Honesta missio

Honesta Missio indicated the honorable discharge from the military service in the Roman Empire. It was associated with particular privileges (praemia militiae). Among other things, it was paid discharge money to the legionaries by a treasury established by Augustus, the Aerarium militare, which amounted to 12,000 Sesterces until to the Principate of Caracalla.

The dismissed legionary presumably received a certificate after a service of approximately 20 to 26 years from which only a few have kept, by the modern research called as tabulae honestae missionis copies, because they might have been made predominantly from transient material.

Auxiliary soldiers as peregrini (non-Roman citizens of the Empire) received usually together with honesta missio the Roman citizenship and the marriage permission (Conubium) for themselves and their descendants. The imperial order about this grants were often documented on bronze military certificates which stood not necessarily, however, in direct connection with the discharge.

Beside honesta missio there was still the premature discharge for health reasons (missio causaria) and in dishonorary (missio ignominiosa).

...
Wikipedia