion. Although commonly associated with legions, it is likely that ''vexillationes'' included
auxiliaries Auxiliaries are combat support, support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular army, regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties ...
. The term is found in the singular, referring to a single detachment, but is usually used in the plural to refer to an army made up of picked detachments. ''Vexillationes'' were assembled ''
ad hoc ''Ad hoc'' is a List of Latin phrases, Latin phrase meaning literally for this. In English language, English, it typically signifies a solution designed for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a Generalization, generalized solution ...
'' to meet a crisis on Rome's extensive frontiers, to fight in a
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, or to undertake an offensive against Rome's neighbours. They varied in size and composition, but usually consisted of about 1000
infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
and/or 500
cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...
.


Purpose

Most of the
Roman Army The Roman army () served ancient Rome and the Roman people, enduring through the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (509–27 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC–AD 1453), including the Western Roman Empire (collapsed Fall of the W ...
(around 400,000 strong at the beginning of the 3rd century) was stationed along the frontiers from the time of
Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...
, if not earlier. This placed the empire in a precarious position when serious threats arose in the interior or along a remote frontier. There was no central reserve and it was rarely possible to take a full legion, or even a major portion of one, to a troubled area without leaving a dangerous gap in the frontier defences. The only logical solution was to take detachments from different legions and form temporary task forces to deal with the threat. As soon as it was taken care of, these ''vexillationes'' were dissolved, and the detachments returned to their parent legions. The Roman emperors from the time of Augustus had at their disposal units in Italy and in the city of Rome. Over time these units would increase. Augustus created the praetorians who at the time of Domitianus constituted a force of ten cohorts, each of 1000 men strength on paper and who supplied a disputed number of horsemen. Traianus created the Imperial horseguards, the Equites Singulares Augusti, formed from his proconsular horseguard he had when he was the legate of Germania Inferior of about 1000 horsemen. Septimius made many changes in the Roman military. He doubled the number of the horseguards to 2000 horsemen. He filled the ranks of the Praetorians with provincial soldiers. He levied a new legion,
Legio II Parthica Legio II Parthica ("Parthian-conquering Second Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in AD 197 by the emperor Septimius Severus (r. 193–211), for his campaign against the Parthian Empire, hence the ''cognomen'' ''Parthica'' ...
, and for the first time in Roman history stationed it on the outskirts of Rome, making it more clear that the Roman emperor was a military dictator. Whenever the emperor went on campaign these guards units stationed in the city of Rome would accompany him. Added to these came the vexillationes of the border legions.


Impact

The ''vexillatio'' system worked initially, due to the mobility provided by the empire's excellent roads and to the high levels of discipline, cohesion and ''
esprit de corps Morale ( , ) is the capacity of a group's members to maintain belief in an institution or goal, particularly in the face of opposition or hardship. Morale is often referenced by authority figures as a generic value judgment of the willpower ...
'' of these units and the legions from which they came. But during the
Crisis of the Third Century The Crisis of the Third Century, also known as the Military Anarchy or the Imperial Crisis, was a period in History of Rome, Roman history during which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed under the combined pressure of repeated Barbarian invasions ...
(a turbulent period from 235 to about 290) ''vexillationes'' were shifted so rapidly from one area to another that units became hopelessly mixed up and became practically independent. Legions that would proclaim a commander as emperor could have a vexillatio in the real emperor's field army or garrisoned on the frontier. This was a major cause of disorganization in the Roman Army which resulted in sweeping military reforms under
Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...
and
Constantine I Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...
where the basic army unit became the size of one (Quingenaria=500 Soldiers) or two (Milliaria=1000 Soldiers) cohorts instead of the 5000-man legion.


Units

From the time of
Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...
and the
Tetrarchy The Tetrarchy was the system instituted by Roman emperor Diocletian in 293 AD to govern the ancient Roman Empire by dividing it between two emperors, the ''augusti'', and their junior colleagues and designated successors, the ''caesares''. I ...
, and possibly as early as the reign of
Gallienus Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (; – September 268) was Roman emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260 and alone from 260 to 268. He ruled during the Crisis of the Third Century that nearly caused the collapse of the empire. He ...
, ''vexillationes'' were the usual cavalry units found on campaign though the ''ala'' remained. In the 4th century the ''Vexillationes palatinae'' and ''Vexilationes'' ''
comitatenses The ''comitatenses'' and later the '' palatini'' were the units of the field armies of the late Roman Empire. They were the soldiers that replaced the legionaries, who had formed the backbone of the Roman military since the late republic. Org ...
'' of the Roman field armies are thought to have been either 300 or 600 men strong. The ''
Notitia Dignitatum The (Latin for 'List of all dignities and administrations both civil and military') is a document of the Late Roman Empire that details the administrative organization of the Western and the Eastern Roman Empire. It is unique as one of very ...
'' lists 88 ''vexillationes''. Other units, such as infantry ''cohortes'' and ''centuriae'', and cavalry ''alae'' and ''turmae'', may have had their own ''vexilla''. In addition, ''vexillationes'' with their own ''vexilla'' would have designated units of special troops outside the usual military structure, such as ''vexillarii'' (re-enlisted veterans), who may have served separately from the cohorts of their ordinary comrades.


References


Sources

* * {{cite news, author1=Southern, Pat , author2=Dixon, Karen , work=The Late Roman Army, date=1996, title=Chapter 2, isbn=0-415-22296-6 Roman legions Infantry units and formations of ancient Rome Military units and formations of the Roman Empire Roman auxiliaries