Roman military decorations and punishments

Crowns

Tiberius Claudius Maximus memorial showing two awards he received

• Grass crown – (Latin: corona obsidionalis or corona graminea), was the highest and rarest of all military decorations. It was presented only to a general, commander, or officer whose actions saved the legion or the entire army.
• Civic crown – (Latin: corona civica), was a chaplet of common oak leaves woven to form a crown. During the Roman Republic, and the subsequent Principate, it was regarded as the second highest military decoration a citizen could aspire to (the Grass Crown being held in higher regard) and was rewarded for saving the lives of fellow Roman citizens (cives) or for standing one's ground in war. Since Augustus, only the princeps was eligible for this decoration. It may have been identical to the Crown of the Preserver mentioned below.
• Naval crown – (Latin: corona navalis), was a gold crown awarded to the first man who boarded an enemy ship during a naval engagement. In style, the crown was made of gold and surmounted with the beaks of ships.
• Gold crown – (Latin: corona aurea), was awarded to both centurions and potentially some principales, for killing an enemy in single combat and holding the ground to the end of the battle.
• Battlement crowns – These were made of gold and decorated with the uprights (valli) of an entrenchment or turrets of a city. It was awarded to the first soldier or centurion to mount the wall or palisade of an enemy town or camp.^[1]
  • Mural crown – (Latin: corona muralis), also referred to as the "walled crown", this was a golden crown, or circle of gold intended to resemble a battlement, bestowed upon the first soldier who climbed the wall of a besieged city and to successfully place the standard of the attacking army upon it.
  • Camp crown – (Latin: corona vallaris or corona castrensis), a golden crown which was ornamented with the palisades used in forming an entrenchment.
• Crown of the Preserver – awarded to "those who have shielded and saved any of the citizens or allies"^[1] – Polybius relates that the crown is presented by those civilians the soldier saved and adds that "the man thus preserved also reverences his preserver as a father all through his life, and must treat him in every way like a parent."^[1]

Imperial titles

Synonyms for "Emperor"

• Augustus (also "Αὔγουστος" or "Σεβαστός"), "Majestic" or "Venerable"; an honorific cognomen exclusive to the emperor
  • Αὐτοκράτωρ, (lit. "Self-ruler"); Greek title equivalent to imperator i.e. Commander-in-Chief
  • Βασιλεύς (Basileus), Greek title meaning sovereign, popularly used in the east to refer to the emperor; a formal title of the Roman emperor beginning with Heraclius
• Caesar (also "Καίσαρ" or "Nobilissimus Caesar"), "Caesar" or "Most Noble Caesar"; an honorific name later used to identify an Emperor-designate
• Censor, a Republican office with a five-year term and one coequal officeholder
• Consul, the highest magistracy of the Roman republic with a one-year term and one coequal officeholder
• Dominus, "Lord" or "Master"; an honorific title popular in the Empire's middle history
• Imperator, "Commander" or "Commander-in-Chief"; a victory title taken on accession to the purple and after a major military victory; the praenomen of most Roman emperors
• Imperator Destinatus, "Destined to be Emperor"; heir apparent, used by Septimius Severus for Caracalla.
• Imperium maius, "greater imperium"; absolute power to a degree greater than any other, including power of enacting capital punishment
• Invictus, "Unconquered"; an honorific title
• Pater Patriae, "Father of the Fatherland"; an honorific title
• Pius Felix, "Pious and Blessed" (lit. "Dutiful and Happy"); an honorific title
• Pontifex Maximus, "Supreme Pontiff" or "Chief Priest" (lit. "Greatest Bridgemaker"); a title and office of Republican origin – could not be used by Christian Emperors, while by that time only the pope had a claim on the title of highest religious authority.
• Princeps, "First Citizen" or "Leading Citizen"; an honorific title denoting the status of the emperor as first among equals
• Princeps Iuventatis, "First of Youth"; an honorific title awarded to a presumptive Emperor-designate
• Princeps Senatus, "First Man of the Senate" a Republican office with a five-year term
• Restitor Orbis, "Restorer of the World"; a title granted to Aurelian for his role in helping to end the Crisis of the Third Century.
• Tribunicia potestas, "tribunician power"; the powers of a tribune of the people including sacrosanctity and the veto

