hey still continued to be recruited from Romans, but were regarded as
inferior in caliber to the _auxilia_, the light infantry corps which were
largely drawn from barbarian volunteers. A great number of new cavalry
units were formed, so that the proportion of cavalry to infantry was
largely increased. At the opening of the fifth century the troops
stationed in Spain, in the Danubian provinces, in the Orient and in Egypt
had a nominal strength of 554,500 of which 360,000 were _limitanei_ and
194,500 field troops. However, it is extremely doubtful if the separate
detachments were maintained at their full numbers. The scholarians,
organized as an imperial bodyguard by Constantine I, numbered 3500. They
were divided into seven companies called _scholae_, from the fact that a
particular _schola_, or waiting hall in the palace, was assigned to each.

*Recruitment.* In the late empire the ranks of the Roman army stood open
to all free men who possessed the requisite physical qualifications.
Slaves were also enrolled from the fifth century onwards but their
admission to military service brought them freedom. Recruits were either
volunteers or conscripts. The universal liability to service existed until
the time of Valentinian I, although in practice it was limited to the
municipal plebs and the agricultural classes. Valentinian placed the
obligation to furnish a specified number of recruits upon the landholders
of certain provinces, and levied a corresponding monetary tax upon the
other provinces. He also made it obligatory for the sons of soldiers to
present themselves for service. Many barbarian peoples, settled within the
empire, were likewise under an obligation to furnish a yearly number of
recruits, who, however, were regarded as volunteers. Still voluntary
recruitment was the rule under the late empire even more than under the
principate, and the majority of the volunteers for military service were
of barbarian origin. Corps of all sorts were named after barbarian
peoples, and while barbarian officers received Roman citizenship, the rank
and file remained aliens.

*Discipline.* The chief reason for the victories of the Roman armies of
the early principate over their barbarian foes lay in their superior
discipline and organization. And the burden of maintaining this discipline
had rested upon the junior officers or centurions who came from the
senatorial order of the Roman municipalities. By the end of the third
century t