Military Units and Gladiatorial Groups (Nova Roma)

From NovaRoma

Introduction

Nova Roma embraces the concepts of Roman era military units and gladiatorial groups to promote a study of ancient martial arts, history and education. Through the reenactment of these groups, Nova Roma facilitates the spread of Romanitas and the idea of Nova Roma in the modern world.

Nova Roma is committed against any use of real violence with harmful intention. In the Declaration of Nova Roma, the New Roman People renounced,

“eternally and without exception”, the use of force in the pursuit of the restoration of the Roman republic, in order to exist “as a lawful, peaceful and benign nation, in accord with the principles acknowledged and shared by the world community.”

Therefore, what is the Army of the New Roman People (Exercitus Populi Novi Romani), may only exist as a ceremonial honor guard and martial arts corps.

Similarly, although there were violent aspects to the gladiators too, a historical value and a deeper meaning of noble ideas of fate, human virtues, honor, life and death, mythological motives and religious devotion is also derived. Through an educational, and even playful reconstruction, of the ancient Roman gladiatorial games, Nova Roma aims to invoke that nobler spirit and spiritual aspect in the martial arts of the gladiators, and strives to educate about their historical and cultural significance.

Noting this, military and martial practice is not a primary focus of Nova Roma and Nova Roman activities. As such, Nova Roma often seeks to partner with existing reenactment or Roman combat living-history groups to supplement the total education and living-history practices of the Roman era. These partnered groups are therefore nearly always autonomous to some degree, operating under their own constitutions and charter.

The units of Nova Roma

The following units belong to the Exercitus Reconstructivus Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, that is, the Reenactment Army of the Nova Roman People of Quirites:

Legio I Adiutrix (Nova Roma)
Legio I Italica (Nova Roma)
Legio II Adiutrix (Nova Roma)
Legio II Augusta (Nova Roma)
Legio III Cyrenaica (Nova Roma)
Legio V Alaudae (Nova Roma)
Legio VI (Nova Roma)
Legio VIII Augusta
Legio IX Hispana (Nova Roma)
Legio X Fretensis (Nova Roma)
Legio XI Claudia Pia Fidelis (Nova Roma)
Legio XII Fulminata (Nova Roma)
Legio XIII Comitatensis - Tertiodecimani (Nova Roma)
Legio XIII Gemina (Nova Roma)
Legio XIV Comitatensis - Quartodecimani (Nova Roma)
Legio XX Valeria Victrix (Nova Roma)
Legio XX Valeria Victrix Germanica (Nova Roma)
Legio XXI Rapax (Nova Roma)
Legio XXIV Media Atlantia (Nova Roma)
Legio Palatina - Moesiaci Seniores - Protectores Domini Nostri
Legio Leonum Valentiniani
Legio Palatina - Lanciarii Savarienses
Cohors I Atilia (Nova Roma)
Cohors I Ulpia Pannoniorum (Nova Roma)
Cohors I Praetoria Australis (Nova Roma)
Cohors II Legionis X Fretensis (Nova Roma)
Cohors II Legionis II Adiutricis
Cohors II Italica Civium Romanorum Voluntariorum
Cohors VI Carpathica (Nova Roma)
Cohors VI Raetorum (Nova Roma)

Gladiatorial Groups of Nova Roma

There are currently no affiliated gladiatorial groups with Nova Roma.

Municipalities vs Reenactment Units

Whether starting a new group or partnering with an existing group, a magistrate with imperium needs to consider if the group is to be defined as a Nova Roman municipality or a reenactment unit.

The difference between military or gladiatorial reenactment units and municipalities is that municipalities are local communities, restricted to inhabitants of a city and its surroundings, while membership in reenactment groups are not restricted to a given city or area. Another difference is that military or civilian municipalities can have any number of civilian members, they can be even predominantly composed of civilian members, while reenactment units are normally composed of soldiers (or gladiators) mostly, and civilians often do not have an indispensable function in them. Military and civilian municipalities can serve as a focus of local loyalty, activity, a framework of local Roman society. If there is a Nova Roman military unit in the area, it is practical and advisable to found a city level local community first in form a military municipality, a permanent military camp, from which a real, fully-fledged colonia or municipium can develop. The advantage of starting out as a military municipality is that it is less bureaucratic, simpler to administer, it works entirely at the discretion of the leadership of the military unit to which it belongs.

