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<\/a>(this is the continuation of a series of essays discussing the number and make-up of the guards at Jesus’ tomb.\u00a0\u00a0It can be purchased as an ebook<\/a>, cover to the right. \u00a0\u00a0 Main essay<\/a> | Previous section<\/a> | Next section: The Romans and Jews:\u00a0 So (un)Happy Together<\/a> )<\/p>\nThe Discipline of the Roman Soldier<\/b><\/p>\n
Most acknowledge that the Roman military was very good at what it did without really looking at the details.\u00a0 The concession is made easily enough because most of us learned in history class that the Romans conquered a great deal of territory, and we infer, without really thinking about it much, that in order to do this, they must have been reasonably competent.\u00a0 The details are important, though.\u00a0 Sometimes, one gets the idea that people think the Romans only had to deal with barbaric, unorganized thugs, here and there–as if they never defeated other standing armies of significant ability.\u00a0 But this, they did.\u00a0 In other words, they were highly skilled warriors with a great deal of experience, and when one begins to delve into just how skilled they were, and how deep their experience it was, the fact that they were on duty over Jesus’ dead body heightens the question as to how it could have possibly gone missing.<\/p>\n
Roman historians themselves have provided us with ample descriptions of their armies at work.\u00a0 We will touch on a handful of examples that are particularly relevant to guard duty, but it is worth pointing out that death was a very common solution to any number of perceived deficiencies, and this includes infractions such as falling asleep on guard duty.<\/p>\n
A 1928 academic work by Dr. George W. Currie titled The Military Discipline of the Romans from the Founding of the City to the Close of the Republic<\/i> systematically lists all examples of infractions recorded in a wide variety of sources, groups them by periods, and describes what the consequences were.\u00a0 One of his basic conclusions is that the Romans were extremely severe upon their own soldiers throughout their rule.<\/p>\n
Salient examples include an instance in 390 BC when some Roman guards were asleep on duty and the Citadel of Rome was attacked;\u00a0 the particular guard at fault was subsequently thrown from a cliff.\u00a0 In 322\/295 BC, two legions yielded their post.\u00a0 Men were selected from the offenders by lot, and put to death.\u00a0 In 280\/271, guards were scourged and beheaded, and their bodies dishonored.\u00a0 In 205 BC, guards allowed items to be stolen from a temple.\u00a0 They had to pay back the value of the items two-fold, or else be put to death.\u00a0 A similar consequence was put upon the guards that allowed two ships to be captured.\u00a0 In 39 BC, two centuries (presumably about 200 men) failed to prevent a lieutenant and his men from being ambushed.\u00a0 The consequence was decimation:\u00a0 every tenth man was counted off, and the selected men were put to death.<\/p>\n
In 4 out of the 6 examples that Currie documented, death was inflicted upon the deficient guards.\u00a0 In the other 2, death was right around the corner.<\/p>\n
One can begin to see why a Roman guard (and soldier in general) would want to do his very best.\u00a0 If he was lucky, his incompetence would merely result in his dishonorable discharge.\u00a0 More likely, he would die<\/i>.<\/p>\n
It was already mentioned in the main article that Herod put to death all 16 of the guards in charge of keeping Peter in prison (Acts 12:4).\u00a0 It was apparently a common practice that remained well known and in place up to and through the time of Jesus.<\/p>\n
The Roman historian Polybius gives us one of the most thorough accounts of the Roman’s military discipline, and we are benefited by the fact that he takes time to specifically detail the duties of the ‘night watch,’ and, importantly, consequences of failure.\u00a0 Here is the relevant portion:<\/p>\n
\u00a0The way in which they secure the passing round of the watchword for the night is as follows: \u00a0from the tenth maniple of each class of infantry and cavalry, the maniple which is encamped at the lower end of the street, a man is chosen who is relieved from guard duty, and he attends every day at sunset at the tent of the tribune, and receiving from him the watchword \u2014 that is a wooden tablet with the word inscribed on it \u2014 takes his leave, and on returning to his quarters passes on the watchword and tablet before witnesses to the commander of the next maniple, who in turn passes it to the one next him. All do the same until it reaches the first maniples, those encamped near the tents of the tribunes. These latter are obliged to deliver the tablet to the tribunes before dark. \u00a0So that if all those issued are returned, the tribune knows that the watchword has been given to all the maniples, and has passed through all on its way back to him. \u00a0If any one of them is missing, he makes inquiry at once, as he knows by the marks from what quarter p349the tablet has not returned, and whoever is responsible for the stoppage meets with the punishment he merits.<\/p>\n
