The high-ranking officers also had a substantial number of slaves, wagons and pack animals at their disposal, a group adding about persons and at least riding, draught and pack animals to a legion. All in all, a legion consisted of circa 6, men, of whom 5, to 5, were soldiers. The legions were given numbers. In Augustean time, numerous legion numbers were assigned twice, because Augustus kept the traditional designations of older legions.
To be able to distinguish these military units, they were given unique epithets from the early first century AD onward. Additionally, military virtues of a legion would become a part of its name. Popular examples are »victrix,« the »victorious one,« or »pia fidelis« for a »dutiful and loyal« legion. To command his legions, Augustus, and each successive emperor , also turned to those closest to them. No longer was command bestowed through the Senatorial hierarchy, but the practice of choosing the best was still sadly ignored.
Having close relations to, or being an intimate member of, the emperors' inner circle usually carried more merit than one's actual battlefield capability. Under Augustus, the bulk of this duty fell to his close friend Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa , his stepsons Tiberius and Drusus along with his son Germanicus , and even later his grandsons Gaius and Lucius Caesar.
In the early empire, unrelated but successful men like Marcus Licinius Crassus grandson of the first triumvir created problems for Augustus. Many generals still viewed military service in the old Republican fashion, where success should be met with triumphs and personal rewards.
In the case of Crassus , his exceptional success in the Balkans very early in Augustus' tenure highlighted the potential for disaster. Crassus' demand of a triumph as well as the spolia opima ultimate spoils could have potentially placed the loyalty of the men serving him in serious doubt. During the principate, the legions were to be loyal to the emperor himself and not the Legates who served him.
Augustus did possibly grant the triumph, but Crassus seems to have been quickly removed from service and essentially disappears from the historical record afterward.
Another of Augustus' early governors, Gaius Cornelius Gallus the prefect of Egypt, lauded himself with rewards. Statues erected with glorifying inscriptions, resulting from victories over neighboring tribes and revolting provincials, were a source of both anger and distrust for Augustus.
Gallus' behavior led ultimately to his own suicide by 26 BC , certainly under pressure from Rome. As the new constitutional arrangements of Augustus began to alter the fabric of Roman government , it was imperative that this Republican military ideology cease to exist.
From the incident with Crassus onward, the emperor was solely responsible for the victories of men in the field. If a triumph was due, it was the emperor who received it. Even Agrippa, the close confidant of Augustus, perhaps understanding this fundamental change in philosophy more than any other, refused all such personal honors and allowed Augustus to celebrate Agrippa's victories as if they were truly his own.
Of course the emperor at least in the case of those who were strong enough to pull it off was exempt from blame in the case of military disaster, and these could be blamed entirely on the commanders.
Still, the life of a legate could be one of supreme honor, respect and wealth. They simply had to understand the new rules and forego the honors of the Republican era. The emperor further solidified the legions as his own by ensuring that each legionary swear a personal oath of loyalty directly to him.
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