In most cases, if a group identifies itself as a Roman military legion or a gladiatorial school, any partnership with Nova Roma is clearly going to founded as a reenactment unit. In contrast, groups operating out of permanent facilities or camps, or if they’re composed mostly of civilians, a municipality is going to be more appropriate. Most new groups initiated by Nova Roma are likely to be municipalities. Most new partnerships with existing Roman or ancient-themed groups are likely to be defined as reenactment groups.

Military Units vs Gladiatorial Groups

Gladiatorial groups focus on gladiatorial presentation and display, with group sessions focused around gladiatorial training in combat and performance. Military reenactment units will nearly always depict a Roman legion, cohort or other military organization.

Civilian members will often feature in both types of groups, and confusingly, military legionaries may feature in gladiatorial groups and visa versa. Both groups may often put on public displays and undertake combat training. The way the group identifies itself will be a clear indicator. Otherwise the major theme, military or gladiatorial, will determine which way the group is defined

Establishing Military Units

Military reenactment units that partner with Nova Roma form part of the Ceremonial Army of Nova Roma, consisting of legionary honor guards and reenactment units, which serve Nova Roma in a ritual and education function, similar to sport teams or adult scout programs. Military reenactment units may partner in one of three tiers:

Autonomous Nova Roman Military Reenactment Unit: It is often shortened in the text to "Autonomous Reenactment Unit", and the fuller version is mostly used in the form "Autonomous (Military) Reenactment Unit of Nova Roma". This type is casually referred to as "fully Nova Roman unit".

Allied Military Reenactment Unit: It is sometimes shortened to "Allied Reenactment Unit", and casually referred to as "allied unit".

Friendly Military Reenactment Unit: It is alternatively called "Friend of Nova Roma", or a "friendly unit".

The autonomy of military units

The military units of the Nova Roma, the “Exercitus Populi Novi Romani Quiritium”, are considered independent, autonomous, self-governing entities which have their own rules of operation, determined by themselves. Their independence can be of varying degree according to their own decision about how much control they want to retain for themselves. The more the group observes the central management of Nova Roma in the management of the unit, the more support shall be given to the reenactment unit from the organization.

Hierarchy and structure

Military units can be a reenactment Legio, a reenactment Cohors, or a reenactment Exercitus, the latter of which is an independent and self-governing reenactment organization composed of more than one Legiones. The difference between an autonomous reenactment Legio and Cohors is in name only, and it is determined only by the reenactors’ intention of what type of ancient Roman unit they want to represent, therefore these all can be colloquially referred to in a simplified form as “legion (Legio, Cohors) or joint legions (Exercitus) of Nova Roma”.

The internal structure of these autonomous units, whether they are composed of more divisions, regiments, battalions, companies or squads (legiones, cohortes, manipuli, centuriae, contubernia), is left to the internal decision of that reenactment unit. Nova Roma will keep direct contact only with the autonomous top unit (which encompasses all subdivisions and represents the totality of the reenactment organization).

Friendly Military Reenactment Units

Friendly Military Reenactment Units represent the lowest tier of partnership with Nova Roma. A Roman-era military reenactment organization representing any ancient Roman-era culture or ethnicity can apply for the status of military unit of Nova Roma with the title “friend of Nova Roma” (amicus populi Novi Romani). If a Roman or any ancient Roman-era military reenactment group (Germanic, Gallic etc.) wishes to be a friend of Nova Roma, they shall obtain the consent of the provincial governor with imperium or any magistrate with imperium, who then shall issue an edict on the acceptance of the reenactment unit in question, specifying the unit as a friend of Nova Roma. A reenactment group can be declared as a friend of Nova Roma only if it makes a reference to its friendship with Nova Roma on its main internet location (website or social media page). There are no other requirements regarding the internal structure of a Friendly Military Reenactment Unit. A unit that is a friend of Nova Roma shall have the right to have its own page on the Nova Roma website where it can introduce and promote itself, and shall have a limited number of promotional opportunities on the fora or social media pages and groups of Nova Roma.

