From what we know, Evocati (singular Evocatus) were veteran soldiers who had finished their term of service in the Roman army but had voluntarily re-enlisted back into the military.
Every ancient civilization had its veteran group of soldiers who served for many years in the army. The Romans had these, too, but unlike many other civilizations, they could call upon large swathes of soldiers who had served the military and retired but then decided to re-enlist voluntarily.
It is hard to know when the term evocati was coined, nor do we know when they became a sub-section of the Roman army. These men have likely been around since the very early days of Rome, or at least in the days of the Republic, as an emerging superpower needs as many men to fill the ranks of its armies as possible.
We do have some evidence of the term evocati being used. At the same time, there are clear references to men who re-enlist in the army as a distinct group of soldiers rather than being lost among regularly enlisted men. There is definitely a deliberate differentiation between enlisted and re-enlisted men.
In his book Roman History, Cassius Dio writes about the civil war between Octavian and Mark Antony following the death of Julius Caesar. Dio mentions that Octavian was already being referred to as Caesar – being the adopted son of Julius Caesar. In Book XLV, XII, he describes the start of the war:
“……. the war began in the following way. When Antony had set out for Brundisium to meet the soldiers who had crossed over from Macedonia, Caesar (Octavian) sent some men to that city with money, who were to arrive there before Antony and win over the men, while he himself went to Campania and collected a large number of men, chiefly from Capua, because the people there had received their land and city from his father (Julius Caesar), whom he said he was avenging. He made them many promises and gave them on the spot two thousand sesterces apiece. From these men was constituted the corps of evocati, which one might translate the “recalled” because after having ended their military service, they were recalled to it again.”
He goes on further to write:
“He also praised the soldiers who had accompanied him, saying that they had come voluntarily to lend aid to the city, that they had elected him to preside over the state, and that through him they made known these facts to all.”
One of the privileges of being part of the evocati was that soldiers were afforded higher pay and were exempt from undertaking menial tasks, such as setting up camps and building roads.
Tacitus highlighted this in his book Annals when he discussed the legions on the Rhine border revolting after Augustus’ death. Augustus had made promises to these soldiers that had not been forthcoming at the time of his death, while some soldiers wanted to be released from duty, as some had campaigned for three decades.
In Book I, XXXVI, Tacitus outlines the situation that faced Germanicus, who was charged with putting down the revolt and winning back the renegade legions:
“Therefore, after the arguments had been revolved and balanced, it was decided to have letters written in the name of the emperor, directing that all men who had served twenty years should be finally discharged; that any who had served sixteen should be released from duty and kept with the colors under no obligation beyond that of assisting to repel an enemy; and that the legacies claimed should be paid and doubled.”
In the quote, the soldiers who had served 16 years were ‘under no obligation beyond that of assisting to repel an enemy’—meaning that they did not have to participate in all other aspects of being a soldier in the army, only the fighting.
Evocati were also given the privilege of traveling on horseback, along with the Equites, rather than on foot like regular soldiers.
By Wolfgang Sauber – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0
In Julius Caesar’s book, Commentarii de Bello Gallico (Commentaries on the Gallic War), he writes about one of his battles. Here, he mentions taking horses from the tribunes, knights, and re-enlisted veterans to aid his allies in Book VII, LXV:
“Caesar was aware that the enemy were superior in mounted troops and that, as all the lines of communication were interrupted, he could in no wise be assisted from the Province and from Italy; accordingly, he sent across the Rhine into Germany to the states which he had reduced to peace in previous years, and fetched horsemen from them and infantry trained to fight along with the horsemen. On their arrival, he found that the horses they were using were unsuitable, and therefore he took the horses from the military tribunes and the rest of the Roman knights and the re‑enlisted veterans, and distributed them among the Germans”.
In Julius Caesar’s other body of work, Commentarii de Bello Civili (Commentaries on the Civil War), Julius Caesar makes mention of ‘reserves from the old armies, in Book I, III:
“Everywhere a number of reserves from the old armies of Pompeius are called out to serve by the prospect of prizes and promotion; many are summoned from the two legions handed over by Caesar. The city and the comitium itself are filled with tribunes, centurions, reserves”.
Another example of using the term ‘reserves’ is in Book III, LXXXVIII, when referring to the army assembled by Pompey:
“These forces amounted to forty-five thousand men, and about two thousand reserves who had come to him from the beneficiaries of his former armies; and these he had distributed throughout the whole force”.
The use of the term reserves is interesting. Perhaps it is another term used to describe re-enlisted men. Or perhaps their role is to sit in reserve in case they were needed later in the fight. I would have thought that paying them a lot more than regular troops and supplying them with horses would have ensured that they would have been in the thick of the action.
There is also another type of evocati – evocati augusti.
These men re-enlisted after being invited by the emperor to re-enlist. Emperor Galba even employed some to guard his personal bedchamber. This has said to have been continued under future emperors. It is likely that these soldiers served originally in the Praetorian Guard and were re-enlisted as evocati in the Guard, giving them the name evocati augusti.
These men re-enlisted after being invited by the emperor to re-enlist. Emperor Galba even employed some to guard his personal bedchamber. This is said to have been continued under future emperors. It is likely that these soldiers served initially in the Praetorian Guard and were re-enlisted as evocati in the Guard, giving them the name evocati augusti.
Men like the evocati and evocati augusti would have been revered by citizens and fellow soldiers for the fact that they chose to re-enlist voluntarily. However, much like modern soldiers, they may have had many reasons to re-enlist – not being able to settle into civilian life after retiring, the much better pay, further honors, and traveling to new parts of the world.
Sources:
Roman History – Cassius Dio (Thayer)
Annals – Tacitus (Thayer)
Gallic War – Julius Caesar (Thayer)
Civil Wars – Julius Caesar (Thayer)