Vigiles de Charles VII, fol. 107, Siège de Pontoise (1441).jpg
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The ''Vigiles'' or more properly the ''Vigiles Urbani'' ("watchmen of the
City A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
") or ''Cohortes Vigilum'' ("
cohort Cohort or cohortes may refer to: * Cohort (educational group), a group of students working together through the same academic curriculum * Cohort (floating point), a set of different encodings of the same numerical value * Cohort (military unit), ...
s of the watchmen") were the
firefighter A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...
s and police of ancient Rome.


History

The ''Triumviri Nocturni'' (meaning ''three men of the night'') were the first men, being privately owned
slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
, organized into a group that combated the common problems of fire and conflagrations in Rome. The privately operated system became ineffective, so in the interest of keeping himself and Rome safe, Augustus instituted a new public firefighting force called the ''Vigiles''. Augustus modelled the new firefighters after the fire brigade of Alexandria, Egypt. The Vigiles were also known by their nickname ''Spartoli'' or "little bucket fellows" which was given to them because of the buckets they carried water in, which were made of rope sealed with pitch. In AD 6, Augustus levied a 4% tax on the sale of
slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
s and used the proceeds to set up the new force. The first Vigiles units were under the command of Aediles and the '' Vicomagistri''. There were only 6000 ''Vigiles'' and they were all slaves. In 22 AD they were commanded by the '' praefectus vigilum'', who was of equestrian rank, and ''subpraefectus'' and were divided into seven
cohort Cohort or cohortes may refer to: * Cohort (educational group), a group of students working together through the same academic curriculum * Cohort (floating point), a set of different encodings of the same numerical value * Cohort (military unit), ...
s commanded by a tribune. Usually tribunes would begin their career by commanding a unit of the Vigiles. Each cohort was divided into seven centuries, each of 70–80 men commanded by a ''
centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...
''. Each cohort patrolled two of the city's fourteen administrative ''regiones''. The cohorts were doubled in size in AD 205. The ''Vigiles'' were made up of freedmen by this time. The ''Vigiles'' also acted as a night watch, keeping an eye out for burglars and hunting down runaway slaves, and were on occasion used to maintain order in the streets. Their most famous prefect, Naevius Sutorius Macro, succeeded
Lucius Aelius Sejanus Lucius Aelius Sejanus (c. 20 BC – 18 October AD 31), commonly known as Sejanus (), was a Roman soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Of the Equites class by birth, Sejanus rose to power as prefect of the Praetorian Guar ...
as Prefect of the Praetorian Guard after his men had been used by the Emperor Tiberius to retake control of the city from Sejanus's soldiers. ''Vigiles'' were stationed at the harbour cities of
Ostia Ostia may refer to: Places *Ostia (Rome), a municipio (also called ''Ostia Lido'' or ''Lido di Ostia'') of Rome *Ostia Antica, a township and port of ancient Rome *Ostia Antica (district), a district of the commune of Rome Arts and entertainment ...
and
Portus Portus was a large artificial harbour of Ancient Rome. Sited on the north bank of the north mouth of the Tiber, on the Tyrrhenian coast, it was established by Claudius and enlarged by Trajan to supplement the nearby port of Ostia. The archae ...
. A '' vexillatio'' (detachment) of four centuries was detached from Rome for four months at a time, with two centuries being stationed at each city. During the Great Fire of Rome the Vigiles took to looting the city rather than enforcing law and fighting the fires. The ''Vigiles'' appear to have lost their status as an independent unit and come under the authority of the Praetorian prefects sometime in the early 3rd century.