Victory titles

Victory titles were treated as Latin cognomina and were usually the name of the enemy defeated by the commander. Hence, names like Africanus ("the African"), Numidicus ("the Numidian"), Isauricus ("the Isaurian"), Creticus ("the Cretan"), Gothicus ("the Goth"), Germanicus ("the German") and Parthicus ("the Parthian"), seemingly out of place for ardently patriotic Romans, are in fact expressions of Roman superiority over these peoples. The most famous grantee of Republican victory title was Publius Cornelius Scipio, who for his great victories in the Second Punic War was awarded by the Roman Senate the title "Africanus" and is thus known to history as "Scipio Africanus".

The practice continued in the Roman Empire, although it was subsequently amended by some Roman Emperors who desired to emphasise the totality of their victories by adding Maximus ("the Greatest") to the victory title (e.g., Parthicus Maximus, "the Greatest Parthian").

Decorations (medal equivalents)

Polybius writes that "After a battle in which some of them have distinguished themselves, the general calls an assembly of the troops, and bringing forward those whom he considers to have displayed conspicuous valour, first of all speaks in laudatory terms of the courageous deeds of each and of anything else in their previous conduct which deserves commendation".^[1] Only after this are the military decorations presented:

• Torc – gold necklet
• Armillae – gold armbands
• Phalerae – gold, silver, or bronze sculpted disks worn on the breastplate during parades
• Hasta pura or Arrow without a Head- a ceremonial silver spear awarded to "the man who has wounded an enemy".^[1] The use of this decoration is not clear.^[a]
• a small silver replica of a standard or flag (the vexillum).
• a cup – presented to an infantryman "who has slain and stripped an enemy"^[1] not in the normal melee of battle but voluntarily in single combat after throwing themselves into danger
• "horse trappings" – presented to a cavalryman "who has slain and stripped an enemy"^[1] not in the normal melee of battle but voluntarily in single combat after throwing themselves into danger

Financial awards

• monetary bonuses
• part of the loot and spoils after a conquest including slaves

Service awards

• missio honesta – honorable discharge

Trophy

• Spolia opima
• Tropaion

Imperial parades

• Triumph – a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly honour the military commander (dux) of a notably successful foreign war or campaign and to display the glories of Roman victory.
• Ovation – a less-honored form of the Roman triumph. Ovations were granted when war was not declared between enemies on the level of states, when an enemy was considered basely inferior (slaves, pirates), and when the general conflict was resolved with little to no bloodshed or danger to the army itself.

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Naval crown

Naval crown

The Naval Crown was a gold crown surmounted with small replicas of the prows of ships. It was a Roman military award, given to the first man who boarded an enemy ship during a naval engagement.

Mural crown

Mural crown

A mural crown is a crown or headpiece representing city walls, towers, or fortresses. In classical antiquity, it was an emblem of tutelary deities who watched over a city, and among the Romans a military decoration. Later the mural crown developed into a symbol of European heraldry, mostly for cities and towns, and in the 19th and 20th centuries was used in some republican heraldry.

Camp crown

Camp crown

In Ancient Rome, a camp crown, also known as a vallary crown, was a military award given to the first man who penetrated into an enemy camp or field during combat. It took the form of a gold crown surmounted with replicas of the stakes of a palisade.

Augustus (title)

Augustus (title)

Augustus was an ancient Roman title given as both name and title to Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, Rome's first Emperor. On his death, it became an official title of his successor, and was so used by Roman emperors thereafter. The feminine form Augusta was used for Roman empresses and other female members of the Imperial family. The masculine and feminine forms originated in the time of the Roman Republic, in connection with things considered divine or sacred in traditional Roman religion. Their use as titles for major and minor Roman deities of the Empire associated the Imperial system and Imperial family with traditional Roman virtues and the divine will, and may be considered a feature of the Roman Imperial cult.

