"Marian Gallic/Spanish/Galatian/Syrian Legions" Topic

Would legions raised outside Italy during Caesar's civil war differ from true Roman legions in terms of uniform?

Asking for a friend.

Except for the territories that Caesar had conquered most of those areas had been part of the republic for 50 years or more. Gauls in northern Italy had been part of the republic for over one hundred years. Regional armories had most likely been given standard equipment patterns. Caesar raised several new legions during his conquest of Gaul. There is no mention of them being equipped any differently than the legions he started with.

No-one really knows; but no ancient source remarks on any visible difference. No one really knows how much of a "uniform" they had anyway.

No doubt they would dress in locally produced cloth, but whether it was dyed or not, and in what colour, is anyone's guess. As for helmets, armour, weapons and so on, no doubt a lot was made locally, but no idea how closely they would have to conform to Italian patterns. There are a couple of swords which may be eastern-made weapons of Roman type, suggesting Hellenistic artisans would be quite capable of producing Roman-style weaponry.

There are coins of Deiotarus of Galatia which show Celtic-style shields that could, just possibly, reflect the shields carried by his cohorts; if so, they were narrower than the normal Roman legionary style, and flat-ended (this

for instance). But they might be nothing to do with his legionary-style infantry.

Legions raised outside Italy by Caesar would have been raised in exactly the same way as legions raised elsewhere by other leaders – each legionary was clothed by the state (represented by the leader calling for the legion to be raised), and paid for it through deductions from his pay. As earlier posters have stated, there is no clear evidence to suggest that the state imposed standards for uniform. Any standardisation would be because it was easier for suppliers to clothe a legion by using the same recipe for dying and the same local materials in each production batch. It would also be easier to follow a standard pattern for the shape and size of the cloth.

The Marian reforms that meant a legion existed for several years would also encourage re-use of items and reduce variance – once a soldier retired or was killed on the battlefield, his uniform could be used by a new recruit.

The Alaudae (legio V) were raised in Transalpine Gaul and were originally non-citizens. There are various theories but having larks' wings on the helmets is one of them.

FWIW, D'Amato and Sumner have a plate with a 1st century BC centurion wearing a cloak with a very simple 'plaid'/tartan. I can't see anything in the text to directly support this, though there is mention by Caesar of various bits of local clothing being worn – including possibly trousers.