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The phrase Roman army is one that is accompanied by images of Imperial Legions, a vast empire and a ruthless military machine. While we think of infantry in red tunics and Lorica Segmentata, the Roman army has actually changed various times throughout its existence to adapt and become a military powerhouse. In this article, I shall examine the various aspects of the Roman army.
From 280 BC to 14 AD, the Roman army has undergone various reformations. The first reformation was the introduction of the manipular army. This began the use of the maniple system and more appropriate equipment. The next change was a minor reformation that refined the old system, including weaponry changes. Then the Marian cohort Army was introduced, which used Legionary Cohorts instead of Hastati, Principes, and Triarii maniples. The Augustan Cohort Army was the last reformation of the discussed time, and it refined the Marian system.
THE CAMILLIAN ARMY 280 BC - 264 BC
In this period, the Republic of Rome was using the maniple system for their armies. Introduced after the failure of the Greek overhand phalanx at the Battle of Allia, Camillus Furius implemented the maniple system for Roman use. Historically, the Samnites had previously used the formation.
The date of 264 BC is derived from the fact that the description of soldiers at the start of the first Punic War resembled that of a Polybian army rather than a Camillian army. However, the evolution of the Roman army was gradual and there may have even been elements of the Camillian army in the Second Punic War.
Despite the changes from this army to the Polybian army, things such as the amount of allied forces and the officers commanding the army stayed the same. They are included in the Polybian section because there is definite proof of them during that time.
Maniple System
A system whereby there are three main ranks of heavy infantry to combat the enemy along with cavalry and medium range infantry. The name derives from the units in the formation, called maniples. Soldiers marched in a triplex acies formation with gaps between the lines to allow skirmishers and front line troops to retreat behind rested troops. When fighting, troops would form a single line. This formation was used over a phalanx because it was easier to maintain in elevated terrain, and would allow reserves and units to respond to flanking manoeuvres.
Each soldier was usually a farmer in non-wartime and therefore would not fight for very long as armies would be raised and disbanded. They also had to pay for their own equipment. As for Legion sizes, there would be 15 maniples of each type of infantry, and there would be 60 men per maniple, (apart from the Leves, which had 20). This meant there were 4800 Roman infantry in a Legion. There would be 300 Cavalry, divided into tenths called a turmae.
Hastati
The Hastati were the first line in the army and they were equipped with the Italic sword, two pila, a rectangular scutum shield, a bronze greave, a bronze or iron helmet and had no armour to light armour. They most likely had a Hasta in the early days of the reformation.
They were the poorer men in society would wear down the enemy so that the main force in the army -the Principes- could shatter enemy lines. The Hastati would retreat through gaps and reform behind the Principes.
Principes
The Principes would engage the enemy lines, allowing the Hastati to reform behind them. They were also richer than the Hastati, but fought with relatively similar armour. A few differences included improved armour over the Hastati such as a chest protector or a coat of mail. The Principes would usually break most enemy lines, or they would reform behind the Triarii.
Triarii
The Triarii were the richer citizens who would fight in the old overhand Greek formation. Their equipment included a Lorica Musculata -bronze cuirass-, a Hasta spear, a sword, a Greek “Clipeus” shield, a bronze or iron “Corinthian” helmet, and one bronze greave.
They would hold the line while the other maniples regrouped to launch a counter attack or tactically withdrew.
Other Units in the Army
There were the Rorarii and Accensi as projectile infantry, respectively equipped with javelins/slings. Their role was to support the Triarii.
There were also the Leves, equipped with javelins and a small round shield. They would fight with the Hastati.
The Cavalry were composed of the richest citizens as owning a good horse was expensive. Their purpose included defending the flanks and scouting. They could also fight since they were equipped with the Hasta spear, a Spatha sword, along with Lorica Musculata armour, and a helmet.
Non-Roman troops would be on the flanks, supporting the Roman cavalry. The Allied cavalry would be more heavily armed than the Roman counterpart would with greaves, a Kopis sword, and a Xyston spear. The infantry would be equipped similarly to the Principes and Triarii with chest protectors and a Lorica Musculata. Despite that, they also fought in a Hellenic style with the Kopis sword and phalanx formation.
POLYBIAN ARMY 264 BC-107 BC
The Camillian army worked well until the “Polybian era” where the Punic Wars meant the army needed refinement. The Maniple system was still in use, although there were changes in tactics and armament. The name of the army is derived from the fact Polybius recorded much information in this era.
In a Legion, there would now be ten Maniples of each line of Infantry, with the Hastati and Principes maniples having 120 men. The Triarii maniple had 60 men and there would be twenty Velites in addition to each Maniple. The Cavalry divisions were the same so the total Legion included 4200 men, and 300 cavalry.
There would also be a varied amount of troops from allied states. Since those states were capable of raising hundreds of thousands of troops, the amount of non-roman troops would be similar, if not greater. The amount of allied infantry was slightly greater than that of the Roman infantry while there were two-three times more allied cavalry when compared to the Roman cavalry. Finally, 1/5 of allied infantry and 1/3 of allied Cavalry formed the extraordinarii, a special unit always used in an army. The allied infantry would also be organised into 10 cohorts varying from 460-600 men.