Organization

In the beginning, the corps had difficulty recruiting men. In an effort to entice men to enlist the '' Lex Visellia'' was passed in 24 AD, granting full citizenship and a bonus cash stipend to ''Vigiles'' after six years of service. By the 2nd century, citizens were also allowed to enlist. The ''Vigiles'' were accommodated in barracks and patrolled the streets, especially at night, on the lookout for any unsupervised fires. Every householder was obliged to keep equipment for fighting fires, and the men themselves were equipped with pumps, buckets, hooks (for pulling down burning material), picks, mattocks and axes. They also used '' ballistae'' for knocking down burning houses and creating firebreaks. They even had their own medical support (''medici''), with four doctors attached to each cohort, and their own chaplains (''victimarii''). A ''siphonarius'' operated a pump and an ''aquarius'' supervised the supply of water. The ordinary firefighters were called ''milites'' (soldiers). The Vigiles were organized into seven
cohorts Cohort or cohortes may refer to: * Cohort (educational group), a group of students working together through the same academic curriculum * Cohort (floating point), a set of different encodings of the same numerical value * Cohort (military unit), ...
each 1,000 men strong. The cohorts contained seven centuries. The centuries were commanded by
centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...
s, and the cohort was commanded by a tribune. The commander of the Vigiles was the ''Praefectus Vigilum.'' The centurions of the ''Vigiles'' would often go on to become centurions in the Urban Cohorts, followed by becoming a centurion in the Praetorian Guard. They would then transfer to the Legions, where they could reach the rank of Primus Pilus. The prefect was also known as the Prefect of the Watch. The prefect was an
eques Eques, ''horseman'' or ''rider'' in Latin, may refer to: * Equites, a member of the Roman Equestrian order * the Latin word for a knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or ...
appointed by the emperor to command the seven cohorts. It was not a particularly sought after office until the 3rd century. Prominent jurists with a legal background began serving as Prefect to fulfil the
magisterial The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judicia ...
capacity of the office. As a judge, the Prefect made rulings in his court for the common thieves caught during the night. Eventually, the Prefect was given jurisdiction over daytime petty crimes as well. According to Justinian, in the event of more serious crimes the decision was made by the praefectus urbi, "if the offender is a person of such thuggish and infamous character ... the case is sent on to the prefect of the city". Often times ''Praefectus Vigilum'' would go on to be prefects of the Praetorian Guard. Beyond the office of the prefect, the Vigiles were ordered by rank similar to the military. While some terms of service could extend beyond twenty years, most commissioned ranks were much shorter. Since the ''Vigiles'' never achieved the prestige of the Praetorian Guard or the
Urban Cohort The ''cohortes urbanae'' (Latin meaning ''urban cohorts'') of ancient Rome were created by Augustus to counterbalance the enormous power of the Praetorian Guard in the city of Rome and serve as a police service. They were led by the urban prefect ...
s, serving in the corps was usually only a means of achieving more honourable and lucrative posts. One known ''praefectus'', Placidianus was put in charge of an expeditionary force sent to Gaul by Claudius II (Gothicus) on his accession in 269 AD to secure the lower Rhone valley against the so-called
Gallic Empire The Gallic Empire or the Gallic Roman Empire are names used in modern historiography for a breakaway part of the Roman Empire that functioned ''de facto'' as a separate state from 260 to 274. It originated during the Crisis of the Third Century, w ...
. This is the only known instance of the holder of this office being given a substantive command outside Rome. Whether or not his force included ''vigiles'' from the city is uncertain. Whether or not the ''Praefectus Vigilum'' had his headquarters in any of the ''stationes'' identified above or whether he had an entirely separate ''praefectura'' is not known. If he is associated with one of the barracks it is likely to have been that of I Cohort in the ''Via Lata''.


Duties


Fighting fires

Every cohort was equipped with standard firefighting equipment. The ''sipho'' or fire engine was pulled by horses and consisted of a large double action pump that was partially submerged in a reservoir of water. The Vigiles designated as ''aquarii'' needed to have an accurate knowledge of where water was located, and they also formed bucket brigades to bring water to the fire. Attempts were made to smother the fire by covering it with patchwork quilts (''centones'') soaked with water. There is even evidence that chemical firefighting methods were used by throwing a vinegar based substance called ''acetum'' into fires. In many cases the best way to prevent the spread of flames was to tear down the burning building with hooks and levers. For fires in multiple story buildings, cushions and mattresses were spread out on the ground for people to jump onto from the upper levels. A major duty of the Vigiles was to enforce preventative measures against conflagrations. Adequate fire fighting equipment was required in every home. The Digest of Justinian decrees that Vigiles are "ordered to remind every one to have a supply of water ready in his upper room". While the Vigiles only had advising authority, their recommendations were often followed to avoid repercussions for negligence. Corporal punishment was the most common punishment for negligence according to the Digest of Justinian, "where persons have paid insufficient attention to their fire, the prefect ... orders them to be beaten". During the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64 over one third of Rome was destroyed by flames. The young Emperor Nero helped to direct the Vigiles in fighting the flames. It was rumoured that the Vigiles intentionally allowed the city to burn under orders from Nero, who later built his palace on land that was cleared by the fire. Regardless, Nero enacted fire code laws following the Great Fire to avoid further conflagrations. These laws called for more public access to water and prohibited buildings from sharing a common wall.


Police force

Starting about 27 BC, Augustus added a police function to the Vigiles to counterbalance the urban mobs that had run rampant during the latter days of the Republic. In addition to extinguishing fires, the Vigiles were the nightwatch of Rome. Their duties included apprehending thieves and robbers and capturing runaway slaves. The task of guarding the baths was added as a duty of the Vigiles during the reign of Alexander Severus when the baths remained open during the night. They dealt primarily with petty crimes and looked for disturbances of the peace while they patrolled the streets.
Sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...
, riots and violent crimes were handled by the '' Cohortes urbanae'' and (to a lesser extent) the Praetorian Guard, though Vigiles could provide a supporting role in these situations. The ''Vigiles'' were not considered a
para-military A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
unit.


