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The Roman army of the mid-Republic, also called the manipular Roman army or the Polybian army, refers to the armed forces deployed by the mid-
Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...
, from the end of the
Samnite Wars The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars (343–341 BC, 326–304 BC, and 298–290 BC) were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, who lived on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains south of Rome and north of the Lucanian tribe. ...
(290 BC) to the end of the Social War (88 BC). The first phase of this army, in its manipular structure (290–c. 130 BC), is described in detail in the '' Histories'' of the ancient Greek historian
Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...
, writing before 146 BC. The central feature of the mid-Republican army was the manipular organisation of its battle-line. Instead of a single, large mass (the
phalanx The phalanx ( grc, φάλαγξ; plural phalanxes or phalanges, , ) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar pole weapons. The term is particularly ...
) as in the
Early Roman army The Early Roman army was deployed by ancient Rome during its Regal Era and into the early Republic around 300 BC, when the so-called "Polybian" or manipular legion was introduced. Until c. 550 BC, there was probably no "national" Roman army, but ...
, the Romans now drew up in three lines (''triplex acies'') consisting of small units (maniples) of 120 men, arrayed in chessboard fashion, giving much greater tactical strength and flexibility. This structure was probably introduced in c. 300 BC during the
Samnite Wars The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars (343–341 BC, 326–304 BC, and 298–290 BC) were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, who lived on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains south of Rome and north of the Lucanian tribe. ...
. Also probably dating from this period was the regular accompaniment of each legion by a non-citizen formation of roughly equal size, the ''
ala Ala, ALA, Alaa or Alae may refer to: Places * Ala, Hiiu County, Estonia, a village * Ala, Valga County, Estonia, a village * Ala, Alappuzha, Kerala, India, a village * Ala, Iran, a village in Semnan Province * Ala, Gotland, Sweden * Alad, S ...
'', recruited from Rome's Italian allies, or ''
socii The ''socii'' ( in English) or ''foederati'' ( in English) were confederates of ancient Rome, Rome and formed one of the three legal denominations in Roman Italy (''Italia'') along with the Roman citizens (''Cives'') and the ''Latin Rights, Latin ...
''. The latter were about 150 autonomous states which were bound by a treaty of perpetual military alliance with Rome. Their sole obligation was to supply to the Roman army, on demand, a number of fully equipped troops up to a specified maximum each year. Evidence from Roman army camps near
Numantia Numantia ( es, Numancia) is an ancient Celtiberian settlement, whose remains are located on a hill known as Cerro de la Muela in the current municipality of Garray ( Soria), Spain. Numantia is famous for its role in the Celtiberian Wars. In ...
in Spain suggests that a much larger tactical unit, the
cohort Cohort or cohortes may refer to: * Cohort (educational group), a group of students working together through the same academic curriculum * Cohort (floating point), a set of different encodings of the same numerical value * Cohort (military unit ...
(480 men, equivalent to 4 maniples) already existed, alongside maniples, in the period 153–133 BC. By c. 100 BC, cohorts appear to have fully replaced maniples as the basic tactical unit. The
Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...
(218–201 BC) saw the addition of a third element to the existing dual Roman/Italian structure: non-Italian mercenaries with specialist skills lacking in the legions and ''alae'': Numidian light cavalry,
Cretan archers Cretan archers were a well known class of warrior whose specialist skills were extensively utilized in both ancient and medieval warfare. They were especially valued in armies, such as those of the Greek city-states, (such as Athens, Sparta, Er ...
, and
Balearic slingers Mercenary life is recorded as a custom of Iron Age Spain, particularly in the central area of the Iberian peninsula. Departing from the native tribe and applying to serve in others was a way for economically disadvantaged youth to escape poverty an ...