There would also be officers in the army to command troops. A man of high political influence would command the overall army. Six Tribunes were includes in an army. Each maniple would have two centurions, based on the facts that were two centuries composed 60 men per maniple. Officers also included the cornice -the horn blower-, the signifier -the man who carried the standard-, the Optio -the second in command-, and the Tesserarius -the guard commander-. The Cavalry was commanded by the Praefectus, who had overall command of turmae. Each turmae had two decurio who commanded ten men, and they each had an Optio.
The Allied cavalry were commanded in the same way as the regular cavalry, except there were three Praefectus Sociorum to command all allied troops.
Hastati
The Hastati were now composed of the younger citizens -as opposed to poorer- and were better armed. Mail coats/chest protectors were used if the soldier could afford it. A universal change throughout the Roman Infantry at this time was that they received the Gladius and the Celtic-type “Montefortino” helmets.
Principes
The Principes went under a several changes, as they received chain mail armour. They were also now composed of middle-aged men who had more experience than the Hastati.
Triarii
The Triarii still kept their original role, yet with different armour. Mail coats had replaced the cuirasses, and the Greek shield was abandoned in favour of a scutum. They were also the older men in society now.
Other Units in the Army
Rorarii, Leves and Accensi became Velites. The Velites carried several javelins to harass the enemy and support the main line. Along with javelins, they carried a shield and a sword.
Cavalry would be similarly equipped to its Camillian forbearers, except they now had Lorica Hamata, and Kopis/Spatha sword.
Allied troops would be on the flanks supporting the cavalry. Some of the allied infantry fought in an imitation roman style with a scutum, javelin and sword. Others fought in a similar fashion to their Camillian counterparts with the Spatha sword, and Aspis shield. The Allied cavalry was still heavily equipped in comparison to Roman cavalry.
MARIAN COHORTS 107 BC – 30 BC
The Punic Wars and Germanic tribal invasions devastated the Roman Republic. There were simply not enough men to fill the traditional infantry roles and to farm the land. To solve the problem, Gaius Marius abolished the rule that the soldiers had to be roman citizens and property owners. This meant there was a larger pool of men from which to recruit but the soldier had to fit height and weight requirements. He also started to make a more professional army, first by turning the Hastati, Principes and Triarii into Legionary Cohorts. Another difference was that now the state paid for the equipment, and as much as 30-40 kilograms had to be carried by the soldier. Furthermore, the army was a long-term commitment, as men would not disband after several battles. This meant their pay increased, from a measly 120 denarii per year to a proper wage with a pension at the end of it all. The one drawback was that the General did this, so the Legions became loyal to the General instead of the Senate - and cue the Roman Civil Wars.
The Marian army were composed of ten cohorts, with 6 centuries composed of 80 men. This meant 160 men per maniple, 480 men per cohort, and 4800 Legionaries in a legion. However, with reconnaissance cavalry and the first cohort, armies increased to 5240 men. Finally, officers like the Aquilifer and the Legatus were introduced. The Aquilifer was the man who controlled the treasury of the legion, as well as the man responsible for carrying the Legionary Eagle. The Legatus was the commander of the Legion (unless a Consul led it) and would be of high rank.
For the Legionary Cohorts their equipment included a more Rectangular scutum shield, Lorica Hamata for armour, a Gladius, a Pugio dagger, two pila, and a Celtic-type “Montefortino” helmet.
Cavalry would secure flanks and attack if need be. There would be 512 of them in a Legion, divided into 16 turmaes. The type of cavalry changed since the Polybian times as cavalry mostly came from outside of Italy. Skirmisher cavalry had a few javelins and no armour while shock troops had the Lorica Hamata, a long sword and a lance.
AUGUSTAN ARMY 30 BC - 14 AD
The Roman army under the time of Augustus was reaching its evolutionary peak due to various reforms he made. The actual peak came after Augustus.
The Augustan Legionary had kept most of the equipment but there were changes. The helmet evolved to become the more protective “Coolus” types and the rectangular scutum changed into the more protective Imperial shield. Finally, the Lorica Segmentata was implemented in the army (though the Lorica Hamata was still popular).
The auxiliary idea would evolve further and they were integrated into the Legionnaire army. The auxiliary infantry were organized into 6 centuries of 480 men. They would be equipped with more lightly than the Legionnaires, with Lorica Hamata, a Hasta spear, an oval shield, and a Montefortino helmet. The amount of Auxiliaries, like in the Marian times varied.
There were approximately 960 auxiliary cavalrymen divided into 24 turmaes in a Legion. There were still the native cavalry, but Romanized cavalry was introduced. They would be equipped with the Hasta spear, a Spatha sword, a Coolus helmet, Lorica Hamata, and an oval shield. There were also archers from Syria who were renowned for their composite bow.
