Buying loyalty: targeted iconography and the distribution of cash to the legions

A key element in maintaining a professional standing army, as the Romans did from the days of the later Republic onward, is ensuring their loyalty, to their direct commanders as well as to the supreme commander. Ancient authors as well as modern military historians state the importance of troop morale, cohesion and esprit-de-corps, which are created and kept upright by providing adequate food, shelter and health care, as well as by shared experiences, clearly defined future goals and joint corporal exercise 1. Crucial though the steady supply of basic necessities was, arguably as important were guaranteed and regular payments. Reports of mutiny in the ancient sources usually refer to harsh conditions, long service and low or postponed pay as causes for the unrest 2. Therefore, it might be assumed that a tight control over the logistics of military pay as well as a clever timing of bonuses (donativa) were central tasks of the military and financial overseers. Delivering cash on time and in the expected amounts to the far ends of the Empire surely was an important element in keeping the troops happy.