Carlos writes: "Hi Murray, Even though I've been an AWM subscriber for long, I only recently started listening to the podcast. I love the AWA episodes, and the regular group podcasts too.

I have a two-part question for AWA. First, I have read in various places that there were certain requirements to be admitted as a legionary in the Army of the Principate. For example, I've read in a popular magazine (not AWM!) that legionaries needed to be at least 1.80 m tall. This sounds difficult to believe. I have also often read that all legionaries needed to be able to read and write. This sounds more believable as a declaration of intentions, but it seems unlikely that it could actually be enforced.

What were the actual requirements, other than being a Roman citizen, in the Principate?"

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'When Germanic warbands crossed the Rhine in 17 BC, they set in motion a turbulent series of Roman campaigns into Germania that spanned three decades.'

In this episode of the podcast, the team discusses AW107, Rome Crosses the Rhine: Early Campaigns in Germania.

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Following on from Murray discussion of Athenian Archers in AWA 397, Tim asks "It would be interesting to hear of the effectiveness of the archers. In wargaming, Cretan archers are usually considered as better than other archers, similar to Belearic slingers. Was this actually true or just a wargaming tradition?" Murray investigates

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Jack asks: "Hi Murray Do we have enough information to actually describe how the Huns were dressed for war? Did they look much the same as the Goths or other migration era peoples? Is it a misconception to think they looked anything like the later Mongols? Did they go in for bright or rich fabrics in their panoply, like other Warrior cultures? I've heard that they were keen to get their hands on silk fabric, did they then wear this into battle?

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Here is an AWA from Brie: "Besides communicating orders and psychological warfare, what role and status did trumpeters have in warfare? Did they have sidearms like musicians of early modern warfare? The Gallic carnyx is of particular interest to me in this regard." This is probably in regard to the exciting carnyx found in Thetford, Norfolk in early 2026, only the third found in Britain. With it were a boar standard and several shield bosses. Murray discusses them all.

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Carlos, an economics professor (!), asks: Hi Murray, I am a long-time AWM subscriber, born in Hispania, working in Britannia, and mostly living in Raetia. Love the podcast. My question is this. With the Constitutio Antoniniana, all young men within the Imperium became citizens and could enlist in the legions instead of the auxilia. Hence, the auxilia presumably attracted less recruits. With Diocletian's reforms, whatever remained of the auxilia was absorbed into a fully new structure with limitanei, comitatenses, and auxilia palatina, the latter being elite. This suggests that the distinction between legions and auxilia might had become fuzzy at that point, else one could just have assigned the auxilia to the borders. What do we know about the evolution of the auxilia from the Constitutio Antoniniana to Diocletian's reforms? Were they still around, with named units slowly vanishing for lack of recruits, or did they become something else by enlisting non-citizens? Did they become part of a wild mixture of units with all-barbarian numeri in the chaos of the third century and its many revolts? Surely, at the very least, Tacitus' old statement that auxiliaries and legionaries were roughly equal in number is no longer valid for the third century? Murray Investigates.

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AW issue 107 on Augustus' German campaigns is in the last stages of preparation so the panel thought it would be a good idea to lay the ground work in preparation for next month's podcast on issue 107. So, tonight we're discussing 'Why Germany' and the opening up of the Rhine frontier as a place for future campaigns, from the Cimbri and Teutones and Caesar onwards down yo the time of Augustus.

Following on from an earlier episode on War Pigs, Murray digs deeper into the imagery of pigs and boars in Roman military history.

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tadejtomic1943 asks, "Hi Murray, what was the army composition. How many men did it have. Was that the first time the Macedonian Phalanx operated and fought in Italy?What was Alexander Molossus' ultimate goal in Italy? Thanks!" Murray goes on a deep dive to discover the answers.

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James from California has taken the time to write a fan letter to Ancient Warfare Answers! This is much appreciated! Murray muses over James' letter (which was into response to the die is cast but, as always, leads down much more widespread paths.

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