About the Roman Army in a nutshell

[Ultras DVSC]

I've written (with some help of course) a small essay about the Roman army for history lesson. I'd like give you a share in it, maybe somebody needs such a short overall description. It doesn't include everything of course and just feel free to correct my mistakes and inaccuracies.

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Rome was a highly militarized state, and that the Empire could reach such a vast extension at its height due to this fact. The Roman military was also symbolized by discipline, accuracy and persistence.

During the first 5 centuries, the Roman Empire had no standing and permanent army. When the authorities in Rome thought it was necessary to take military action, they called up the citizens, who took their own armour with them and formed a temporary military force. There were 3 principal infantry classes within the Republican system, augmented with the basic skirmishing class, and a small detachment of cavalry:
 Hastati - these were the first line of the Roman heavy infantry and were made up of the relatively young (inexperienced) citizens. The Hastati were the primary engaging force of the Republican legion and always met the enemy first in melee combat. If things went badly, or they simply needed to rest and regroup, the Hastati would roll behind the Princeps.
 Princeps - These were simply considered the elite of the Republican legion. They were in the prime of their careers for age and experience, and constituted the wealthier class of the citizen soldier. The best equipped soldiers belonged to this unit, so that it was the obligation of the Princeps to win the battle.
 Triarii - Though the triarii were similarly armored as the Hastati and Princeps, they played a much different role, because their job was to defend against disaster as a last resort. The Triarii were usually the oldest and very experienced members of the Roman army. Because they were used as a last resort, a Latin expression 'ad triarios redisse', or it has come to the triarii, became a general phrase meaning that something was in a desperate situation.
 Velites. - In the II. c. BC. emerged this classical Roman unit. The Velites were not organized as their own particular units but were attached to the Hastati maniples. These units were lightly armed skirmishers who were also an important part of defense against war elephants. Using their greater mobility, due to lighter armour, velites could avoid elephant charges and flank them.
 Equites - The Republican cavalry was designed for speed of movement, and were similarly equipped to the Hastati, but their limited number generally made their capabilities limited as well. As the Romans were not considered great natural horsemen, the great effectiveness of cavalry in the Roman army didn't come until the inclusion of various auxilia cavalry like that of the Gauls and Germanics.

In that time, when there was no real army, Rome very often used allies. When the Empire became bigger and bigger, and the military actions took place further from Rome and Italy, the people weren't satisfied with the citizen-army anymore.
About 107 B.C. the Roman general and consul Gaius Marius had made a regular military force out of the citizen-army. He also made some important innovations, which were called after his name Marian-reforms.
 He abandoned the maniple as the basic tactical unit and formation into three battle lines.
 Cohorts (10 in total) replaced the maniples (30 in total). There were nominally 600 men in a cohort, but the actual number varied between 300 and 600.
 Armour became uniform across classes of the army.
 Standardized military serving-time, which was 25 years.
 Establishment of the regular soldier’s pay, often in the form of a grant of land in the province in which they served.

Because the army was regular now, it became much better and stronger, because the soldiers were better trained and armed. A disadvantage of such a regular army was that it could be used as a personal political means of power. A good example of this is Julius Caesar.

The Roman army consisted of two parts: the legions and the auxiliaries. The Roman Empire had about 28 legions, each containing 4800 men infantry. Besides, every legion had a lot of other people (civilians) engaged. A legion consisted of a few parts. In sequence from small to large:
 Contubernium
 Centuria
 Cohort
 Legio
Contubernium (Tent group)
A contubernium consisted of eight legionarii (pl. of legionarius, soldier). The eight men of a contubernium shared a tent in a camp together.
Centuria (Century)
10 contubernia formed a centuria (80 men) together. Every centuria had his own fieldsigncarrier, a signifer. The leader of such a centuria was the centurio. A skilled centurio had also a good chance to become commander of a camp (prefects castrorum).
Cohort (Cohorts)
6 centuriae formed a cohort of 480 men together. Actually, a cohort was no more then a size, it had no leader or whatever.
Legio (Legion)
10 cohorts were a legion together – about 4800 men, but it had more soldiers than that: it had the disposal of about 60 catapultae and ballistae. A catapult shot rocks, and a ballista shot arrows. A legion had also the disposal of a lot of doctors, trumpeters, bakers, executioners, veterinary surgeons, novelists, writers, carpenters and blacksmiths. The leader of a legion was the overall Legionary commander, the Legatus Legionis.

Auxiliaries
Auxiliaries (auxilia) were always much more varied than the legions. An auxiliary often consisted of horsemen, archers and slingers. Auxiliaries were used for 2 things: helping legions and, most of all, defending the frontiers. The soldiers of these auxiliaries, called auxiliarii, were never Romans. An auxilirarius served 25 years, and after that he got the Roman civil rights for himself and his children.