Allied Military Reenactment Units

The Allied Military Reenactment Unit represents the middle tier of partnership with Nova Roma. It is the most common form of military unit within Nova Roma. Besides fully Nova Roman reenactment units, Nova Roma accepts Allied Military Reenactment Units as its partner groups. If a Roman or any ancient Roman-era military reenactment group (Germanic, Gallic etc.) wishes to be an allied unit of Nova Roma, they shall obtain the consent of the provincial governor with imperium or any magistrate with imperium, who then shall issue an edict on the acceptance of the reenactment unit in question, specifying the unit as a military reenactment unit allied to Nova Roma. A reenactment group can be declared as an allied unit of Nova Roma only if it has at least one Nova Roman citizen among its soldiers who shall be the representative of Nova Roma within the unit and for the public, and as liaison and coordinator between the leadership of Nova Roma and his unit. There are no other requirements regarding the internal structure of an Allied Reenactment Unit.

An Allied Military Reenactment Unit of Nova Roma shall have the following privileges granted by Nova Roma:

A. An Allied Military Reenactment Unit of Nova Roma shall have the right to use of the website and the online communication channels of Nova Roma for advertisement, recruitment and announcements of any kind, restricted by the priority rights of the fully Nova Roman legions to these tools.

B. An Allied Military Reenactment Unit of Nova Roma shall have access to expert counsel and assistance regarding research and questions about Roman culture, religion, history, archaeology, military, Latin language or any questions requiring professional assistance for a Roman legionary reenactment unit. This right is restricted by the priority rights of the fully Nova Roman legions to these tools.

C. An Allied Military Reenactment Unit shall have right to cooperation and networking with all other Nova Roman legions, allied units and groups that are friends of Nova Roma.

D. All these privileges are granted for free to an allied unit of Nova Roma: there is no membership fee, there is no requirement regarding activity and it is not mandatory to appear at Nova Roma events or to do certain things; the unit can operate entirely according to its internal organization.

An Allied Military Reenactment Unit of Nova Roma shall fulfill, and once fulfilled, it shall maintain, the following requirements before being recognized as an allied unit of Nova Roma:

A. An Allied Military Reenactment Unit of Nova Roma shall respect and honor with salutation a flag of Nova Roma.

B. An Allied Military Reenactment Unit of Nova Roma shall respect and honor with salutation the magistrates and other state officers of Nova Roma, but this remains a ceremonial requirement and the magistrates of Nova Roma don’t have any right to give orders to the allied unit unless it is agreed upon otherwise by the leadership of the unit.

C. An Allied Military Reenactment Unit of Nova Roma shall recognize the rank of the officers of other Nova Roman legions as real and equal to its own ranks; this is a purely formal and ceremonial gesture, officers of another reenactment unit shall not have any actual commanding power within an Allied Reenactment Unit unless with mutual agreement between the groups.

D. An allied reenactment group of Nova Roma shall state the fact of alliance on its main internet location (website or social media page), and shall post a link to the Nova Roma website on its main internet location.

Autonomous Nova Roman Military Reenactment Units

An Autonomous Nova Roman Military Reenactment Unit represent the highest tier of partnership with Nova Roma.

An Autonomous Reenactment Unit of Nova Roma can be established only by an official act of levy of a magistrate or governor with imperium. If a Roman military reenactment group wishes to be part of Nova Roma, or if a Nova Roman citizen or group of citizens wish to create a new reenactment group as part of Nova Roma, they shall obtain the consent of the provincial governor with imperium or any magistrate with imperium, who then shall issue an edict on the levy of the reenactment unit in question, specifying the unit as a Nova Roman Military Reenactment Unit. A reenactment group can be declared as a Nova Roman unit only if it requires by rule that all of its soldiers (not including tirones) have to be Nova Roman citizens. The Chief Commanding Officer (CO, simply “commander” hereafter) of the Nova Roman reenactment unit shall be ceremonially appointed by a magistrate or governor with imperium, but the actual method of selecting the commander shall be done according to the internal rules of the unit. The appointment by the Nova Roman authorities is purely a formal and ceremonial action, and the magistrate or governor with imperium must appoint any citizen as commander whom the leadership of the unit requests.