\u00a0They manage the night guards thus: \u00a0The maniple on duty there guards the consul and his tent, while the tents of the tribunes and the troops of horse are guarded by the men appointed from each maniple in the manner I\u00a0explained above. \u00a0Each separate body likewise appoints a guard of its own men for itself. \u00a0The remaining guards are appointed by the Consul; and there are generally three pickets at the quaestorium and two at the tents of each of the legates and members of the council. \u00a0The whole outer face of the camp is guard by the velites, who are posted every day along the vallum \u2014 this being the special duty assigned to them \u2014 and ten of them are on guard at each entrance. \u00a0Of those appointed to picket duty, the man in each maniple who is to take the first watch is brought to the tribune in the evening by one of the optiones of his company. \u00a0The tribune gives them all little tablets, one for each station, quite small, with a sign written on them and on receiving this they leave for the posts assigned to them.<\/p>\n
\u00a0The duty of going the rounds is entrusted to the cavalry. The first praefect of cavalry in each legion must give orders early in the morning to one of his optiones to send notice before breakfast to four lads of his own squadron who will be required to go the rounds. \u00a0The same man must also give notice in the evening to the praefect of the next squadron that he must make arrangements for going the rounds on the following day. \u00a0This praefect, on receiving the notice, must take precisely the same steps on the next day; and so on through all the squadrons.\u00a0The four men chosen by the optiones from the first squadron, after drawing lots for their respective watches, go to the tribune and get written orders from him stating what stations they are to visit and at what time. \u00a0After that all four of them go and station themselves next the first maniple of the triarii, for it is the duty of the centurion of this maniple to have a bugle sounded at the beginning of each watch. \u00a0When this time comes, the man to whom the first watch fell by lot makes his rounds accompanied by some friends as witnesses. \u00a0He visits the posts mentioned in his orders, not only those near the vallum and the gates, but the pickets also of the infantry maniples and cavalry squadrons. \u00a0If he finds the guards of the first watch awake he receives their tessera<\/a>, but if he finds that anyone is asleep or has left his post<\/b>, he calls those with him to witness the fact, and proceeds on his rounds. \u00a0Those who go the rounds in the succeeding watches act in a similar manner. \u00a0As I\u00a0said, the charge of sounding a bugle at the beginning of each watch, so that those going the rounds may visit the different stations at the right time, falls on the centurions of the first maniple of the triarii in each legion, who take it by turns for a day.<\/p>\n \u00a0Each of the men who have gone the rounds brings back the tesserae at daybreak to the tribune. If they deliver them all they are suffered to depart without question; \u00a0but if one of them delivers fewer than the number of stations visited, they find out from examining the signs on the tesserae which station is missing,\u00a0and on ascertaining this the tribune calls the centurion of the maniple and he brings before him the men who were on picket duty, and they are confronted with the patrol.\u00a0If the fault is that of the picket, the patrol makes matters clear at once by calling the men who had accompanied him, for he is bound to do this; but if nothing of the kind has happened, the fault rests on him.\u00a0A\u00a0court-martial composed of all the tribunes at once meets to try him, and if he is found guilty he is punished by the bastinado (<\/b> fustuarium<\/b><\/a>). \u00a0This is inflicted as follows: The tribune takes a cudgel and just touches the condemned man with it, \u00a0after which all in the camp beat or stone him, in most cases dispatching him in the camp itself.<\/b> \u00a0But even those who manage to escape are not saved thereby: impossible! for they are not allowed to return to their homes, and none of the family would dare to receive such a man in his house. So that those who have of course fallen into this misfortune are utterly ruined. \u00a0The same punishment is inflicted on the optio and on the praefect<\/i> of the squadron, if they do not give the proper orders at the right time to the patrols and the praefect of the next squadron. \u00a0Thus, owing to the extreme severity and inevitableness of the penalty, the night watches of the Roman army are most scrupulously kept.<\/p>\n