While the other branches of the army were less impressive than the Legionnaires, the cavalry and auxiliary could still win entire battles.
Organization changes meant that soldiers had to serve about 20 years or 26 if you were an auxiliary soldier. Other things such as the size of the Legion sizes and the equipment of cavalry remained the similar to the Marian times. The auxiliary command system also changed. In the Marian times, Kings were the head of cavalry, but now they were replaced by the Praefectus Alae. There was also the Praefectus Cohortis, who commanded the auxiliary infantry. Despite the Roman Republic changing into an empire there were still Tribunes.
SIEGE WARFARE AND ENGINEERING
Despite the focus on the soldiers in this article, the siege equipment and engineering were a crucial part of the Roman army.
Roman soldiers could build defensive fortifications such as forts with little difficulty due to extensive training. The Legion also carried appropriate equipment like wooden stakes. This resulted in fortifying their position every night. It is noted that while Roman troops were vulnerable during this time as soldiers went foraging and scouting, there were soldiers who formed defensive lines. Forts usually consisted of a staked wooden wall, a ditch behind it, and an earth rampart. When the situation required it, even greater forts could be constructed, such as in Alesia. The camp layout would also be much organised, allowing for easy formation of troops. Historically, soldiers from the Polybian era onwards are thought to have done this.
The Romans had also built several siege weapons such as rams, siege towers, ballistas, and onagers. They had learnt it from the Greek living on the south of Italy, but they would not become siege masters until the Marian period, where trial and error perfected the system.
The ram consisted of a wooden frame with a sloped roof and a wooden beam with a ram’s head made of metal to batter down walls. It is disputed whether the ram had wheels or was built at the base of the enemy walls. It would easily break down walls, usually within several if not the first blow due to the force from the large size.
There was also the ballista. While it had many variants like the Scorpion, the basic form would be a crossbow like device on top of a wooden frame, which would fire small projectiles at the enemy. These projectiles would be bolts and rock about 20 to 100 kilograms. The Scorpion was a smaller variant and would be used in battle. The ballista and Scorpion would also be put on siege towers, boats, and fortifications.
The onager would launch rocks of 80 kilogram from at least 30 metres away. Soldiers would operate this device by winding back the throwing arm until it hits the “buffer”. This releases all the tension, which sends the projectile hurtling away. It would be used to break down walls.
NAVAL EQUIPMENT AND TACTICS
The Romans did not have a substantial navy until the First Punic War, when they needed a fleet to overcome the famed Carthaginian navy. Luckily, for the Romans, they managed to build a fleet of over 100 ships of Quinqueremes and Triremes based of Punic design. Quinqueremes were the largest ships, with a metal ram, a sail, and three decks with oars on both side of the ship. There were also two men per oar for the first two decks and one for the last deck. The Trireme was similar except was slightly smaller with less rowers. Of course, with inexperienced Roman soldiers at command, there would be losses but eventually, Roman tactics wrested control of the Mediterranean from Carthage, winning several famous battles. Later the Romans would also encounter Pirates, but that threat was overcome too.
Roman tactics at sea included ramming the vessel or boarding them. In the beginning of the First Punic War, there was a Corvus, which allowed Roman troops to board the enemy vessel. This was dropped due to making the ship more unstable as storms would be even more damaging to ships. When Julius Caesar fought the Gallic tribe of Veneti at sea, their vessels would outperform the Roman ones. Julius Caesar then used hooks to take out their sails as the Veneti ships only used sails and he defeated them. Another tactic was to fire ballistae bolts at the opposing ships; however, water would make the ballistae less accurate.
TRAINING AND TACTICS
Ever since the Rome was a Republic, training and organization has been an integral part of their army. In the Marian times, the training increased due to increased professionalism. Polybian troops also trained but their less professionalism nature hindered them in battle.
Roman soldiers were also trained to only eat their rations and have self-discipline in this matter. They believed this inner control set them above barbarians.
Roman soldiers were trained to have the ability to march nearly 30 kilometres in 5 hours and fight for hours. Legionaries would first have to be disciplined so they would follow orders and understand their role in the army. Then they would have to know how to use the Pila, the Gladius, and their shield, which meant daily practices. Tactical strategies and formation such as rotating tired troops and units with fresh ones would be drilled into soldiers.
While this training did not stop units from routing, it did keep them in the battle considerably longer, which made all the difference. Of course, good Generals were also needed.
In the Camillian era and early Polybian era, troops would break the enemy via the maniple system and the cavalry would secure flanks. Tactic reforms occurred when Scipio Africanus showed the Romans how to use outflanking effectively. At the battle of Zama, Scipio outflanked Hannibal he used via the Triarii and remaining cavalry. Terrain was also important as the height advantage was useful when launching missiles or fighting rigid formations. The importance of other factors like logistics, strategic planning engineering, loyalty, the knowledge of your and the enemies strengths and weaknesses were perhaps best showcased in the life of Julius Caesar where he used all the factors to win the Gallic War.
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