Roman army - Citizendia

This article is part of the series on: Military of ancient Rome (portal) 800 BC – AD 476
Structural history
Roman army (unit types and ranks, legions, auxiliaries, generals)
Roman navy (fleets, admirals)
Campaign history
Lists of wars and battles
Decorations and punishments
Technological history
Military engineering (castra, siege engines, arches, roads)
Personal equipment
Political history
Strategy and tactics
Infantry tactics
Frontiers and fortifications (limes, Hadrian's Wall)

The Roman army was a set of military forces employed by the Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic and later Roman Empire as part of the Roman military. Commonwealth English! -->The military of ancient Rome relates to the combined military forces of Ancient Rome from the founding of the city The structural history of the Roman military describes the major chronological transformations in the organization and constitution of Ancient Rome 's armed forces, This is a list of both unit types and ranks of the Roman army from the Roman Republic to the fall of This is a list of Roman legions, including key facts about each legion primarily focusing on Principate (early Empire 30BC - 284AD legions for which there exists Auxiliaries (from Latin: auxilia = "supports" formed the standing non-citizen corps of the Roman army of the Principate (30 BC&ndash284 AD A Manius Acilius Glabrio -- Manius Acilius Glabrio (consul 191 BC -- Manius Acilius Glabrio (consul 91 -- Titus The Roman Navy ( Latin: Classis, lit "fleet" comprised the naval forces of the Roman state The Roman Navy ( Latin: Classis, lit "fleet" comprised the naval forces of the Roman state From its origin as a city-state in Italy in 9th century BC the rise as an empire covering much of Eurasia and North The following is a List of Roman wars fought by the ancient Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic and Roman Empire, organized by date The following is a list of Roman Battles fought by the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire, and sometimes the Byzantine Empire As with most other military forces the Roman military adopted a "carrot and stick" approach to military with an extensive list of decorations for military gallantry The technology history of the Roman military covers the development of and application of technologies for use in the armies and navies of Rome from the Roman Republic to the fall The military engineering of Ancient Rome 's armed forces was of a scale and frequency far beyond that of any of its contemporaries The Latin word castra, with its singular castrum, was used by the ancient Romans to mean buildings or plots of land reserved to or constructed for use as a military Roman Siege engines were for the most part adapted from Hellenistic Siege Technology. List of ancient Roman Triumphal arches (By modern country France Carpentras Triumphal Arch The Roman Roads were essential for the growth of the Roman Empire, by enabling the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate news Roman military personal equipment was produced in large numbers to established patterns and used in an established way Rome's military was always tightly keyed to its political system The strategy of the Roman Military encompasses its Grand strategy (the arrangements made by the state to implement its political goals through a selection of military goals Roman infantry tactics refers to the theoretical and historical deployment formation and maneuvers of the Roman infantry from the start of the Roman Republic to the fall Roman military borders and fortifications were part of a Grand strategy of territorial defense in the Roman Empire. A limes (or the Limes Romanus) was a Border defense or delimiting system of Ancient Rome. Hadrian's Wall ( Latin: perhaps Vallum Aelium, "the Aelian wall" is a stone and turf Fortification built by the Roman The Roman Kingdom ( Latin: Regnum Romanum) was the monarchical Government of the city of Rome The Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a Republican form of government a period which began with the overthrow of the The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Commonwealth English! -->The military of ancient Rome relates to the combined military forces of Ancient Rome from the founding of the city For its main infantry constituent and for much of its history, see Roman legion; for a catalogue of individual legions, dates and deployments, see List of Roman legions. For other uses see Legion The Roman Legion (from Latin legio "military levy Conscription," This is a list of Roman legions, including key facts about each legion primarily focusing on Principate (early Empire 30BC - 284AD legions for which there exists For the non-citizen auxiliary forces of the Roman Empire, see Roman auxiliaries. Auxiliaries (from Latin: auxilia = "supports" formed the standing non-citizen corps of the Roman army of the Principate (30 BC&ndash284 AD For Rome's naval forces, see Roman Navy. The Roman Navy ( Latin: Classis, lit "fleet" comprised the naval forces of the Roman state The size of the army in the late Roman Empire was about 128,000 - 179,200 men. It was very well organized hierarchically. The main Roman soldiers in the Empire were the legionaries. The Roman legionary was a professional soldier of the Roman army after the Marian reforms of 107 BC. There were, of course, other soldiers in the army; these were known as the auxilia. Auxiliaries (from Latin: auxilia = "supports" formed the standing non-citizen corps of the Roman army of the Principate (30 BC&ndash284 AD Auxilia were non-citizens recruited mostly from the provinces. They were paid less than legionaries but at the end of their service they were granted Roman citizenship.

