Table Of ContentTHE CAVALRY OF THE
ROMAN REPUBLIC
T H E C A V A L R Y O F
T H E R O M A N
R E P U B L I C
Cavalry combat and elite
reputations in the middle and late
Republic
Jeremiah B. McCall
London and New York
FOR OLIVIA
Firstpublished2002
byRoutledge
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AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
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McCall,JeremiahB.,1972–
ThecavalryoftheRomanrepublic:cavalrycombatandelitereputationsinthe
MiddleandLateRepublic/JeremiahB.McCall.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
1.Rome—Army—Cavalry.2.Nobility—Rome.3.Sociology,Military—Rome.4.
Rome—History—Republic,265–30B.C. I.Title.
UE79.M332001
0 0
357.10937—dc21 2001031770
ISBN 0-203-99661-5 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN0-415-25713-1(Print Edition)
C O N T E N T S
Acknowledgments vii
List of abbreviations viii
1 Cavalry service and elite reputations: the
problem of the citizen cavalry’s disappearance 1
2 Assessing the Roman cavalry’s military
effectiveness 13
3 Equipment and tack 26
4 Roman cavalry tactics circa 300–100 53
5 Combat motivation: cavalry service and elite
reputations 78
6 Dating the disappearance of the citizen cavalry
corps 100
7 Alternative sources of prestige and the end of
citizen cavalry service 114
Conclusion 137
Appendix 1 Diagrams of the battles of Cannae
and Zama 142
v
CONTENTS
Appendix 2 Roman cavalry formations: some
considerations 147
Appendix 3 The size of the cavalry class and
the burden of cavalry service
before the Social War 150
Notes 153
Bibliography 185
Index 194
vi
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
This book originated as my Ph.D. dissertation at the Ohio State
University. Therefore, I owe the greatest debt to my advisor, Nate
Rosenstein. For years he has challenged my thinking and encour-
aged me to hone my skills as a historian. Without his thoughtful
criticism, patience, and friendship, this book simply would not
have been possible. The merits of this work are due in no small
part to his efforts; I alone bear the responsibility for the imperfec-
tions. I also thank Jack Balcer for years of advice and for his great
generosity as a teacher and a friend.
I owe greater thanks to more family members and friends than I
canpossibleexpress.Iwilllimitmyselfheretothankingmyparents:
June McCall, John McCall, John Pearson, and Andrea McCall. Their
unstinting encouragement and affection remain priceless.
Most importantly, I owe an immense debt to my wife, Olivia
Westcott. Her love, support and encouragement have made the
publication of this work both possible and worthwhile.
Finally, for permission to reproduce photographs, I thank the
British Museum and the E´cole Franc¸aise D’Athe`nes.
February 24, 2001
Oakdale, Connecticut
vii
A B B R E V I A T I O N S
AbhMu¨nch Abhandlungen der Philosophisch-philologischen
Classe der K. Bayerischen Akademie der
Wissenschaften, Mu¨nchen
AJA American Journal of Archeology
AJP American Journal of Philology
AncW Ancient World
AntAfr Antiquite´s africaines
Ath n.s. Athenaeum new series
BCH Bulletin de Correspondance Hellenique
C.I.L. Corpus Insciptionum Latinarum
CP Classical Philology
CQ Classical Quarterly
CR Classical Review
DialArch Dialoghi di archeologia
Historia Historia. Zeitschrift fu¨r alte Geschichte
I.L.S. Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae
JMH Journal of Military History
JRS Journal of Roman Studies
ME´FR Me´langes d’arche´ologie et d’histoire de l’E´cole
franc¸aise de Rome
MilMit Militargeschichliche Mitteilungen
Phoenix Phoenix. The Classical Association of Canada
Rphil Revue de philologie, de litte´rature, et d’histoire
anciennes
RivFil Rivista di filologia e d’istruzione classica
Wfut World Futures
Whist War in History
viii
1
C A V A L R Y S E R V I C E A N D
E L I T E R E P U T A T I O N S
The problem of the citizen
cavalry’s disappearance
ThroughoutthemiddleRepublicthewealthiestRomancitizenssup-
pliedacavalrycontingenttoeveryfieldarmy.Eachcavalrymanwas
liable to serve a maximum of ten years between the ages of 17 and
46. Cavalry service was a distinguished form of service and an
importantmarkofelitestatus.Nevertheless,intheearlyfirstcentury
B.C.1 tactical units of citizen cavalry disappeared and foreign auxili-
aries supplied all of Rome’s cavalry. The Romans had ended an
institution that had lasted for centuries.
The traditional explanation for the end of the Roman citizen
cavalry corps has persisted for the better part of a century and
received wide support from historians. The Romans, according to
this explanation, were simply poor cavalrymen. They lacked any
native tradition of cavalry service, were unskilled as mounted war-
riors,andwereineffectiveagainstenemycavalry.Onlytooawareof
the deplorable abilities of their citizen cavalrymen, the Romans
looked for a solution.2 Foreign auxiliary cavalry were the answer.
Foreign peoples – particularly the Numidians, Spanish, and Gauls –
possessed cavalryforcescategoricallysuperiortotheRomancitizen
cavalry. Consequently, the Romans began to rely increasingly upon
these superior foreign cavalry forces in the second century. Over
time the auxiliaries replaced both the citizen cavalry and the Italian
alliedcavalry.Bythefirstcenturytherewasnomilitaryneedforthe
poorqualityRomano-Italiancavalry,andtheydisappearedfromthe
legions.3
This traditional argument has substantial problems. No one has
ever demonstrated the citizen cavalry’s ineffectiveness. To date
there is no systematic analysis of the Roman cavalry’s military
1
