Page:The history of medieval Europe.djvu/65

THE ROMAN EMPIRE e 9 But whenever an emperor died, there was liable to be a struggle for the throne between rival candidates, and in settling such disputes the army was apt to prove the decisive factor. The soldiers expected dona- tions, if not a steady increase in pay, from each new incum- bent. This was especially true of the praetorian cohorts or imperial bodyguard at Rome ; but the legions from the distant frontier provinces sometimes took a hand too and supported the claims of their ambitious commanders. Nor- mally, however, the legions were far away on the frontier or in camps in provinces which were as yet not thoroughly subdued. But those provinces which had ceased to rebel against Roman rule and which had adopted its civilization were left almost entirely free from the presence of troops, unless the local cities kept a few guards of their own as police against brigands in the mountains or pirates along the coast. Thus, in Gaul troops were to be found only near the Rhine frontier, and even in Britain the legions were not stationed in the southeast, but off in the mountains of Wales and northwestern England where they formed a ring of camps protecting the peaceful province. An army of only about four hundred thousand soldiers served to assure peace to the entire Empire. They served for twenty or twenty-five years, at the expiration of which term they received the Roman citizenship if they did not possess it already, and illotments of lands on which to pass their declining years in tse. Usually enough volunteers enlisted every year to keep le ranks filled. The best emperor was one who traveled ibout his Empire a great deal, strengthening the frontiers >r making wise alliances with the peoples outside the Empire, hearing the complaints of his subjects against their governors and tax collectors, and noting all opportunities for improving the government and civilization. We have seen that each city-state had a religion of its own which was directed by the town government. In the Oriental despotisms, such as Egypt, it had been Worship of customary to regard the ruler as divine. It was the em P eror therefore natural that the Empire should have a state