The Roman legionary didn’t have an easy job even between the bloody battles. It’s been estimated that a Legionary could carry anywhere from 30 kgs to over 45 kgs of gear and weapons. Such an equipment included several types of clothes, armours and weapons.
 Tunica - the standard tunic worn over linen undergarments and underneath his armour.
 Bracae - wool or leather skin tight trousers that reached just below the knee.
 Caligae - heavy military sandals that used iron hob-nails as treads.
 Balteus - the standard belt, that was rather narrow and were decorated with bronze strips.
 Galea - though there were many types this was the most common helmet.
 Lorica - chain mail that provided excellent protection and flexibility, but was very heavy and time-consuming to make.
 Scutum - the large Roman shield, which was curved to fit the body made from thin sheets of wood. On the march, the shield was hung by a strap over the left shoulder.
 Gladius - the Roman short sword, which was a double-edged weapon about 45 long and 5 cms wide. Its primary use was for thrusting at short range.
 Pugio - this Roman dagger was from 18 to 28 cms long, and was a very useful secondary weapon in case of being disarmed. It was attached to the belt on the left hand side.
 Pilum - the Roman javelin. It was 2 meters long and very light, as it was thrown before just prior to engaging the enemy in melee, to disarm as much as wound them.

On the battlefield mainly after the Marian-reforms gradually came to the front the the various tactics and the ingenious unit formations.
 The turtle (the so-called testudo) was a essentially defensive formation by which the legionaries would hold their shields overhead, except for the front rows, thereby creating a kind of shell-like armour shielding them against missiles from the front or above.
 The wedge was commonly used by attacking legionaries. The legionaries formed up in a triangle, this enabled small groups to be thrust well into the enemy.
 The skirmishing formation is essentially the opposite to the closely packed line of battle used by legionaries. It is a widely spaced line. The wide spaces allow each soldier great mobility.

After the IV.-V. c. mainly from political reasons the Roman army was forced only defensive actions, but this type of military force determined Europe’s warfare for about more 1000 years.

And at the end let me show a monologue of a Roman general, who encourages his army before battle:

You know me! I’m a true Roman of the old style! I believe in Discipline, Dignity and Duty! I also believe the Rome has a destiny to rule the world!
Over there you can see those frightened pigs, our enemy, praying for help. They are not worth fearing. These nobodies die as easily as the others. In other words they are dead men, walking.
Do your best in the fight for the honour of Rome! Our Gods are watching us! Make sure they are not ashamed!
And now, Gods be praised, let’s go to our bloody business!

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ps.: this monologue from the rtw I tried to accent like our general, it became a devastating succes!

[Avicenna]

Principes*: sorry for being annoying but this is a huge difference. The emperor was the only Princeps in the Roman Empire. (Princeps="First Citizen")

Other than that, great guide!

[Ultras DVSC]

Thanks a lot, I was quite irresolute in this princeps-principes question, but it's clear already.

[gardibolt]

If this is for a history lesson, I would make it clearer that the quote at the end is a hypothetical one, not one actually ever delivered by a Roman general. Otherwise you might get points off.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

A couple of points.

Hastatii really were more of a light infantry.

Maniples and Cohorts always existed, the shift was in tactics. Basically the Legions manuvered in Cohorts, where before they manuvered in maniples.

Note: Modern soldiers carry the same weight in marching kit as a legionary did, its an interesting point.

Some of your Latin terms are a bit quirks but someone else would be better to point those out.

[econ21]

Hastatii really were more of a light infantry.

I disagree. The hastati fought in close combat on the front line, in close formation, with kit pretty similar to the principes and later legionnaires. I'd say they functioned as heavy infantry, even if they were not particularly well armoured.

I would reserve the term "light infantry" to refer to those who fought in loose formation - often skirmishing and fighting at range rather than moving to close quarters - the velites, peltasts, slingers, archers etc of the period.

[Atilius]

A few comments:

There were 3 principal infantry classes within the Republican system

The 3 infantry classes you mention apply to both the Camillan and Polybian legionary systems. But we know of at least one older system used by the armies of the Republic until roughy 340 BC, when the Camillan system seems to have come into use.

 Princeps - ... constituted the wealthier class of the citizen soldier. The best equipped soldiers belonged to this unit...

Only age determined membership in the Hastati, Principes, and Triarii. Polybius explicitly mentions that the wealthier Hastati wore mail shirts (as did the Principes) and Livy says (of the Camillan legion) that the Hastati were "youths in the first bloom of manhood just old enough for service". Principes were generally wealthier, but only because they had accumulated more wealth with age.

 Velites. - In the II. c. BC. emerged this classical Roman unit. The Velites were not organized as their own particular units but were attached to the Hastati maniples.

The velites emerged at the same time as the rest of the Polybian legion, sometime in the 3rd Century BC. The statement that the Velites were attached to the Hastati may be true, but I think the statement itself derives from Livy's description of the Camillan legion. Some think that 20 velites were attached to each century of Hastati, Principes, and Triarii.