Among Roman soldiers, the smallest organization unit was called a "contubernium". This was a group of 8 soldiers (however originally it was made of 10), that shared a tent and ate together. There were 10 contubernia in a "century". A century was the next largest group of soldiers. A century was a group of originally 100 men in the Early Roman Republic but later reduced to 80 men during the Roman Empire. The next largest group of soldiers were called "maniples". Next were the "cohorts". These were made up of 6 centuries (480 men). A "prima cohors" was the first cohort in a legion; it was much larger than the other cohorts, containing about 5 double strength centuries (800-men). Finally, the largest group in the Roman Army was the legion. For other uses see Legion The Roman Legion (from Latin legio "military levy Conscription," There were ten cohorts including the "prima cohors" in a legion. A full-strength legion contained 6,000 men though it was not uncommon for most legions to be undermanned due to previous battles. All of these numbers depended on the date (ex. Scipio Africanus reformation, Gaius Marius reformation). Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Major ( Latin: P·CORNELIVS·P·F·L·N·SCIPIO·AFRICANVS ¹) (236&ndash183 This article is about the Roman statesman who reorganized the army and was seven times Consul The republican army's strength, in peace, was four legions, but the number was increased during wartime. The highest number of legions was 70 after the civil war between Octavian (Augustus) and Mark Antony, due to having two whole Roman empires fighting when the remainder of Antony's forces joined with Octavian's. The final war of the Roman Republic, also know as Antony's civil war or the' war between Antony and Octavian', was last of the Roman civil wars of the Augustus ( Latin: IMPERATOR·CAESAR·DIVI·FILIVS·AVGVSTVS September 23 63 BC – August 19 AD 14) born Gaius Octavius Thurinus, was Marcus Antonius (in Latin: M·ANTONIVS·M·F·M·N ( c January 14 83 BC&ndash August 1, 30 BC known in English as Mark The number was decreased to 28 legions soon after, as the economically strained empire could not pay such huge numbers. After the Varus disaster, only 25 legions remained. The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest took place in the year 9 A

1 Weapons and Equipment
2 Ranks
3 Training
4 History of the Roman army
5 Branches
6 References
- 6.1 Secondary Sources
7 See also

Weapons and Equipment

Main article: Roman military personal equipment

In an early to mid-Republican era legionaries usually bought their own gear. Roman military personal equipment was produced in large numbers to established patterns and used in an established way Hastati, the first line, usually had breastplates and occasionally wore lorica hamata, or chainmail. The wealthier principes could afford lorica hamata but they were sometimes seen wearing the cheaper cuiriasses. Both hastati and principes were each armed with a gladius - a short, 60 centimeter sword - and each had two pila (javelins). The Triarii's primary weapon was the hasta, a 2 meter long spear. They were also armed with the gladius and had an early form of the lorica segmenta. All legionaries had a large rectangular shield (scutum) which had rounded corners. By the late Republican period, all legionaries carried a gladius, two pila, a new, larger version of the scutum, and wore chainmail. Lorica segmenta, or the iron band armor, was only commonly worn between the 2nd and 3rd century AD.

A set of Roman armor would include one of a variety of body armor types (usually designed to be flexible but strong; a centurion's body armor differs from that of the legionary), a shielders and turtlesith a special design/decoration for each legion), leggings or greaves, an apron (for decoration and protecting the groin, mostly made of metal), marching sandals called Caligae (with studs on the sole), a coarse woolen tunic, a belt (showing a soldier's position/rank in the army), and lastly a helmet called Galea (with cheek, ear and neck protection). Centurion redirects here This article is about the Roman soldier A helmet might have also held a crest if the Roman was an officer or of higher rank than a peer.

