Hadrian’s Cavalry

It’s History

In the beginning, 300 cavalry troopers were assigned to protect the king recruited from the aristocracy. As the state grew larger, the second rank the Equestrians took over the role, taking their title from the activity, again the numbers required outstripped the manpower and the next rank of freemen took up the role.

This continued to about 200 BC when further troops were required and at that time the Romans moved to the final solution, ancillary troops from what had been their equestrian tribal enemies, who became their allies in and sometimes outside the boundaries of the empire.

It was a very unusual situation, for an empire to relay on non-citizens

The only non-ancillary cavalry were a small 120 man wing attached to each legion.

At first they used barbarian allies, they took hostages trained these hostages as young Equestrians with a full Roman education, and many commanded their tribesmen in Roman ancillary regiments. Other ancillary regiments were commanded by Equestrians.

The whole organisation remained very fluid until the army reorganisation undertaken by the Emperor Augustus following the civil war and the establishment of the standing army, and it was the middle of first century AD before the organisation was stabilised.

Organisation at the Time of Hadrian

Hadrian’s Cavalry regiments were called Ala, meaning “wing”, probably because they were stationed on the extreme left and right of the infantry. There were 2 specialised formations, the ala quingenaria consisting of 16 turma, which formed the vast majority with 512 men and ala milliaria consisting of 24 turma with probably 768 men (it is possible that it had larger turma, increasing the total 1,000).

There was generally only one ala milliaria in any province and 7 in total and one in Britain at Carlisle.

The turma considered of 30 troopers and 2 officers generally. The turma was commanded by a Decurion, reporting to the prefect, who commanded the ala. In the case of the Ala Milliaria, a tribune, this was the highest ranking officer in all the Ancillary forces.

The Decurion generally had started in the ranks, but could occasionally be transferred from a legion. The prefect was an Equestrian, who has served as the commander of an infantry cohort. They generally served for 3 years, after which a few became ala tribunes, but most retired from the army and served in the civil administration.

The troopers had to serve in an ancillary infantry cohort before joining the cavalry, and be at least 5ft 10ins tall. The turma was thought to be generally 30 strong, but units of 40 or 60 have been identified.

The cavalry worked closely with legions. A legion would not enter a hostile country without an ala of cavalry. The prefect would report to the legate, as legion commander.

There were significant numbers of mixed cohort usually with 120 men drawn up into 4 turma, it is now believed that these were trained cavalry not just infantry on horses.

Horses and Training

It was the responsibility of the provincial governor to supply Hadrian’s Cavalry with horses, which could at times be difficult especially to meet the army specification and on receipt recorded and described the horses in the reports They were housed in barracks allocating 2 rooms for every 3 troopers, one for the horses and one for the men.

This was finally confirmed from the excavations at Wallsend. It is understandable, as the trooper was responsible for his horse, depending on it for his survival; the horse had to be close by, as theft was not uncommon.

It was likely that a separate provincial organisation was responsible. As the army in the province were responsible to the governor, it was in his interest to see that horses were provided.

New recruits were thoroughly trained; they did not have stirrups and had saddles, which helped maintain the rider’s stability.

It had 2 upright horns at the rear to clasp the riders behind and 2 angled horns at the front curving inwards over the thighs and were made to measure for each cavalryman. The Vindolanda excavations have helped interpret how it worked. The horse was protected by a thick blanket under the saddle. The bridle and bit were important so that the horse could be closely controlled. Training was essential to use this equipment to the best advantage.

It is believed that the horses were trained prior to receipt by the ala. The British army manual specified 12 months training programmes, and it is likely that the Roman programme would not have been much shorter. The tactics used required complicated manoeuvres; they had to be good because the Roman army deployed less cavalry than most of their adversaries. Only with Cromwell in 17^th century did the British army came close to the Roman Ala competence

Equipment

Roman Cavalry Sculptures

What the cavalry looked like and how they were equipped has been identified from sculpture and a prime source is Trojan’s column in Rome celebrating his victory in the Dacian Wars a few years before Hadrian’s reign.

The sword was longer than the infantry gladius, as it was used for slashing as against stabbing as per the Roman infantry manual. At this time the sword was worn on the right hand side. The cavalry sometimes carried spears generally 6ft long for throwing and stabbing. On some occasions a 12ft spear was used, requiring 2 hands.

There appears to be a variety of shields were used a rectangle shield similar to the legions, a large oval shield and even a hexagonal shield. The shields were made from strips of wood glued together and bound round the edges with either metal or hide. There was a hole in the centre to accommodate a metal “umbo” or boss on the outside and a handgrip on the inside. Some were elaborately painted.

The mounted archers did not carry a shield, a light and short bow and quiver of light arrows.

The Crosby, Ribchester and Amazon Tournament Helmits

Hadrian commented on seeing such a display in 118AD:

“You did everything in orderly fashion. You filled the field with manoeuvres. Your javelin hurling was not without grace, although you used javelins which are short and stiff. Several of you hurled your lances equally well. And your mounting was smart just now and lively yesterday. if there were anything lacking I should notice it; if there were anything conspicuously bad, I should point it out. But you pleased me uniformly throughout the whole exercise”

Terms of Service

First, you had to get a transfer from the ancillary infantry, possibly from a legion. The cavalryman like all ancillary soldiers would sign up for 25 years. He would be subject to military law and the harsh discipline of Decurion. Any man endangering the turma would be subject to a military tribunal and if found guilty would be clubbed to death by his colleagues in the turma. This could include falling asleep on guard duty. They were the best pay soldiers in the army. Most were not Roman citizens when they joined, but would receive citizenship, when they retired, with the privileges, status and tax concessions, which went with citizenship, but without pension. They were not allowed to marry while serving, but many had families, who also acquired Roman citizenship, but not their common law wife. The soldier could apply for a diploma in bronze on retirement. They often contributed to a burial club, which has left some impressive tombstones. Many settled in the settlements outside the fort after retiring.

Cavalry in Britain

Tombstone of Flavinus signifer (standard bearer) of Candidus’s troop of The Ala Petriana

It has been calculated that there were about 10,000 cavalry in Britain during Hadrian’s reign, about 15% of the empire’s total and more than any other province. There were 11/14 alae in Britain with the rest being made up of the cavalry wings of the mixed cohorts. It is thought that there were 3/4 alae in the Wall garrison at the time, including the elite Ala Augusta Gallorum Petriana, the only ala milliaria in Britain based Stanwix north of the River Eden in Carlisle.

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Hadrian’s Cavalry