 Equites - ...were similarly equipped to the Hastati

We know very little about the equipment of the Equites but, unlike the Hastati, they wouldn't have carried a heavy infantry shield. They would certainly have carried a spear; the Polybian-era Hastati would not. If at any time they carried javelins, it would have been the hasta velitarius, not the Hastati's pilum.

About 107 B.C. the Roman general and consul Gaius Marius had made a regular military force out of the citizen-army. He also made some important innovations, which were called after his name Marian-reforms.

I believe that the only reforms that can be directly attributed to Marius are:
Removal of the property requirement for service in the legions, introduction of the legionary eagle, and reduction of the legion's logistical requirements by sharply lowering the number of camp followers and requiring the legionaries to carry more equipment.

 He abandoned the maniple as the basic tactical unit and formation into three battle lines.
 Cohorts (10 in total) replaced the maniples (30 in total). There were nominally 600 men in a cohort, but the actual number varied between 300 and 600.

Legions still frequently fought in three lines using the cohort system, but of course instead of having 10 maniples in each line, they would have (for example) 4 cohorts in the first line, and 3 in each of the remaining two. The cohort was nominally composed of 6 centuries of 80 men for a total of 480. Sometime in the 1st century AD, a legion's first cohort was expanded to 800 men, divided into 5 centuries of 160 men each.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

I disagree. The hastati fought in close combat on the front line, in close formation, with kit pretty similar to the principes and later legionnaires. I'd say they functioned as heavy infantry, even if they were not particularly well armoured.

I would reserve the term "light infantry" to refer to those who fought in loose formation - often skirmishing and fighting at range rather than moving to close quarters - the velites, peltasts, slingers, archers etc of the period.

I think you're confusing "light Infantry," and "Skirmisher" The Hastati were intended to attack first, wear the enemy down and soften them up for the Princepae. They weren't inteded to have much staying power, which is why I term them "light" the fact that they were generally less well armoured just re-inforces the point.

[econ21]

I think you're confusing "light Infantry," and "Skirmisher" The Hastati were intended to attack first, wear the enemy down and soften them up for the Princepae. They weren't inteded to have much staying power, which is why I term them "light" the fact that they were generally less well armoured just re-inforces the point.

Well, you can term them whatever you like, but you'd be hard pressed to find a military history book or even wargame rule set that agrees with you. It's conventional to distinguish light and heavy infantry according to how they fought. Light infantry would tend to operate in loose formation, heavy infantry in close order. The hastati fought exactly the same way as the principes - they were just younger and were sent in first. If principes were heavy infantry, so were hastati.

I'm not actually convinced the hastati were that much less well armoured. I believe richer members would have similar armour to the principes. But again, I would not define light and heavy infantry by armour.

I guess we are just arguing over semantics, but you just have to play RTW (or RTR or EB or whatever) to see that hastati and principes are functionally almost interchangeable (& so were merged after Marius) - and very different from the velites and other true light infantry. A rose by any other name...

[Garvanko]

I think you're confusing "light Infantry," and "Skirmisher" The Hastati were intended to attack first, wear the enemy down and soften them up for the Princepae. They weren't inteded to have much staying power, which is why I term them "light" the fact that they were generally less well armoured just re-inforces the point.

Hastati fought as the leading edge of the early roman legion's manipular formation. It they really were light infantry wouldn't they have been given some kind of role on the flanks? The stats for Hastati and Principes are pretty even - its just that historically, the older more experienced soldiers were Principes. Greater experience and slightly better armour gave them slightly better stats, but not that much better.

Both were clearly heavy infantry.

[Quillan]

That depends on how you define light vs heavy infantry. Some people define it based upon equipment, in which case the hastati are probably light infantry, since about all they typically had was that square bronze chest protector and a shield. Others define it by fighting style, in which case they are heavy infantry, since they fought in melee in close formation. Some wargames split the difference, and in such games they'd be medium infantry. "Light infantry" are typically skirmishers in the ancient world, which hastati most definitely were not.

[Mooks]

Gauis marius also re-invented the pilum. He was the one that thought of the bright idea of making the pilum stick to the enemy (having the end bend on impact). Another mistake by CA.

Equittes were the 1st class of the roman world. They were provided a public horse payed for by the state. After a while they ceased to be a effective force and were replaced by gauls-greeks.

You also forgot to mention in the beginning that before the marian reforms. Only people that owned a certain amount of land could join the army. What marius did was he allowed the head count (lowest of the low class) to be recruited, because they have no money the state provides the weapons and armor. Marius probaly argued that after they got released, because they were so poor they would be a danger to society. So he also gave a piece of land to veterans after campaigns.

"the people weren't satisfied with the citizen-army anymore."

The people and senate were very much satisfied with the citazen army. Marius did it out of neccasity. Rome at that time got beaten in battle aplenty and the number of land-owning male citazens was running low. He probaly had to argue against blue in the face senators.

[Quillan]

And even that isn't considering the period long before when the Romans fought in the phalanx, like everyone else in the Med at that point in history.

[The Spartan (Returns)]

this should be moved to the monastery...

[Mooks]

Nonsense !