PRAETORIAN PAY AND ORGANIZATION
Praetorian Pay
Table 1: Praetorian pay in denarii (numbers in italics are speculative) |
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Annual |
Instalment (14–c. 90) |
Notional day rate (denarii) |
Actual day rate |
Discharge grant |
Augustus’ will |
Annual under Domitian |
Instalment (c. 90 and later) |
|
Praetorian |
750 |
250 |
2 (32 asses) |
2.05 |
5,000 |
250 |
999* |
333 |
Legionary |
225 |
75 |
0.625 (10 asses) |
0.616 |
3,000 |
75 |
300 |
100 |
Ratio |
3.33:1 |
3.33:1 |
3.2:1 |
3.33:1 |
1.67:1 |
3.33:1 |
3.33:1 |
3.33:1 |
Urban |
375 |
125 |
1 |
1.03 |
3750 |
125 |
498 |
166 |
Ratio |
2:1 |
2:1 |
2:1 |
2:1 |
1.33:1 |
2:1 |
2:1 |
2:1 |
Ratio |
1:67:1 |
1.67:1 |
1.6:1 |
1.67:1 |
1.25:1 |
1.67:1 |
1.65:1 |
1.65:1 |
* If this figure is correct (and this is not certain), then it would probably have been rated formally as 1,000 denarii with one of the thrice-annual payments adjusted, and similarly for the Urban Cohorts (500?). |
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This table is based on the figures supplied by Tacitus for the state of affairs in AD 14 (Annals 1.17.6), the discharge amounts supplied by Dio 54.25.6 and 55.23.1, Augustus’ legacy at Dio 56.32.2 and Tacitus, Annals 1.8.2, and the pay rise under Domitian given by Dio (67.3.5) and Suetonius (Domitian 7). All of these have been converted to the denarius equivalent. Italicized numbers are theoretical. Other figures for rates of pay are specifically attested in the sources. It is apparent that the key ratio for rates of pay between praetorians and legionaries is 3.33:1, which makes it possible to provide a rounded annual rate of pay divisible by three and corresponds to the amounts allocated in Augustus’ will. The discharge grant ratio at 1.67:1 is almost exactly half of that and made it possible to set these at round figures. The notional day rates come from Tacitus for AD 14 and are simply explained as rounded equivalents of the actual day rate derived from the annual rate, hence the 3.2:1 ratio for the figures he gives rather than 3.33:1. The same principle has been applied to theoretical rates for the urban cohorts, though far less is known about these. It should also be pointed out that we know nothing at all about when or how pay was distributed, or the reliability of the pay system. It is also very likely that rates of pay varied much more over the period than we have evidence for.
Praetorian Organization