An Autonomous Reenactment Unit shall have the following privileges granted by Nova Roma:

A. A Nova Roman Military Reenactment Unit shall have unlimited use of the website and online communication channels of Nova Roma for advertisement, recruitment and announcements of any kind, restricted only by reasonable forum moderation in case of disruptive or uncooperative behavior.

B. A Nova Roman Military Reenactment Unit shall have unlimited priority access to expert counsel and assistance regarding research and questions about Roman culture, religion, history, archaeology, military, Latin language or any questions requiring professional assistance for a Roman legionary reenactment unit.

C. A Nova Roman Military Reenactment Unit shall have priority entitlement to financial or other type of support depending on the state of the treasury.

D. A Nova Roman Military Reenactment Unit shall have unlimited right to cooperation and networking with all other Nova Roman legions, allied units and groups that are friends of Nova Roma, with priority granted regarding invitations to public appearances and business opportunities offered by other Nova Roman units or by the central or provincial administrations of Nova Roma.

E. All these privileges are granted for free to an Autonomous Reenactment Unit of Nova Roma: there is no membership fee, there is no requirement regarding activity and it is not mandatory to appear at Nova Roma events or to do certain things; the unit can operate entirely according to its internal organization. The only requirement regarding activity remains that the unit must recognize its programs, events as events of Nova Roma.

An Autonomous Reenactment Unit or any subdivision unit of an autonomous military reenactment organization of Nova Roma shall fulfill, and once fulfilled, it shall maintain, the following requirements before being conscripted as a Nova Roman legion or other unit type:

A. A Nova Roman Military Reenactment Unit shall possess, use, respect and honor with salutation a flag of Nova Roma as its most sacred national flag publicly besides its own unit standards and flags.

B. A Nova Roman Military Reenactment Unit shall respect and honor with salutation the magistrates and other state officers of Nova Roma, and shall recognize these magistrates as their own state magistrates, but this remains a ceremonial requirement and the magistrates of Nova Roma don’t have any right to give orders to an Autonomous Reenactment Unit unless it is agreed upon otherwise by the leadership of the unit.

C. A Nova Roman Military Reenactment Unit shall recognize the rank of the officers of other Nova Roman legions as real and equal to its own ranks; this is a purely formal and ceremonial gesture, officers of another reenactment unit shall not have any actual commanding power within an Autonomous Reenactment Unit unless with mutual agreement between the groups.

D. All programs and events of a Nova Roman Reenactment Unit shall count as programs and events of Nova Roma, Nova Roma shall have the right to use the events, programs, photos or promotional materials of the unit, and the unit can also advertise all other programs of Nova Roma as its own programs within the extended organization. A reenactment group of Nova Roma shall state this fact on its main internet location (website or social media page), and shall post a link to the Nova Roma website on its main internet location.

E. Reenactor soldiers of a military unit of Nova Roma shall swear an oath of loyalty to the Nova Roman Republic in which they pledge to promote Roman culture and traditions, Roman virtues and values through their educational activities as reenactors. Reenactor soldiers of Nova Roma must keep the safety of their members and the safety of their audience as their highest priority during their performances, must abstain from any form of real violence of harmful intention, must maintain a high ethical standard of civilized and polite behavior, benevolence and spirit of brotherhood toward all reenactors, must avoid uncivilized conflicts with other groups, or if a conflict emerges, they must not let such conflicts be noticeable to the public in any form.

Establishing Gladiatorial Groups

Nova Roma aims to invoke that nobler spirit and spiritual aspect in the martial arts of the gladiators, and strives to educate about their historical and cultural significance in order to promote the history of the Roman army and to spread Romanitas and the idea of Nova Roma in the modern world through educational activity, experimental archaeology and historical reenactment. Gladiator reenactment groups may partner with Nova Roma in one of two tiers:

Autonomous Nova Roman Gladiatorial Reenactment Group: It is often shortened in the text to "Autonomous Gladiatorial Reenactment Group", and the fuller version is mostly used in the form "Autonomous Gladiatorial Reenactment Group of Nova Roma". This type is casually referred to as "fully Nova Roman gladiatorial group".

