The Evolution of Roman Military

   The famous Roman legionaries went on to conquer the Mediterranean world, creating one of the single largest empires of all time. These conquests cemented the Roman army's place in history as one of the most competent and feared armies ever. But what did the Roman Army look like before they became the standardized force that is so often portrayed in media? 

The Early Roman Army:

    Comparitively little is known about the earliest Roman armies however, their primary purpose seemed to be to defend their land from others and to conduct raids on their enemies. It is important to note that at this time, all the soldiers would be expected to provide their own weapons and armor (this was an extremely common practice in the ancient world and a common practice up until the Late Middle Ages) as such there would have been no standard and their gear would not be uniform. The Roman's early army consisted of light infantry or skirmishers who would be armed with a small round shield, a helmet, javelins or slings, and a short sword or dagger, these would be the poorest citizens and freemen. The wealthiest Romans would be horsemen and make up the cavalry of the Roman army. For whatever reason Roman cavalry was never that great, and they were frequently outclassed by their enemies, this led to the Romans relying on auxiliaries and allies to provide them with cavalry.

    The backbone of the Roman army at this time was made up of citizens who were armed like hoplites and fought in phalanxes, or phalanx-like formations. It is not at all unusual that the Romans adopted the phalanx from the Greeks, the Greeks spread extremely far and many peoples, such as Etruscans, Phoenicians, eventually Egypt and much of the former Persian Empire adopted the phalanx as well. It was extremely effective, so why wouldn't they adopt it?

A hoplite

     The hoplite pictured above would have been comparatively wealthy as he is equipped with a cuirass, helmet, and greaves. A poorer hoplite may have only equipped themselves with a tunic, shoes, shield, helmet, spear, and sword. Also it is important to note that there was no single type of cuirass, they may have worn muscle cuirasses made of bronze or iron, mail, and even scale armor.  

    A phalanx was essentially a shield and spear wall that went several lines deep and fought as a unit, rather than as individuals. Phalanxes were typically more disciplined than their non-phalanx opponents. It would be difficult for comparatively unorganized and undisciplined opponents to break a phalanx line head on. Another benefit to the phalanx is that multiple lines deep could engage the enemy at the same time due to their long spears. Additionally, the combined weight and pressure of multiple lines would be felt by the first line who were engaging them. Although the phalanx had many strengths it also had several significant weaknesses, many of which would lead to the Romans eventually adopting the maniple system. One weakness of the phalanx was that it was comparatively less mobile than other formations and extremely prone to being flanked. Another drawback is that if the first line broke, then the entire formation would be vulnerable to attack. Italy's hilly and mountainous terrain hindered the effectiveness of the phalanx because the ideal ground for phalanxes to fight on were flat plains. Romans being ambushed by  Samnite skirmishers, who were comparatively quicker and more mobile led to the Romans adopting the maniple system. 

The Maniple System:

     The Manipular system was an extremely radical change from the phalanx in terms of equipment and tactics. It was adopted around 315 BCE while the Romans were at war with the Samnites. During this time, the Romans typically deployed in four lines. The first line being velites, or light skirmishers equipped with javelins, a shield, and a small sword. They would also commonly wear a wolf's head on their head. The velites were made up of Rome's youngest and poorest citizens. The next line were the hastati. In Latin their name means "spearmen," but ironically by this time they primarily used swords in combat. They were also equipped with two javelins or pila to throw at their enemies before charging. These javelins were sturdy enough to be used as regular spears as well, this could be used to deter cavalry charges. The Hastati were typically made up of poorer and younger citizens.  

    

The hastati were equipped with a breastplate, helmet, greaves and an ovular shield called a scutum. Interesting to note, the hastatus in this picture is wearing only one greave. They may have only been able to afford one greave and would wear it on their forward leg. The next line in the manipular system were called the principes. The principes were equipped very similarily to the hastai, but they could afford better weapons and armor and were more experienced than the hastati. The last line in the manipular system were the triarii, these were the wealthiest and most experienced men in the Roman army. They were heavy infantry who used spears. Although they used spears like phalanxes, they were comparatively more flexible and versatile and fought in much looser formations. Because they were the most experienced and well-equipped of the Roman military, they were the last line in the Roman army. There actually was a Latin phrase which translates to "it has come to the triarii," the colloquial meaning of the phrase is basically "shit has hit the fan and it is time for the adults to step in." Battles rarely ever came down to the triarii. One time the Romans were on campaign and the triarii were so eager to fight that they threatened to mutiny, if they were not allowed to engage the enemy in the next battle! The hastati, principes, and triarii certainly look more similar to the classical Roman legionnaire than a hoplite does, but there would be one more major change before we see what we now picture as the quintessential Roman solider. 

The Marian Reforms:

    As Rome's imperium expanded, so to did their need for an army. As a result they passed a series of reforms, which would later be called the Marian Reforms. These reforms did away with the property requirement to enlist and the state began to pay for the equipment of the soldiers, leading to them having much more standardized equipment than their forbearers. These reforms created a true standing and professional army unlike the previous systems, where rome relied on temporary militias. The Marian Reforms also inadvertently led to political instability in Rome due to legions becoming less loyal to Rome the city and more loyal to their generals. 

   This is a great picture of what a Roman legionnaire would look like, but they did not all wear lorica segmentata, or segmented plate armor. Mail, was more common due to it being cheaper and easier to maintain. Muscle cuirasses and scale armor were also common among veterans. 

 lorica squamata or scale armor

    After the Marian Reforms, Romans would only make up the infantry core of the army, all the other roles like skirmishers, archers, and cavalry would be filled by auxiliaries or allies. Later on, it was not uncommon for auxiliaries to be trained and equipped in the typical Roman legionnaire style as well. As a brief aside the testudo formation was primarily used to protect soldiers from missile fire, soldiers did not typically fight entire battles in a testudo. The Roman military stayed largely unchanged until its fall in the West, after the fall of the Western empire, the Eastern Roman Empire did make radical changes in response to the radically different world they found themselves in. Unfortunately, today I do not have time to discuss the Eastern Roman Empire or how the Roman military changed during the Middle Ages.