Cognomen

Cognomen

A cognomen was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary cognomina were used to augment the second name, the nomen gentilicium, in order to identify a particular branch within a family or family within a clan. The term has also taken on other contemporary meanings.

Autokrator

Autokrator

Autokrator or Autocrator is a Greek epithet applied to an individual who is unrestrained by superiors. It has been applied to military commanders-in-chief as well as Roman and Byzantine emperors as the translation of the Latin title imperator. Its connection with Byzantine-style absolutism gave rise to the modern terms autocrat and autocracy. In Modern Greek, it means "emperor", and its feminine form is autokráteira (αὐτοκράτειρα).

Basileus

Basileus

Basileus is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. In the English-speaking world it is perhaps most widely understood to mean "monarch", referring to either a "king" or an "emperor" and also by bishops of the Eastern orthodox church and Eastern Catholic Churches. The title was used by sovereigns and other persons of authority in ancient Greece, the Byzantine emperors, and the kings of modern Greece.

Monarch

Monarch

A monarch is a head of state for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power in the state, or others may wield that power on behalf of the monarch. Usually a monarch either personally inherits the lawful right to exercise the state's sovereign rights or is selected by an established process from a family or cohort eligible to provide the nation's monarch. Alternatively, an individual may proclaim themself monarch, which may be backed and legitimated through acclamation, right of conquest or a combination of means.

Heraclius

Heraclius

Heraclius was Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.

Caesar (title)

Caesar (title)

Caesar is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, a Roman dictator. The change from being a familial name to a title adopted by the Roman emperors can be traced to AD 68, following the fall of the Julio–Claudian dynasty.

Imperator

Imperator

The Latin word imperator derives from the stem of the verb imperare, meaning 'to order, to command'. It was originally employed as a title roughly equivalent to commander under the Roman Republic. Later it became a part of the titulature of the Roman Emperors as their praenomen. The English word emperor derives from imperator via Old French: Empereür. The Roman emperors themselves generally based their authority on multiple titles and positions, rather than preferring any single title. Nevertheless, imperator was used relatively consistently as an element of a Roman ruler's title throughout the Principate and the Dominate.

Caracalla

Caracalla

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, better known by his nickname Caracalla was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor Septimius Severus and Empress Julia Domna. Proclaimed co-ruler by his father in 198, he reigned jointly with his brother Geta, co-emperor from 209, after their father's death in 211. His brother was murdered by the Praetorian Guard later that year under orders from Caracalla, who then reigned afterwards as sole ruler of the Roman Empire. Caracalla found administration to be mundane, leaving those responsibilities to his mother. Caracalla's reign featured domestic instability and external invasions by the Germanic peoples.

When the Roman soldier enrolled in service to the state, he swore a military oath known as the sacramentum: originally to the Senate and Roman People, later to the general and the emperor. The sacramentum stated that he would fulfill his conditions of service on pain of punishment up to and inclusive of death. Discipline in the army was extremely rigorous by modern standards, and the general had the power to summarily execute any soldier under his command.

Polybius divides the punishments inflicted by a commander on one or more troops into punishments for military crimes, and punishments for "unmanly acts", although there seems to be little difference in the harsh nature of the punishment between the two classes.

Punishments for crimes

• Fustuarium or bastinado — Following a court-martial sentence for desertion or dereliction of duty, the soldier would be stoned, or beaten to death by cudgels, in front of the assembled troops, by his fellow soldiers, whose lives had been put in danger. Soldiers under sentence of fustuarium who escaped were not pursued, but lived under sentence of banishment from Rome.^[2] Polybius writes that the fustuarium is "also inflicted on those who steal anything from the camp; on those who give false evidence; on young men who have abused their persons; and finally on anyone who has been punished thrice for the same fault."
• Pecunaria multa – fines or deductions from the pay allowance.
• Flogging in front of the century, cohort or legion.
• "demanding sureties", including the re-taking of the military oath known as the sacramentum.
• For treason or theft, the punishment would most probably be being placed in a sack of snakes and thrown into a nearby river or lake.

