On Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 8:06 PM, Ian Whitchurch <ian.whitchurch@gmail.com> wrote:

Richard,

Errr, kinda. Remember that conquering a new province for the Republic was politically helpful, especially if you can argue that all your soldiers need to be rewarded with land, thus turning them into grateful clients. And Roman politics runs on grateful clients, and grateful clients with arms and military experience are the best sort.

True.

But it took quite a few generations to build up to that. At first, the only effective soldiery which Rome had were the rich landowners, e.g. the Senate member themselves (those who could afford the necessary arms and armor).

You get a lot less fighting when the ones voting on whether to go to war are ALSO the ones who will do most of the dying.

Richard Aiken

"Never insult anyone by accident." Robert A. Heinlein

"A word to the wise ain't necessary -- it's the stupid ones that need the advice." - Bill Cosby

"We know a little about a lot of things; just enough to make us dangerous." Dean Winchester