Personal Armor

The lorica hamata is a type of chainmail crephole armor used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire as a standard-issue armor for both the legionaries (higher quality version of the lorica hamata) and secondary troops (Auxilia). The lorica hamata is a type of mail armour used by the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire.
The lorica segmentata was a type of armor used in the Roman Empire between the 2nd and 3rd century AD. The lōrīca segmentāta was a type of segmented Armour exclusively used in the Roman Empire, but the Latin name was first used in the 16th century The armor itself consisted of broad ferrous (iron) strips ('girth hoops') fastened to internal leather straps.
The lorica squamata was a type of scale armor used during the Republic and at later periods. The Lorica squamata is a type of Scale armour used by ancient Roman military during the Roman Republic and at later periods
The Scutum, (Latin for shield), was the standard, rectangular, semi-cylindrical shield carried by Roman legionaries during the Principate. Scutum ('skjuːtəm in English pl scuta) is the Latin word for " Shield " although it has in modern times come to be specifically Republican-era scuta had the form of an oval, and in the late fourth century the Roman Army began to exchange their rectangular scuta for oval or large circular shields.
The cingulum was a military belt worn at all times, even without the rest of the armor.

Personal Weapons

The pugio was a small dagger. The pugio was a small Dagger used by Roman soldiers as a sidearm
The gladius was the short sword, 18 to 24 inches long, used by Roman legionaries from the 3rd century BC until the late Roman Empire. Gladius is a Latin word for Sword. Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those used by the Greeks It was primarily used for stabbing and thrusting. The gladius was made by Spaniards
The hasta was a spear used by triarii in the times of the Republic, and also as the primary weapon of the hastati and principes in the early Republic. Hasta is a Latin word meaning Spear. Hastae were carried by early Roman Legionaries, in particular they were carried by and gave their name to
The pilum, was a specialized javelin that would bend after being thrown to prevent enemies from re-using it. The pilum (plural pila) was a heavy javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times For the athletic event see Javelin throw. For other uses see Javelin (disambiguation A javelin is a light Spear designed

Additionally, in the army of the late empire, the gladius was often replaced by a spatha (longsword), up to 1 meter long, the rectangular scutum was dropped in favor of an oval shield, the earlier pilum had evolved into a differently shaped javelin - lighter and with a greater range - and new weapon types such as thrown darts (plumbatae) were introduced. The spatha was a type of straight Sword with a long point measuring between 0 Scutum ('skjuːtəm in English pl scuta) is the Latin word for " Shield " although it has in modern times come to be specifically Plumbatae or martiobarbuli were lead-weighted darts carried by infantrymen in Antiquity and the Middle Ages (Santosuosso, A. , Soldiers, Emperors and Civilians in the Roman Empire, Westview, 2001, p. 190)

Artillery weapons

Ranks

Further information: Roman legion officers

High level ranks

Legatus Legionis/legate: The overall Legionary commander. The ballista ( Latin, from Greek βαλλίστρα - ballistra, from - βάλλω ballō, "to throw" plural ballistae The onager was a post-classical Roman Siege engine, which derived its name from the kicking action of the machine similar to that of an Onager (wild ass A catapulta was a Roman machine for throwing arrows and javelins 12 or long at the enemy For other uses see Legion The Roman Legion (from Latin legio "military levy Conscription," This post was generally appointed by the emperor, was a former Tribune and held command for 3 or 4 years, although could serve for a much longer period. Tribune (from the Latin: tribunus; Byzantine Greek form τριβούνος) was a title shared by 2–3 elected magistracies in the In a province with only one legion, the Legatus was also the provincial governor and in provinces with multiple legions, each legion has a Legatus and the provincial governor has overall command of them all.
The Quaestor: Served as a type of quartermaster general, in charge of purchasing, finance, the collection and distribution of booty, etc. Quaestors were originally appointed by the Consuls to investigate criminal acts and determine if the consul needed to take public action Again, these might perform similar functions on the civilian side.
The Legati: senior commanders under the supremo. A legatus (often anglicized as legate) was a general in the Roman army, equivalent to a modern general officer Generally they were of senatorial rank and were commissioned by the Senate.
Tribunus Laticlavius: Named for the broad striped toga worn by men of senatorial rank. In the Roman army, the Tribunus Laticlavius was one of the six military tribunes in a Legion, and the highest rank of all of them This tribune was appointed by the Emperor or the Senate. Though generally quite young and less experienced than the Tribuni Angusticlavii, he served as second in command of the legion, behind the Legate.
Praefectus Castrorum: The camp Prefect. The Roman Army A "The rank above a chief centurion ( Primus Pilus) was that of a camp prefect ( Praefectus Castrorum) Generally he was a long-serving veteran who had been promoted through the ranks of the centurions and was third in overall command.
Tribuni Angusticlavii: Each legion had 5 military tribunes of equestrian (knight) class citizens. They were in many cases career officers and served many of the important administrative tasks of the Legion, but still served in a full tactical command function during engagements.

