SLAVE SOLDIERS

At the end of the second century BC, Roman resources were stretched thin. The long-running war in North Africa against Jugurtha had only just ended and the northern borders were under threat from the Germanic Cimbri and Teutons. Following the massive Roman defeat at Arausio in 105 BC, Rome was keen to recruit as many troops as it could from friendly client kingdoms to supplement her forces.

By Mark Backhouse

Nicomedes of Bithynia complained that he could not supply the levy because so many of his people had been captured and sold into slavery. In response, the Senate passed a law freeing all slaves that had been illegally taken from allied states. The proprae-tor of Sicily, Nerva, started to carry out the act of manumission. That obviously provoked slaves who were not originally from a client kingdom. Nerva was forced to back down and revoke the law after disgruntled landowners complained. The backlash to this swift reversal of policy was immediate as a number of slave revolts broke out. Nerva attempted to suppress the revolt quickly and sent 600 troops from the local garrison to deal with them. His forces were outnumbered, and the slaves took advantage of the rough terrain…

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Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy (Digital) - 1 Issue, WSS 122

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