Cohors V Vigilum
Caelian Fire and Rescue
Regiones I & II Patrol District
This large building on the vicus Cyclopis is the headquarters for the Fifth Cohort of the Urban Vigiles. The Vigiles are Rome’s night watch, established by the Emperor Augustus after a devastating fire in 6 A.D. to patrol the fourteen regiones into which he divided the City of Rome. To pay for the new force, Augustus imposed a four percent tax on the sale of slaves.
The Vigiles were organized for two primary purposes:
- I. to prevent fire in the city by keeping a preemptive watch for signs of danger, and
- II. to maintain public order and suppress criminal activity.
To these ends, the Vigiles patrol the streets of Rome, primarily at night. The risk of fire is higher at night, with homes lit by lamps or torches and heated by braziers, but easier to put out if detected early. By dark, robbers are more likely to accost the unwary and burglars to break into homes and shops, so patrols help to deter crime. The Vigiles may also apprehend runaway slaves and return them to their masters.
As they come and go from the castrum, the milites (soldiers) of the Urban Vigiles present a reassuring image to honest citizens. Clad in tunicae and light leather armor, the milites are popularly called “spartoli,” or “little bucket men,” for the small, pitch-sealed buckets they use in fighting fires. They also carry clubs on patrol and have been known to handle criminal suspects roughly on occasion before bringing the offenders before a praefect. In the event of serious disorders, the Vigiles can be reinforced by the Urban Cohorts.
This district headquarters is one of seven, with responsibility for patrolling two of the regiones – in this case, the Caelian and Porta Capena districts. In the early decades of the force, the Vigiles lived in insulae and equipment was stored in fourteen exubitoria, two in each district. After the Great Fire, Nero ordered the construction of castra, the permanent offices and barracks of the Vigiles we have now.†
Enter the Castrum
Visit the Firefighting Academy
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Castrum of Cohors V Vigilum
Courtyard (- posts)