Another punishment in the Roman Military only applied to people involved in the prison system; this rule was that if a prisoner died due to the punishment inflicted by Roman legionaries, unless he was given the death penalty, then the leader of the troops would be given the same punishment.

It would seem that in the later Empire independent commanders were given considerable latitude in the crimes they chose to punish and the penalties they inflicted. According to the Historia Augusta^[3] the future Emperor Aurelian once ordered a man who was convicted of raping the wife of the man on whom he had been billeted to be attached to two trees drawn together so that when the restraining ropes were cut, they sprang apart and the unfortunate victim was torn asunder. The author of the Vita Aureliani comments that Aurelian rarely punished twice for the same offence. However, even by Roman standards his justice was considered particularly harsh. As always with the Historia Augusta, one takes this story with a pinch of salt and either wonders what fourth century point the author was attempting to make of a third-century incident or whether he merely attributed to Aurelian a good story that seemed appropriate to that man's reputation. On the other hand, the imposition of cruel and unusual penalties to maintain discipline among the brutalised soldiery in the chaotic conditions of the north European provinces in the mid-third century was a necessity for the maintenance of effective command.^[b]

Punishments for unmanly acts

• Decimatio – a form of extreme military discipline used by officers in the Roman Army to punish mutinous or cowardly soldiers in exceptional cases. A cohort selected for punishment by decimation was divided into groups of ten; each group cast lots, and the soldier on whom the lot fell was executed by his nine comrades, often by stoning or clubbing. The remaining soldiers were given rations of barley instead of wheat and forced to sleep outside of the Roman encampment. This punishment was forgotten over time since the early Republic, but the ancient punishment was resurrected by Marcus Crassus during the Spartacus gladiator rebellion in 72 BC, when two of his legions disobeyed his direct orders not to engage the enemy. As a result, they suffered a terrible defeat. Crassus's response to the disobedience was brutal: he assembled the two legions and pulled out every 10th man as he walked across the ranks, and each man who was pulled out was to be beaten to death by his preceding nine comrades. Some scholars say that Julius Caesar joined these two legions to form his legendary "Legio X Equitata".

According to Cassius Dio as re-told by Matthew Dennison, the newly-appointed emperor Galba revived this punishment to deal with a contingent of rebellious soldiers who confronted him as he entered Rome at the Milvian Bridge in autumn of 68 AD.^[4] Dio states that Galba ordered this punishment because "he did not believe that an emperor should submit to compulsion in anything."^[5]

• Castigatio – being hit by the centurion with his staff or animadversio fustium
• Reduction of rations, or to be forced to eat barley instead of the usual grain ration
• Whipping with the flagrum (flagellum, flagella), or "short whip" — a much more brutal punishment than simple flogging. The "short whip" was used for slave volunteers, volones.
• gradus deiectio – a reduction in rank
• Loss of advantages gained from length of service.
• militiae mutatio – relegation to inferior service or duties.
• Summary execution
• munerum indictio – additional duties

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Sacramentum (oath)

Sacramentum (oath)

In ancient Roman religion and law, the sacramentum was an oath or vow that rendered the swearer sacer, "given to the gods," in the negative sense if he violated it. Sacramentum also referred to a thing that was pledged as a sacred bond, and consequently forfeit if the oath were violated. Both instances imply an underlying sacratio, act of consecration.

SPQR

SPQR

SPQR, an abbreviation for Senatus PopulusQue Romanus, is an emblematic abbreviated phrase referring to the government of the ancient Roman Republic. It appears on Roman currency, at the end of documents made public by an inscription in stone or metal, and in dedications of monuments and public and civil works.

Fustuarium

Fustuarium

In the military of ancient Rome, fustuarium or fustuarium supplicium was a severe form of military discipline in which a soldier was cudgeled to death.

