The Roman Way to Building a Career

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• 1. Roman politics
• 2. Caesar
• 3. Augustus
• 4. Caligula and Claudius
• 5. Vespasian
• 6. Paulinus
• 7. Find out more
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Roman politics

We tend to think of Britain at the time of the Romans as a remote outpost on the edges of the Roman empire - a troublesome but unimportant backwater province, rather like the Hindu Kush in the British Raj. A posting here would surely mean uncomfortable conditions and dangerous assignments, in a downward-spiralling career. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Right from its first involvement in Roman politics, Britain was a dynamic, militarised territory which attracted some of Rome's best and most ambitious men, who were on their way to the pinnacle of achievement.

'Military glory provided the greatest boost to any Roman's prestige...'

To understand this, you must understand the way that Roman politics worked. Rome's political system was based upon competition within the ruling elite. Senators competed fiercely for public office, the most coveted of which was the post of Consul. Two were elected each year to head the government of the state. Even in the imperial period this was maintained, though in fact true power lay with the emperor and his extended household.

During the Republic, the post of Consul was a quasi-military one: the Consuls were the commanders-in-chief of the Roman army, so military experience was of paramount importance to a Roman's political career. Military glory provided the greatest boost to any Roman's prestige and once again this carried over into the Empire. Military triumphs boosted your career, military service made you eligible for a wide range of profitable postings and for non-citizens, 25 years in the army was a guaranteed way of gaining citizenship for you and your family.

It is unsurprising then that Britain, a large island that was never fully conquered, should be seen as a land of opportunity to Romans with ambition. In fact during the imperial period, Britain was the only province in the entire empire that had a permanent garrison of more than two legions. Throughout most of its history, Britain contained three legions: IX Hispana followed by VI Victrix in York, II Augusta in Caerleon and II Adiutrix followed by XX Valeria Victrix in Chester.

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Published: 2001-09-01