Which group made up the majoity of the roman population and became citizen-soldiers during time of war?

Answer 1

The majority of the roman population were the plebeians, who were the commoners. Plebeian farmers were the conscripted citizen soldiers at time of war until 107 BC. The military reforms of 107 BC made joining the army voluntary and made the army accessible to the landless (plebeian) poor. From then on the soldiers were mainly the landless poor because the army gave them a career, a pay and, on discharge, a grant of a sizable lump sum of money or a a plot of land to farm

Answer 2

This situation existed in the first 700 years of the history of ancient Rome. After that the situation changed. Until 107 BC the Roman army was a part-time militia of peasant farmers. During the military campaigning season (March up to October) they fought in the army if there was a war and after that they returned to their farms. This was a common arrangement in ancient city-states. The majority of the population were small farmers. Landless people were excluded form the levy and there was a minimum property threshold for the draft. This was because the soldiers had to procure and pay for their military equipment themselves and only those who could afford this could join the army. Joining the army was considered a duty of citizenship for the defence of the fatherland.

With the Marian reforms, of the military of 107 BC the Romans started recruiting the landless poor and procuring the military equipment for them. For the next 600 years the landless poor were the mainstay of the Roman army. About one hundred years later Augustus created a professional standing army.