Historia Augusta

Historia Augusta

The Historia Augusta is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs and usurpers from 117 to 284. Supposedly modeled on the similar work of Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, it presents itself as a compilation of works by six different authors, written during the reigns of Diocletian and Constantine I and addressed to those emperors or other important personages in Ancient Rome. The collection, as extant, comprises thirty biographies, most of which contain the life of a single emperor, but some include a group of two or more, grouped together merely because these emperors were either similar or contemporaneous.

Decimation (punishment)

Decimation (punishment)

Decimation was a form of Roman military discipline in which every tenth man in a group was executed by members of his cohort. The discipline was used by senior commanders in the Roman army to punish units or large groups guilty of capital offences, such as cowardice, mutiny, desertion, and insubordination, and for pacification of rebellious legions.

Barley

Barley

Barley, a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley production is used as animal fodder, while 30% as a source of fermentable material for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various foods. It is used in soups and stews, and in barley bread of various cultures. Barley grains are commonly made into malt in a traditional and ancient method of preparation.

Spartacus

Spartacus

Spartacus was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Little is known about him beyond the events of the war, and surviving historical accounts are sometimes contradictory. All sources agree that he was a former gladiator and an accomplished military leader.

Legio X Equestris

Legio X Equestris

Legio X Equestris, a Roman legion, was levied by Julius Caesar in 61 BC when he was the Governor of Hispania Ulterior. The Tenth was the first legion levied personally by Caesar and was consistently his most trusted. Legio X was famous in its day and throughout history, because of its portrayal in Caesar's Commentaries and the prominent role the Tenth played in his Gallic campaigns. Its soldiers were discharged in 45 BC. Its remnants were reconstituted, fought for Mark Antony and Octavian, disbanded, and later merged into X Gemina.

Cassius Dio

Cassius Dio

Lucius Cassius Dio, also known as Dio Cassius, was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the subsequent founding of Rome, the formation of the Republic, and the creation of the Empire, up until 229 AD. Written in Ancient Greek over 22 years, Dio's work covers approximately 1,000 years of history. Many of his 80 books have survived intact, or as fragments, providing modern scholars with a detailed perspective on Roman history.

Galba

Galba

Galba was the sixth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 68 to 69. After his adoption by his stepmother, and before becoming emperor, he was known as Livius Ocella Sulpicius Galba. He was the first emperor in the Year of the Four Emperors and assumed the throne following Emperor Nero's suicide.

Reduction in rank

Reduction in rank

Reduction in rank may refer to three separate concepts:In military law, a reduction in rank or degradation is a demotion in military rank as punishment for a crime or wrongdoing, imposed by a court-martial or other authority. It may be imposed in conjunction with other punishments, such as a bad conduct or dishonorable discharge, loss of wages, confinement to barracks, or imprisonment in a military prison. Reduction in rank may also refer to the voluntary, non-punitive practice of taking a lower rank, often as part of joining another military unit or military service. For example, those who join the Special Air Service or Australian Special Air Service Regiment take the rank of trooper, often a lower rank than their previous rank but with greater pay, prestige, and responsibilities. There is a reversion in rank after an officer has been temporarily promoted to a higher rank while occupying a position requiring that rank; the officer reverts to the permanent rank on vacating the position bearing the higher rank. This occurs often in the U.S. military, to three- or four-star general or flag officers, who can be reduced in rank to no lower than their permanent rank of two-stars, as all ranks above two-stars are temporary, and are linked to their position's office. Reversion of this type is less usual for lower U.S. military ranks as such temporary promotions are uncommon.

Summary execution

Summary execution

A summary execution is an execution in which a person is accused of a crime and immediately killed without the benefit of a full and fair trial. Executions as the result of summary justice are sometimes included, but the term generally refers to capture, accusation, and execution all conducted within a very short period of time, and without any trial. Under international law, refusal to accept lawful surrender in combat and instead killing the person surrendering is also categorized as a summary execution.