Urban watchmen

The Watchmen Urbani , the eyes of the city, are under the Rome Antique the civils servant in charge of the fight against the fire and the police force. In spite of their relatively low number, these soldiers play a great part in the life of the City. They are not always liked, because of their arrogance and their brutality, like says it Juvénal. But they have also many bonds with the civilians. One does not know a camp for the whole of the troop. This body does not have a quota of cavalry.

Implementation

Fire was always a problem in Rome. Under the Republic, these men were very few, the body counted only 600 firemen. In 6 a. J. - C., Auguste raises a tax of 4% on the sale of slave and largely makes increase their number.

In Rome, they are under the command of a Préfet, the praefectus vigilum urbi , named in the equestrian row. Under the reign of Trajan appears a subpraefectus . The prefect having more and more legal attributions, the presence of a sub-prefect ensures the service this special competence which its chief was to too often miss. The sub-prefect of the vigils had his particular offices, similar to those of his department head, but of a less considerable manpower. If necessary, it replaces the prefect. This body is divided into seven troops of 560 men ordered by a Tribun. Each troop is divided into centurie from 70 to 80 men and is ordered by a Centurion princeps and with six simple centurions. The officers are the only ones to belong to the army itself. He is necessary to add to it the doctors (four by troop) and the specialists. The troops are doubled starting from 205 to cover administrative forty regiones of the city.

Others Vigiles station in the port as with Ostie.

Recruitment

It seems that each unit occupied a excubitorium, a station of day before, which is at the same time a camp, castrated. The first watchmen come from the medium of freed: they are called libertini. Enough quickly, the pérégrins is allowed in these units, then Roman citizens. At the 2nd century, these men are citizens recruited mainly in Italy, like the other soldiers of the garrison of Rome; one counts only some Africans and Eastern in their rows. The vigils, which at the beginning were not regarded as soldiers, transfer their legal condition to improve. From the point of view of advance, the vigils are not on the same foot as the regular army, on the other hand their duration of the service is sixteen years, as for the Praetorian Garde against 25 years for the auxiliary Troupes.

Mission

It had the capacity to act against the robbers, to ensure the maintenance of law and order in the street, to continue it just like the slaves in escape responsibility in the administration, and justice. The vigils patrolled the city, especially the night, with their light material with the listening of any suspect noise. Their main mission being the fire control, it doubles of a mission of police force. The seat of the service, with the offices of the prefect and staff, was with the barracks of Ier troop of the vigils, in the southernmost part of the Champ de Mars. It is in this building that the prefect of the vigils had his offices and his court; it is from there that it left every during the night to carry out the lawful rounds.

Firefighting

When a fire was discovered, the fight was done by means of buckets, of axes and pumps to transport water, but also of various tools including until catapults S making it possible to destroy the houses before the arrival of the flames in order to contain the hearth of the fire; moreover the aquarii which supervised the water provision, had at their disposal, in Rome, 591 fountains at the 1st century, 1.352 at the 4th century, without counting the baths and the own resources of each house (cisterns, fish ponds, arrived of water deriving from the aqueducts). Once the destroyed dwellings in the vicinity, they tried to drown fire under water. Each Insula and each Domus was to contain the equipment for the fire protection fight. The vigils urbani specialized in quite distinct but complementary tasks: the siphonarius made function the pumps, the emitularii had the mattresses to receive the inhabitants who jumped from the buildings, the falciarii carrying forgeries and the uncinarii carrying hooks were charged to destroy the buildings, the centonarii used coated vinegar cloths which they plated against the walls on fire to choke the flames.

As for the simple firemen, called militate , they were used as assistances to various stations. The soldiers of fire also had their chaplain, the victimarius , which maintained the worship the emperor and the protective gods of the barracks.

The police force of night

Under imperial Rome, the service of the night police force is created. It comprises two essential components, one fixes (the station and station-watchtowers, one by area), the other mobile (rounds and patrols). The seat of the service, with the offices of the prefect, of sound the staff and the court, was with the barracks of Ier troop, in the southernmost part of the Champ de Mars. The prefect left every during the night there to carry out the regulatory rounds. In spite of the importance of the body and the whole of the precautions taken by the responsible authority, the night police force leaves much to be desired.

Big events

In 24, a law grants the established among with the watchman at the end of six years of service. The vigils can consequently reach the bodies more considered, the urban Cohortes even the Praetorian troops. Rome underwent many fires of the important width, in particular most known which began with the accesses of the Circus maximus the July 19th 64 and destroyed more of two thirds of the town of Rome. It seems that it is under the reign of Septime Sévère that the time of service to obtain the established among is brought back from 6 to 3 years.

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