Allied Gladiatorial Reenactment Group: It is sometimes shortened to "Allied Gladiatorial Group".

The autonomy of gladiatorial groups

Nova Roma recognizes its own gladiatorial groups and allied gladiatorial groups as an Autonomous Gladiatorial Reenactment Group of Nova Roma or as Allied Gladiatorial Reenactment Groups. Each type works as an independent, autonomous, self-governing gladiatorial reenactment group with its own rules of operation, determined by the group. Their independence can be of varying degree according to their own decision about how much control they want to retain for themselves, but in the list of priority in the access to privileges within Nova Roma the principle must be observed that the more involved is the central management of Nova Roma in the management of the gladiatorial group, the more support shall be given to the reenactment group from the organization.

Naming of gladiatorial groups

A gladiatorial reenactment group is officially termed as a familia gladiatoria or ludus gladiatorius; the designation is chosen at the discretion of the group, but the term “ludus” is recommended for those groups where education of children or training of gladiators is in the focus, while the term familia is recommended for a less school-like, veteran gladiatorial group where training is not in the focus but public performances fill most of the time of the group.

Allied Gladiatorial Reenactment Group

An Allied Gladiatorial Group can be established by the same registration method as a fully Nova Roman gladiatorial group, and the aediles shall issue an edict on the recognition of the reenactment group in question, specifying the unit as an allied gladiatorial reenactment group of Nova Roma. A gladiatorial group can be declared as an allied gladiatorial group only if it has at least one Nova Roman citizen among its members who shall be the representative of Nova Roma within the group and for the public, and as liaison and coordinator between the leadership of Nova Roma and his group.

An Allied Gladiatorial Reenactment Group of Nova Roma shall have the following privileges granted by Nova Roma:

A. An Allied Gladiatorial Reenactment Group of Nova Roma unit shall have the right to use of the website and the online communication channels of Nova Roma for advertisement, recruitment and announcements of any kind, restricted by the priority rights of the fully Nova Roman gladiatorial groups to these tools.

B. An Allied Gladiatorial Reenactment Group of Nova Roma shall have access to expert counsel and assistance regarding research and questions about Roman culture, religion, history, archaeology, military, Latin language or any questions requiring professional assistance for a Roman gladiatorial reenactment group. This right is restricted by the priority rights of the fully Nova Roman gladiatorial groups to these tools.

C. An Allied Gladiatorial Reenactment Group shall have right to cooperation and networking with all other Nova Roman or allied gladiatorial groups.

D. All these privileges are granted for free to an allied gladiatorial group of Nova Roma: there is no membership fee, there is no requirement regarding activity and it is not mandatory to appear at Nova Roma events or to do certain things; the group can operate entirely according to its internal organization.

An Allied Gladiatorial Reenactment Group of Nova Roma shall fulfill, and once fulfilled, it shall maintain, the following requirements before being recognized as an allied group of Nova Roma:

A. An Allied Gladiatorial Reenactment Group of Nova Roma shall respect and honor the flag of Nova Roma.

B. An Allied Gladiatorial Reenactment Group of Nova Roma shall respect and honor the magistrates and other state officers of Nova Roma, but this remains a ceremonial requirement and the magistrates of Nova Roma don’t have any right to give orders to the allied group unless it is agreed upon otherwise by the leadership of the group.

C. An Allied Gladiatorial Reenactment Group shall state the fact of alliance on its main internet location (website or social media page), and shall post a link to the Nova Roma website on its main internet location.

Autonomous Nova Roman Gladiatorial Reenactment Group

An Autonomous Gladiatorial Reenactment Group of Nova Roma can be established only by registration at the aedilician office, and the aediles (either central Nova Roman aediles or municipal, township level aediles) will grant this status if the applicant group meets the requirements. If a gladiatorial group wishes to be part of Nova Roma, or if a Nova Roman citizen or group of citizens wish to create a new gladiatorial reenactment group as part of Nova Roma, they shall obtain the consent of the aediles, who then shall issue an edict on the recognition of the reenactment group in question, specifying the unit as a Nova Roman Gladiatorial Reenactment Group. A gladiatorial group can be declared as a Nova Roman gladiatorial group only if its lanista is a Nova Roman citizen; the position of the lanista is selected and regulated by internal group rules. The gladiators of the group do not necessarily have to be Nova Roman citizens, but when a decision between groups about granting support, favor or privilege is made, the proportion of Nova Roman citizens in the group shall be taken into the weighing of the selection of the group to be favored.

