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Vigiles or more properly theVigiles Urbani ("watchmen of theCity") orCohortes Vigilum ("cohorts of the watchmen") were thefirefighters andpolice ofancient Rome.
Thetriumviri nocturni (meaningthree men of the night) were the first men, being privately ownedslaves, organized into a group that combatted the common problems of fire andconflagrations in Rome. Another organization dedicated to fighting fires in ancient Rome was a band of slaves led by theaedileMarcus Egnatius Rufus.[1][2] The privately operated system became ineffective, so in the interest of keeping himself and Rome safe,Augustus instituted a new public firefighting force called thevigiles. Augustus modelled the new firefighters after the fire brigade ofAlexandria, Egypt. Thevigiles were also known by their nicknameSpartoli or "little bucket fellows", given to them because of the buckets they carried water in, which were made of rope sealed withpitch.
In AD 6,[3][4] Augustus levied a 4%tax on the sale ofslaves and used the proceeds to set up the new force. The first units ofvigiles were under the command of theaediles and thevicomagistri. There were only 6,000vigiles and they were all slaves.[5] In 22 AD they were commanded by thepraefectus vigilum, who was ofequestrian rank, andsubpraefectus and were divided into sevencohorts commanded by atribune. Usually tribunes would begin their career by commanding a unit of the Vigiles.[6] Each cohort was divided into sevencenturies, each of 70–80 men commanded by acenturion. Each cohort patrolled two of the city's fourteen administrativeregiones. Thevigiles were made up offreedmen by this time.[7] The cohorts were doubled in size in AD 205.
Thevigiles also acted as a night watch, keeping an eye out for burglars andhunting down runaway slaves, and were on occasion used to maintain order in the streets. Their most famous prefect,Naevius Sutorius Macro, succeededLucius Aelius Sejanus as Prefect of thePraetorian Guard after his men had been used by the EmperorTiberius to retake control of the city from Sejanus's soldiers.
Vigiles were stationed at the harbour cities ofOstia andPortus. Avexillatio (detachment) of four centuries was detached from Rome for four months at a time, with two centuries being stationed at each city.
During theGreat Fire of Rome, the vigiles took to looting the city rather than enforcing law and fighting the fires.[8]
Thevigiles appear to have lost their status as an independent unit and come under the authority of thePraetorian prefects sometime in the early 3rd century.[citation needed]
In the beginning, the corps had difficulty recruiting men. In an effort to entice men to enlist theLex Visellia was passed in 24 AD, granting fullcitizenship and a bonus cashstipend toVigiles after six years of service. By the 2nd century, citizens were also allowed to enlist.
TheVigiles 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 usedballistae for knocking down burning houses and creatingfirebreaks. They even had their own medical support (medici), with four doctors attached to each cohort, and their own chaplains (victimarii). Asiphonarius operated a pump and anaquarius supervised the supply of water. The ordinary firefighters were calledmilites (soldiers).
The Vigiles were organized into sevencohorts each 1,000 men strong. The cohorts contained sevencenturies. The centuries were commanded bycenturions, and the cohort was commanded by atribune. The commander of the Vigiles was thePraefectus Vigilum.[7][9][10] The centurions of theVigiles 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 ofPrimus Pilus.[7] The prefect was also known as thePrefect of the Watch. The prefect was aneques appointed by the emperor to command the seven cohorts. It was not a particularly sought after office until the 3rd century. Prominentjurists with a legal background began serving as Prefect to fulfil themagisterial 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 givenjurisdiction over daytimepetty crimes as well. According to Justinian, in the event of more serious crimes the decision was made by thepraefectus 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 timesPraefectus Vigilum would go on to beprefects of the Praetorian Guard.[11]
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 theVigiles never achieved the prestige of the Praetorian Guard or theUrban Cohorts, serving in the corps was usually only a means of achieving more honourable and lucrative posts.
One knownpraefectus,Placidianus was put in charge of an expeditionary force sent to Gaul byClaudius II (Gothicus) on his accession in 269 AD to secure the lower Rhone valley against the so-calledGallic Empire. This is the only known instance of the holder of this office being given a substantive command outside Rome. Whether or not his force includedvigiles from the city is uncertain.
Whether or not thePraefectus Vigilum had his headquarters in any of thestationes identified above or whether he had an entirely separatepraefectura is not known. If he is associated with one of the barracks it is likely to have been that of I Cohort in theVia Lata.
Every cohort was equipped with standard firefighting equipment. Thesipho orfire 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 asaquarii needed to have an accurate knowledge of where water was located, and they also formedbucket 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 thatchemical firefighting methods were used by throwing avinegar based substance calledacetum 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. TheDigest 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 theGreat Fire of Rome in AD 64 over one third of Rome was destroyed by flames. The young EmperorNero 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.
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.[12]
In addition to extinguishing fires, the Vigiles were thenightwatch of Rome.[6][13] Their duties included apprehending thieves and robbers[14] and capturing runaway slaves.[15][16][17] The task of guarding thebaths was added as a duty of the Vigiles during the reign ofAlexander Severus when the baths remained open during the night. They dealt primarily withpetty crimes and looked for disturbances of the peace while they patrolled the streets.Sedition, riots and violent crimes were handled by theCohortes urbanae and (to a lesser extent) thePraetorian Guard, though Vigiles could provide a supporting role in these situations. TheVigiles were not considered apara-military unit.
The first Vigilessequestered private homes and buildings to use as theircommand 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 cohortstationes or barracks have been fairly definitively identified:
The VII Cohort was probably housed in astatio provisionally identified near the Aemilian Bridge.[clarification needed]
As mentioned elsewhere detachments of watchmen were stationed atOstia[6] andPortus 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 ofDiocletian the jurisdiction of thePraefectus Urbi extended as far as the east coast and for 100 miles (160 km) in every direction. This might suggest that his subordinate, thePraefectusVigilum, had a commensurate responsibility.)
The Vigiles often play a prominent role in theMarcus Didius Falco novels ofLindsey Davis, providing assistance in Falco's investigations. In particular, Falco's old army friend Lucius Petronius Longus is a 'Watch Captain' inRegio XIII.
InDeath in Vesunna byHarry Turtledove, the vigiles of Vesunna,Roman Gaul (now modernPérigueux,France) are tasked to hunt down two murderersfrom the future, whose victim was a prominent citizen in the city whom they murdered with apistol. 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.
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