In contrast to Narbonensis, it was upon the remaining three Gallic provinces that the levy fell most heavily. From this district came more than a quarter of the auxiliary infantry[187] in the pre-Flavian period and nearly half the cavalry. The Gallic troopers indeed maintained for a century the reputation which they had won under Caesar’s command, and Strabo,[188] writing in the reign of Augustus, places them above all other cavalry in the imperial army. Arrian,[189] too, notes their reputation and the number of Celtic words in the cavalry drill-book, although in his day their position had been taken by the Pannonians, already prominent in the campaign of 69.[190] Spain sent the largest contingent after the Gallic provinces, and also contributed a few words to the drill-book,[191] but we hear nothing of the quality of the Spanish troops and they soon lost their early importance. The predominance of the auxilia of Spain and Gaul in the pre-Flavian period is, however, a clear indication of the determination of Augustus to base the Empire on its Western provinces. Archers alone, and these in comparatively small numbers, were drawn from the East,[192] which was still regarded as the home of dangerous and un-Roman ideals.
Lastly, a word must be said about a group of regiments which do not appear in the above lists and are too numerous to be passed over. These are the cohorts which bear the titles _voluntariorum civium Romanorum_, _ingenuorum c. R._, _Italica c. R._, and _campestris_.[193] Collectively these regiments constitute the _cohortes civium Romanorum_ to the soldiers of which Augustus left by his will a donative equal to that of the legionaries.[194] From various passages in the literary authorities it appears that they represent the result of two levies made by Augustus in Italy, the first during the Pannonian rising, and the second after the defeat of Varus.[195] When free-born citizens could not be found in sufficient numbers the levy was extended to freedmen.[196] This is corroborated by the evidence of the inscriptions, since the title _ingenuorum_ clearly implies the existence of regiments whose members could not make this boast.[197] Originally, as the provisions of the will of Augustus show, these cohorts occupied a peculiar position, and were practically on a level with the legionaries, in consequence of which their commanders bear the title of _tribunus_.[198] The presence, however, of the Cohors VIII Voluntariorum on the Dalmatian diploma of 93 shows that unenfranchised recruits had been accepted even during the pre-Flavian period, and in the following century only their title distinguishes these regiments from the ordinary auxilia.