Quarters

The first Vigiles sequestered private homes and buildings to use as their command posts. It was not until the mid-2nd century that official stations were built explicitly for the Vigiles' use. By the early 3rd century sub-stations (''excubitoria''), which held forty to fifty men, were constructed to accommodate the expanding city and the surrounding suburbs. The locations of four of the seven cohort ''stationes'' or barracks have been fairly definitively identified: * I Cohort: On the east side of the
Via Lata The Via del Corso is a main street in the historical centre of Rome. It is straight in an area otherwise characterized by narrow meandering alleys and small piazzas. Considered a wide street in ancient times, the Corso is approximately 10 metre ...
opposite the
Saepta The Saepta Julia was a building in the Campus Martius of Rome, where citizens gathered to cast votes. The building was conceived by Julius Caesar and dedicated by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa in 26 BCE. The building replaced an older structure, called ...
; * III Cohort: On Viminal; * IV Cohort: Near Baths of Caracalla; * V Cohort: On Caelian Hill near present site of
S. Maria in Domnica The Minor Basilica of St. Mary in Domnica alla Navicella (Basilica Minore di Santa Maria in Domnica alla Navicella), or simply Santa Maria in Domnica or Santa Maria alla Navicella, is a Roman Catholic basilica in Rome, Italy, dedicated to the Bless ...
. The VII Cohort was probably housed in a ''statio'' provisionally identified near the Aemiian Bridge. As mentioned elsewhere detachments of watchmen were stationed at ''Ostia'' and ''Portus'' and there were sub-stations throughout the city. What arrangements were made for policing the outer suburbs of the city is not known. (Certainly after the governmental reforms of
Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
the jurisdiction of the '' Praefectus Urbi'' extended as far as the east coast and for in every direction. This might suggest that his subordinate, the ''Praefectus'' ''Vigilum'', had a commensurate responsibility.)


In popular culture

The Vigiles often play a prominent role in the
Marcus Didius Falco Lindsey Davis (born 1949) is an English historical novelist, best known as the author of the Falco series of historical crime stories set in ancient Rome and its empire. She is a recipient of the Cartier Diamond Dagger award. Life and career ...
novels of Lindsey Davis, providing assistance in Falco's investigations. In particular, Falco's old army friend Lucius Petronius Longus is a 'Watch Captain' in ''Regio'' XIII. In '' Death in Vesunna'' by Harry Turtledove, the vigiles of Vesunna, Roman Gaul (now modern Périgueux, France) are tasked to hunt down two murderers from the future, whose victim was a prominent citizen in the city whom they murdered with a
pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...
. Despite initial bafflement, the head of the vigiles is able to solve the case with help from his Greek doctor friend and arrest the murderers despite their previously unknown weapon.


See also

* Praetorian Guard *
Urban cohort The ''cohortes urbanae'' (Latin meaning ''urban cohorts'') of ancient Rome were created by Augustus to counterbalance the enormous power of the Praetorian Guard in the city of Rome and serve as a police service. They were led by the urban prefect ...
* History of firefighting * List of fire departments *
List of Roman army unit types This is a list of Roman army units and bureaucrats. *'' Accensus'' – Light infantry men in the armies of the early Roman Republic, made up of the poorest men of the army. *''Actuarius'' – A military who served food. *''Adiutor'' – A camp or ...
* Vigili del Fuoco


References


Primary sources

* Tacitus, Publius Cornelius. The Annals. In: The Complete Works of Tacitus. (1942) Translated by Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb. * Justinian I. (529) The Digest of Justinian. Book I, XV. Translated by Monro, Charles Henry. (1904) Cambridge University Press. pp. 50–51.


Secondary sources

* Bunson, Matthew. (1994) Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. Facts on File Inc., New York, NY * Cambridge Ancient History. (1996) 2nd Ed, Vol. X: The Augustan Empire, 43B.C.-A.D.69 Ed. Bowman, Alan K.; Champlin, Edward; Lintott, Andrew. Cambridge University Press, New York. * Canter, H.V. (1932) * H. V. Canter
"Conflagrations in Ancient Rome"
'' Classical Journal'', 27 (1932), pp. 270–288 * Daugherty, Gregory N
"The Cohortes Vigilum and the Great Fire of 64 AD"
''Classical Journal'', Vol. 87 (1992), pp. 229–240. * Originally published in 1926 by Oxford University Press, London. {{Authority control Infantry units and formations of ancient Rome Military units and formations of the Roman Empire Defunct law enforcement agencies Fire departments History of firefighting Military units and formations established in the 1st century 0s establishments in the Roman Empire 1st-century establishments in Italy