Legionary Wages

[Primus Pilus]

Does anyone know the value of Denarii from Caracallas' time to compare that of Caesar's?

 

The Denarius at the time of Caesar was roughly 4 grams of silver and by the time of Caracalla it had been reduced to about 50% purity. Because of this debasement, Caracalla introduced the Antoninianus. This new coin was worth roughly 2 denarii at the time it was introduced but only had a total silver content of about 1.5 times that of the Denarius. Perhaps more importantly, this new coin worth 2 denarii in theory, had only the same actual buying power of a denarius of a century or more earlier. (ie, if a amphorae of wine cost a denarius during the reign of Trajan, it would've cost 2 under Caracalla.)

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

Does anybody know which emperors after Severus increased the pay of the legions? No doubt, in order to secure a healthy transition to power, most of the 3rd Century emperors increased, or at least promised to increase, the pay of their soldiery.

 

Caracalla, who seems to have trusted no-one but his troops, increased legionary pay to 675 denarii.

 

I assume that Caesar raised the men's pay in order to keep them loyal ( he threw money around anyway)

 

But remember that the Later Roman Empire was rife with inflation.

their denarii had progressively less and less silver in them. Caracalla might have simply been picking up the slack.

 

Does anyone know the value of denarii from Caracallas' time to compare that of Caesar's?

 

When first introduced the denarii weighed approx. 4.5 grams and was nearly pure silver, this remained fairly stable throughout the republic. During the Julio-Claudian reign it dropped slightly to 4 gram and then under Nero it dropped again to 3.8 grams of silver.

 

The Denarii continued to decline in value until Caracalla introduce the double denarii which was also known as the 'antoninianus'. Although nominally valued at two denarii, the antoninianus never contained more than 1.6 times the amount of silver of the denarius. During second half of the third century the silver content of the antonianus fell to only 2%, losing almost an appearance of being silver.

 

EDIT....

 

 

 

Think me and PP have been reading from the same song sheet

Edited January 31, 2007 by Gaius Paulinus Maximus

[Gladius Hispaniensis]

Ave

While we're on the subject of Legionary wages, I was just wondering if the Latin word salarium from which "salary" is derived indicates that Roman soldiers pay included a rationing of salt since the word also means salt? Probably sounds crazy but I thought I'd hazard the question at the risk of sounding foolish

Edited February 11, 2007 by Gladius xx

[Publius Nonius Severus]

Ave

While we're on the subject of Legionary wages, I was just wondering if the Latin word salarium from which "salary" is derived indicates that Roman soldiers pay included a rationing of salt since the word also means salt? Probably sounds crazy but I thought I'd hazard the question at the risk of sounding foolish

 

Not a foolish question Gladius. Pliny the Elder gives us the answer:

 

Natural History, xxxi, 41:

 

"Even in the very honors, too, that are bestowed upon successful warfare, salt plays its part, and from it, our word "salarium" is derived."

 

Apparently though the term salarium really only applied to officers (started by Augustus), but soldiers did either receive salt rations or at least money to buy salt which helped define the term.

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

I believe the full name given to the act of rationing salt as part of legionary pay was 'salarium argentum'

 

Even more notable is that the Romans not only believed that the head was filled with salt but that it also could make dangerous or tainted food safe. It was Pliny the Elder who first prescribed to take anything suspicious with a grain of salt." A grain of salt is in fact a rendition of the Latin phrase cum grano salis. In this case it may have been an antidote to poison. The origins of this expression could refer to Pliny's commentary in Natural History where he mentions the first century BC King of Pontus, Mithradates the Great. He tells how Mithradates made himself immune to poison by swallowing small amounts of it with a grain of salt.

[Gladius Hispaniensis]

Well thanks for that info GPM and PNS. I remember from my History classes that Medieval Europeans used salt as a means for preserving meat in an age with no refrigeration. I imagine that must have been an important function of salt with Roman soldiers as well among others