Mid Level ranks

Primus Pilus: The senior centurion of the legion and commander of the first cohort was called the primus pilus ("first spear"), a career soldier and advisor to the legate. The Primus Pilus was a member of a Roman legion. In the late Roman republic, the cohort of which there were six to ten became the basic A legatus (often anglicized as legate) was a general in the Roman army, equivalent to a modern general officer While every normal cohort was composed of 5 to 8 centuries, the one that was led by the primus pilus (the first) had about 10 centuries, or 800 men.
Pilus Prior: Senior centurion in any cohort other than the first cohort. Centurion redirects here This article is about the Roman soldier Commanded that cohort and served as an advisor to the legion's commander.
Centurions: They were the backbone of the professional army and were the career soldiers who ran the day to day life of the soldiers as well as issuing commands in the field. Centurion redirects here This article is about the Roman soldier They were generally moved up from the ranks, but in some cases could be direct appointments from the Emperor or other higher ranking officials. There were 64 centurions in each legion (10 in the first cohort and 6 in the rest), one to command each centuria of the 10 cohorts. The ranking of centurions were: Pilus Prior, Pilus Posterior, Princepes Prior, Princepes Posterior, Hastatus Prior, and Hastatus Posterior. The Prior centurion of each pair commanded the maniple.
Aquilifer: A single position within the Legion. An aquilifer was a senior Signifer bearing the eagle standard of a Roman legion The aquilifer was the Legion's Standard or Eagle bearer and was an enormously important and prestigious position. The next step up would be a post as a centurion.
Optio: One for each centurion (therefore, there were 64 in a legion), they were appointed by the centurion from within the ranks to act as his second in command. An Optio (from the Latin verb optare, 'to choose' because an Optio was chosen by his Centurion) was a soldier in the Roman army who
Tesserarius (Guard Commander): Again there were 64 of these, or one for each centuria. A tesserarius (from the Latin noun tessera, which means a small tile or block of wood on which these watch words were written was a soldier in the They acted in similar roles to the optiones.
Signifer: Each centuria had a signifer (therefore, there were 64 in a legion). A signifer was a standard bearer of the Roman legions He carried a Signum (standard for a cohort or century. He was responsible for the men's pay and savings, and the standard bearer for the Centurial Signum, a spear shaft decorated with medallions and often topped with an open hand to signify the oath of loyalty taken by the soldiers. It was this banner that the men from each individual centuria would rally around. A soldier could also gain the position of Discentes signiferorum, or standard bearer in training.
Cornicen (Horn blower): They worked hand in hand with the signifer drawing the attention of the men to the Centurial Signum and issuing the audible commands of the officers. The Cornicen was a Junior officer in the Roman Army. The Cornicen's job was to signal salutes to officers and sound orders to the legions
Imaginifer: Carried the standard bearing the image of the Emperor as a constant reminder of the troops' loyalty to him. The Imaginifer was a type of Signifer during the Roman Empire who carried the imago - the image - of the emperor

Low level ranks

Legionarii: The basic soldiers of a Legion, who were well trained fighters and received roughly the same pay as Immunes.
Immunes: These were trained specialists, such as surgeons, engineers, surveyors, and architects, as well as craftsmen. Ancient Rome 's military was highly advanced for its time divided into multiple units to maximize efficiency and power They were exempt from camp and hard labor duties due to the nature of their work, and would generally earn slightly more pay than the Milites. They also did not fight as much as the normal Milites.
Discentes: Milites in training for an immunis position.
Milites Gregarii: The basic private-level foot soldiers. Milites were the main footsoldiers of the praetorian guard as part of the praetorian guard they were selected from the best roman legionary troops and were although only slightly above them elite A Private is a Soldier of the lowest Military rank (equivalent to NATO Rank Grades OR-1 to OR-3 depending on the force served in
Tirones: The basic new private recruits. Tirones were new recruits in the armies of the Roman Empire A Tiro could take up to 6 months before becoming a full Milites (infantryman/private A tiro could take up to 6 months before becoming a full miles.