. From this time, these units always accompanied Roman armies. The Republican army of this period, like its earlier forebear, did not maintain standing or professional military forces, but levied them, by compulsory conscription, as required for each campaigning season and disbanded thereafter (although formations could be kept in being over winter during major wars). Service in the legions was limited to property-owning Roman citizens, normally those known as ''iuniores'' (age 16–46). The army's senior officers, including its commanders-in-chief, the
Roman consul A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...
s, were all elected annually at the People's Assembly. Only members of the Roman equestrian order—the ''
equites The ''equites'' (; literally "horse-" or "cavalrymen", though sometimes referred to as "knights" in English) constituted the second of the property-based classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the senatorial class. A member of the equestrian o ...
''—were eligible to serve as senior officers. ''Iuniores'' of the highest social classes (''equites'' and the First Class of commoners) provided the legion's cavalry, the other classes the legionary infantry. The ''proletarii'' (the lowest and most numerous social class, assessed at under 400 ''drachmae'' wealth in c. 216 BC) were until c. 200 BC ineligible for legionary service and were assigned to the fleets as oarsmen. Elders, vagrants, freedmen, slaves and convicts were excluded from the military levy, save in emergencies. During a prolonged such emergency, the Second Punic War, severe manpower shortages necessitated that the property requirement be ignored and large numbers of ''proletarii'' conscripted into the legions. After the end of this war, it appears that ''proletarii'' were admitted to the legions as volunteers (as opposed to conscripts) and at the same time the property requirement was reduced to a nominal level by 150 BC, and finally scrapped in the consulship of
Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...
(107 BC). The legionary cavalry also changed, probably around 300 BC onwards from the light, unarmoured horse of the early army to a heavy force with metal armour (bronze cuirasses and, later,
mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...
coats). Contrary to a long-held view, the cavalry of the mid-Republic was a highly effective force that generally prevailed against strong enemy cavalry forces (both Gallic and Greek) until it was decisively beaten by the Carthaginian general
Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...
's horsemen during the second Punic War. This was due to the greater operational flexibility Hannibal’s Numidian light cavalry allowed. For the vast majority of the period of its existence, the Polybian levy was at war. This led to great strains on Roman and Italian manpower, but forged a superb fighting machine. During the Second Punic War, fully two-thirds of Roman ''iuniores'' were under arms continuously. In the period after the defeat of Carthage in 201 BC, the army was campaigning exclusively outside Italy, resulting in its men being away from their home plots of land for many years at a stretch. They were assuaged by the large amounts of booty that they shared after victories in the rich eastern theatre. But in Italy, the ever-increasing concentration of public lands in the hands of big landowners, and the consequent displacement of the soldiers' families, led to great unrest and demands for land redistribution. This was successfully achieved, but resulted in the disaffection of Rome's Italian allies, who as non-citizens were excluded from the redistribution. This led to the mass revolt of the ''socii'' and the Social War (91–88 BC). The result was the grant of Roman citizenship to all Italians and the end of the Polybian army's dual structure: the ''alae'' were abolished and the ''socii'' recruited into the legions. The
Roman army of the late Republic The Roman army of the late Republic refers to the armed forces deployed by the late Roman Republic, from the beginning of the first century BC until the establishment of the Imperial Roman army by Augustus in 30 BC. Shaped by major social, politi ...
(88–30 BC) resulted, a transitional phase to the
Imperial Roman army The Imperial Roman army was the military land force of the Roman Empire from about 30 BC to 476 AD, and the final incarnation in the long history of the Roman army. This period is sometimes split into the Principate (30 BC – 284 AD) and the Do ...
(30 BC – AD 284).


Main sources

As can be deduced from its "Polybian" epithet, the most important extant literary source on the Roman army of this period are '' The Histories'' of the Greek historian
Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...
, published in c. 160 BC. The surviving chapters cover the First and Second
Punic Wars The Punic Wars were a series of wars between 264 and 146BC fought between Roman Republic, Rome and Ancient Carthage, Carthage. Three conflicts between these states took place on both land and sea across the western Mediterranean region and i ...