An Autonomous Gladiatorial Reenactment Group of Nova Roma shall have the following privileges granted by Nova Roma:

A. A Nova Roman Gladiatorial Reenactment Group shall have unlimited use of the website and online communication channels of Nova Roma for advertisement, recruitment and announcements of any kind, restricted only by reasonable forum moderation in case of disruptive or uncooperative behavior.

B. A Nova Roman Gladiatorial Reenactment Group shall have unlimited priority access to expert counsel and assistance regarding research and questions about Roman culture, religion, history, archaeology, Latin language or any questions requiring professional assistance for a Roman gladiatorial reenactment group.

C. A Nova Roman Gladiatorial Reenactment Group shall have priority entitlement to financial or other type of support depending on the state of the treasury.

D. A Nova Roman Gladiatorial Reenactment Group shall have unlimited right to cooperation and networking with all other Nova Roman or allied gladiatorial groups, with priority granted regarding invitations to public appearances and business opportunities offered by other Nova Roman groups or by the central or provincial administrations of Nova Roma.

E. All these privileges are granted for free to an Autonomous Gladiatorial Reenactment Group of Nova Roma: there is no membership fee, there is no requirement regarding activity and it is not mandatory to appear at Nova Roma events or to do certain things; the groups can operate entirely according to its internal organization. The only requirement regarding activity remains that the group must recognize its programs, events as events of Nova Roma.

An Autonomous Gladiatorial Reenactment Group of Nova Roma shall fulfill, and once fulfilled, it shall maintain, the following requirements before being registered as a Nova Roman gladiatorial group:

A. A Nova Roman Gladiatorial Reenactment Group shall possess, use, respect and honor a flag of Nova Roma as its most sacred national flag publicly besides its own unit standards and flags.

B. A Nova Roman Gladiatorial Reenactment Group shall respect and honor the magistrates and other state officers of Nova Roma, and shall recognize these magistrates as their own state magistrates, but this remains a ceremonial requirement and the magistrates of Nova Roma don’t have any right to give orders to an Autonomous Gladiatorial Reenactment Group unless it is agreed upon otherwise by the leadership of the group.

C. All programs and events of a Nova Roman gladiatorial group shall count as programs and events of Nova Roma, Nova Roma shall have the right to use the events, programs, photos or promotional materials of the group, and the group can also advertise all other programs of Nova Roma as its own programs within the extended organization. A reenactment group of Nova Roma shall state this fact on its main internet location (website or social media page), and shall post a link to the Nova Roma website on its main internet location.

D. It is ethical requirement from the gladiator reenactors of a gladiatorial group of Nova Roma that they shall promote Roman culture and traditions, Roman virtues and values through their educational activities as reenactors. Reenactor gladiators of Nova Roma must keep the safety of their members and the safety of their audience as their highest priority during their performances, must abstain from any form of real violence of harmful intention, must maintain a high ethical standard of civilized and polite behavior, benevolence and spirit of brotherhood toward all reenactors, must avoid uncivilized conflicts with other groups, or if a conflict emerges, they must not let such conflicts be noticeable to the public in any form.

Records & Information

An official edict by a central magistrate or governor becomes the primary mechanism internally within Nova Roma to recognize and officially partner with a military unit or gladiatorial group. The edicta are recorded on provincial records and referenced in the Nova Roma Tabualrium.

The law does not stipulate that any formal agreement is required with the group or unit itself, but something in writing can aid all parties to understand the extent of the relationship and obligations on all parties. Nova Roma recommends a “Non-binding Memorandum of Understanding” (MoU) to detail the necessary elements that all parties need to meet to ensure compliance with Nova Roman law. Past examples are seen in the Official Treaties and Agreements section of the Tabularium.