I’ve been on a serious Roman history kick lately, and have been reading Tom Holland’s Rubicon which has me thinking about the republic. In many things I read/listen to, generals are said to spend timing raising legions. Or they quickly raise a legion, altering a conflict.
On a more granular level than simply “they recruited troops”, what did this process actually look like? How long did it take? How long was spent then training/drilling the troops? What was the sales pitch, and who was the audience.
Let’s say the last 100 or so years of the republic for a time period if that helps, but any time in ancient Roman history would be interesting.
In the early days of the Republic (when Rome didn't have many allies) up until the manipulur system was changed, the consuls essentiallywould declare that a levy was to take place and the soldiers were to appear on a date ready for service. Polybius describes it thus..."The consuls, when they are about to enroll soldiers, announce at a meeting of the popular assembly the day on which all Roman citizens of military age must present themselves, and this they do annually. On the appointed day, when those liable to service arrive in Rome, and assemble on the Capitol, the junior tribunes divide themselves into four groups, as the popular assembly or the consuls determine, since the main and original division of their forces is into four legions.....The tribunes in Rome, after administering the oath, fix for each legion a day and place at which the men are to present themselves without arms and then dismiss them. When they come to the rendezvous, they choose the youngest and poorest to form the velites; the next to them are made hastati; those in the prime of life principes; and the oldest of all triarii, these being the names among the Romans of the four classes in each legion distinct in age and equipment. They divide them so that the senior men known as triarii number six hundred, the principes twelve hundred, the hastati twelve hundred, the rest, consisting of the youngest, being velites. If the legion consists of more than four thousand men, they divide accordingly, except as regards the triarii, the number of whom is always the same."
In the later days when Rome had expanded its power, messengers would be sent to the various allied cities declaring the levy, and the armed masses would assemble at the larger cities in the area instead of Rome, and would join the main army on the march once they reached the city. When the armies were in the field and reinforcements were needed, messengers would be sent to allied cities nearby demanding soldiers, who would then march to meet the main army.
As far as training went, I cannot give specifics, as the primary sources do not dive deeply into the subject. However, the sources do mention multiple times that once a camp was pitched, soldiers would spend most of their time between battles training. Competent generals would not rush into battle with fresh troops, but would take time training them or send small bands of soldiers to pillage and skirmish to train them before risking the whole army in a giant battle. In the Republic days, the soldiers were the citizenry of Rome and the allied cities who could at any time be called up for duty, so they were expected to maintain a level of competence with weaponry and formations at all times.
For more detailed information about levies and the makeup of the Republic army, follow this link and go to the Roman military system section.
Just FYI, this website here is a HUUUGGGEEE treasure trove of primary source material on Roman and Greek history. I read from this site almost on a daily basis. You'll find pretty much anything you need on here.