Training

Fitness

The main prerequisite for a member of the Roman Army was fitness, given the long distances they were expected to march around 32km in 5 hours. They also had to be fit to be able to fight well and cope with any injuries.

Group Training

Every day the whole of the legion would practice running, jumping, fencing and javelin throwing. But, before that happened, newcomers would do two sessions of military drill and give their oath of loyalty to their Commander and Emperor.

Drill and weapons training

Both the legionary and auxilia troops also did drill training, from fundamentals such as learning military step and the exact formation of ranks, to practicing tactical maneuvers. Military step or march is a regular ordered and synchronized Walking of Military formations History The steady regular Marching A military organization is a way of structuring the armed forces of a State as a need to offer Military capability required by the National defence policy Roman tactics also required the soldier to be able to respond instantly to commands to change the shape of his formation, not simply to fight as a brave individual, as in barbarian armies. This required extensive training and discipline. Weapons training covered how to handle a sword, both to become accustomed to the weight and balance, and also how to deliver injurious blows to an enemy without exposing the soldier's own body to enemy strikes. Roman sword-fighting as talk was in fact fairly restrained and measured - primarily, the sword was to be used to make short stabbing strokes from behind the protection of the scutum (shield) with minimal risk of the soldier receiving counter-strokes. Scutum ('skjuːtəm in English pl scuta) is the Latin word for " Shield " although it has in modern times come to be specifically This is in contrast to the rather looser style of slashing blows favored by many barbarian peoples. The soldier was taught not to engage in wild sword-fights with opponents and especially not to lay himself open to his antagonist while aiming his stroke at him. A favored tactic was to knock one's opponents off their feet with a ram of the scutum (shield), and then to dispatch him with one or more swift downward stabs whilst he was vulnerable on the ground, all the while remaining protected himself by the scutum, which was to remained raised and another one was, while being protected by the shield, they stabbed the enemy in the stomach, twisted the sword, brought it up and then pulled it out. Scutum ('skjuːtəm in English pl scuta) is the Latin word for " Shield " although it has in modern times come to be specifically They also trained in the use of the thrown javelin and pilum.

Common skills

As a minimum, it was expected that all troops would be at least minimally competent at swimming, so as to be able to ford any rivers where it was necessary to cross without the aid of a bridge and also some of them would have to swim in their armour so they could continue fighting.

Special skills

In an army as organizationally complex as the Roman army, physical conditioning, while stressed, was not sufficient. The most intelligent were trained in the special skills needed by the army, and would become officers or immunes in areas such as engineering. Ancient Rome 's military was highly advanced for its time divided into multiple units to maximize efficiency and power A blacksmith would be needed in the fort.

History of the Roman army

Main articles: Campaign history of the Roman military, Structural history of the Roman military, Technological history of the Roman military, Political history of the Roman military, Roman legion, and List of Roman legions

From a few score men defending a small hill town in Italy, through a citizen militia consisting of citizen-farmers raised annually for a short campaign before returning to harvest their fields, the Roman army grew to be a professional standing army of several hundred thousand men. From its origin as a city-state in Italy in 9th century BC the rise as an empire covering much of Eurasia and North The structural history of the Roman military describes the major chronological transformations in the organization and constitution of Ancient Rome 's armed forces, The technology history of the Roman military covers the development of and application of technologies for use in the armies and navies of Rome from the Roman Republic to the fall Rome's military was always tightly keyed to its political system For other uses see Legion The Roman Legion (from Latin legio "military levy Conscription," This is a list of Roman legions, including key facts about each legion primarily focusing on Principate (early Empire 30BC - 284AD legions for which there exists Roman historian Edward Gibbon estimates in his book The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire that the peak size of the Roman army in the late imperial period was in the order of 375,000 men. Edward Gibbon ( April 27, 1737 January 16, 1794) was an English historian and Member of Parliament. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (known popularly as The History) was written by English Historian

Branches

Further information: Roman military structure

References

Secondary Sources

Davies, Roy W. The structural history of the Roman military describes the major chronological transformations in the organization and constitution of Ancient Rome 's armed forces, "Service in the Roman Army", Columbia University Press, New York, 1989
Goldsworth, Adrian. "Roman Warfare", "Cassell & Co", London, UK 1999
Additional Educational Information, http://www.jointheromanarmy.co.uk

Contents