vigiles

ancient Roman firemen

Learn about this topic in these articles:

In police: Ancient policing
…brigade into a corps of vigiles (firefighters and watchmen), consisting of seven squads, or cohorts, of 1,000 freedmen each. Each cohort was responsible for fire and, especially at night, police protection in two regiones. As a further measure to impose order on the often violent streets of Rome—a city of…
Read More
In Rome: Municipal reforms of Augustus
…corps of professional firemen (vigiles), comprising seven squads, or cohorts, of 1,000 freedmen apiece. The vigiles also had minor police duties, especially at night. He sought to impose order in the often violent streets by creating three cohorts under the command of the urban prefect; their main duty was…
Read More