The origin and the social structure of Dacian legionnaires

Author(s):  M.V. Popov, Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University, Magnitogorsk, Russia, maxim_popov@hotmail.com

Issue:  Volume 38, №8

Rubric:  Topical issues of world history

Annotation:  Recruiting features of Dacian legions can be found out by using the data of epigraphic sources. Before placing the legions in Dacia, the recruitment of new soldiers had taken place in the traditional areas of military recruitment. The recruitment in the XIII Legion was carried out in the middle Italy, in Narbonese Gaul, the western provinces of the Roman Empire. The principles of the local military recruitment began to apply increasingly in the II. BC, beginning with the reign of Hadrian, and the ranks of the legionaries began to enter recruits of Thracian-Dacian origin. The number of native Italians and romanized provincials reduced, giving way to new recruits, enlisted in the neighboring provincial centers. During dislocation period of XIII Legion and V Legion in Dacia the main flow of recruits was coming from the neighboring Danubian provinces. Most of these legionaries came from families of military colonists

Keywords:  Roman Dacia, Roman legion, social structure, military recruitment

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