s Flavian dynasty dispersed disloyal units. As the Empire'sexpansion slowed, permanent borders were established. Auxiliaries patrolled the borders andlegionnaires were stationed within the frontiers to act as a strategic reserve and intimidatepotentially rebellious provinces. The army can be divided into two distinct parts: the legion and the auxiliary ( auxilia), with amarked social division existing between the two. Only Roman citizens could becomelegionnaires, while auxilia were composed of non citizens recruited from Rome's client statesand tribes. These legions were supported by the non citizen auxilia consisting of infantry cohortsand cavalry (alae). A legion consisted of around 5,000 men which were mostly heavy footsoldiers. However, it is only possible to attempt a rough estimate of the men who constituted alegion. It has been estimated that the total number of Roman troops, including legions andauxilia, numbered more than 300,000 during the first century A.D. It has also been assumedthat the legionary and auxiliary troops were equipped differently. This notion is based onevidence from a single source, Trajan's column, which shows clear distinctions betweenlegionary and auxiliary equipment. The early view put forward by historians such as Webster was that the equipment issued tolegionnaires was remarkably uniform throughout the empire. However, the archaeologicalevidence does not support this theory, showing that a wide range of types and ages of equipmentwas in use at any one time. Peterson argues that uniformity in the Roman army may have onlyextended to soldiers having their own serviceable body armor, helmet, weapons and shielddisplaying a common unit emblem. Bishop and Coulston suggest that in this period soldiershad to purchase their own equipment. The system encouraged the individual to be morerespectful of their equipment by introducing a sense of personal responsibility. Most of thisequipment may have been p...
