After Marius, the legions were drawn largely from volunteer citizens rather than citizens conscripted for duty. Volunteers came forward and were accepted not from citizens of the city of Rome itself but from the surrounding countryside and smaller towns falling under Roman control. Whereas some long-term military professionals were classed as veterans, they were outnumbered by civilians with limited military experience who were in active service perhaps only for a few campaigns. The legions of the late Republic remained, unlike the legions of the later Empire, predominantly Roman in origin, although some small number of ex-auxiliary troops were probably incorporated. The army's higher-level officers and commanders were still drawn exclusively from the Roman aristocracy.