By Nichola
The Roman Empire is famously remembered for their construction of roads, walls and even bridges that helped maintain their ever-growing empire. When they weren’t constructing, they were relentlessly conquering lands to expand their imperial power. Or most preferably relaxing in lavish Roman bathhouses. But who were these foot soldiers that helped sustain this global power? Commonly public history tends to condense the empire to a minute European population. Often overlooking the immense contribution and inclusion of other ethnicities in this story. Now the Roman Empire was far from a multiracial empire, with racialist thought underlining the revered philosophies of Aristotle and others. Its important to acknowledge the non-Europeans who lived within this brutal empire and had also contributed and invested in it.
Modern research on the Roman Empire has revealed that Romans were ‘genetically diverse’ between 27BCE and 300CE. The DNA results encompassing those across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Researchers such as Guido Barnujani likened the heart of the Roman Empire, being Rome at the time, to New York where a ‘concentration of people of different origins joining together.’
The Hadrian’s wall built near the current border of England and Scotland, would not necessarily be perceived as a place of multiculturalism. It was built between 122 and 128AD named after the Emperor Hadrian, there has been no consensus amongst historians on the purpose of the wall. But was likely a means for defence and display of Roman power. The construction and manning of the wall were heavily reliant on troops from North Africa to ensure success. Archaeologists also suggest that there was a mass group of Moors also at work on the walls during the third century. The Moors would have been greatly experienced in warfare for the Empire due to being assigned to Roman provinces to maintain the status quo. And therefore, would have been seen as a legitimate military force on the wall.
The likeliest reason for the deployment of Moorish and North African troops to the wall, was the reputation they had gained for their military presence under the reign of Septimus Severus. Emperor Severus has been labelled The African Emperor by Anthony R.Birley. He was a native to Libya himself and was keen to use African military force in the expansion of the Empire. During his reign, there were eight African men with senior roles of command in Roman regions and others holding high ranks in other areas of the military. Africans were still often subject to lower positions and even slaves, oftentimes being drafted into auxiliary troops that were positioned on the frontlines like bait at the mercy of a predator. Nonetheless, the tale of Africans within the Empire should not be overlooked when looking at the Roman story.
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