. Chapter VI contains a detailed analysis of the organisation and basic practices of the army. Polybius is generally seen by modern historians as a reliable and balanced source, but there are some inconsistencies and unclear points of detail in his account. These partly derive from his use of Greek terms to describe Roman military units and other terms. Moreover, the chronology of his account is uncertain. It has been suggested, from features such as joint consular armies, that he describes the army as it was c. 218 BC, at the start of the Second Punic War, considerably earlier than his time of writing (c. 160 BC).Dobson (2008) 407 It is also possible that his account contains details from various historical periods. Polybius' source for Chapter VI remains uncertain. It has been suggested he was using an old army manual. The second most important literary source is ''
Ab urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an exp ...
'', a massive history of Rome published in c. AD 20, by the Augustan-era Roman historian
Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...
, whose surviving books XXI–XLV cover the years 218–168 BC. Although a narrative history lacking a specific analysis of the army as in Polybius, Livy's work contains much incidental information about the army and its tactics. Also useful are the monograph on the
Jugurthine War The Jugurthine War ( la, Bellum Iugurthinum; 112–106 BC) was an armed conflict between the Roman Republic and king Jugurtha of Numidia, a kingdom on the north African coast approximating to modern Algeria. Jugurtha was the nephew and adopted ...
by
Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (; 86 – ), was a Roman historian and politician from an Italian plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became during the 50s BC a partisan o ...
(published c. 90 BC) and the much later biographies of Roman leaders of the Republican period by
Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
. Unlike for the later
Imperial Roman army The Imperial Roman army was the military land force of the Roman Empire from about 30 BC to 476 AD, and the final incarnation in the long history of the Roman army. This period is sometimes split into the Principate (30 BC – 284 AD) and the Do ...
, relatively little epigraphic evidence and pictorial evidence survives for army of this period. The most important bas-relief is that on the tomb of Ahenobarbus (c. 122 BC), which provides the clearest and most detailed depiction of the equipment of mid-Republican officers and soldiers. The soldiers it depicts are: one senior officer, four infantrymen, and one cavalryman. Otherwise, there is a lack of tombstones showing soldiers in military dress as are common from the
Principate The Principate is the name sometimes given to the first period of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the so-called Dominate. ...
era. The earliest such, dating from 42 BC, is the Padova Centurion. Published evidence from archaeological excavation is also far less abundant than for the imperial era, although it is growing rapidly. A critical corpus is from Roman fortified camps built around
Numantia Numantia ( es, Numancia) is an ancient Celtiberian settlement, whose remains are located on a hill known as Cerro de la Muela in the current municipality of Garray ( Soria), Spain. Numantia is famous for its role in the Celtiberian Wars. In ...
during campaigns in Iberia, including the Numantine Wars in Spain (155–133 BC). The most important excavated sites are the camps at Renieblas, which range in date from 195 to 75 BC. Of these, camp III dates from the 153 BC campaign of consul
Quintus Fulvius Nobilior Quintus Fulvius Nobilior was a Roman consul who obtained the consulship in 153 BC. His father Marcus Fulvius Nobilior and his brother Marcus Fulvius Nobilior (consul 159 BC) were also consuls. Nobilior and his father were patrons of the writer ...
. The Castillejo camp was occupied in 137 by
Gaius Hostilius Mancinus Gaius Hostilius Mancinus was a Roman consul in 137 BC. Due to his campaign against Numantia in northern Spain, Plutarch called him "not bad as a man, but most unfortunate of the Romans as a general." During this campaign in the Numantine War, Manci ...
and again by
Scipio Aemilianus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185–129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and during the ...
in 134–133 BC. A further site at Peña Redonda is notable.Bishop & Coulston (2006) 48 These sites, and others, have yielded both information of camp layout and finds of military and other equipment. This large sequence of sites was excavated in 1905–12 by Adolf Schulten, who interpreted the results as being consistent with Polybius' detailed account of the design of Roman camps. However, a reassessment (2008) of the data (including the results of later excavation of the sites) by Michael Dobson has concluded that the Numantia data only partially supports Polybius and suggests that troops were already partially organised in
cohort Cohort or cohortes may refer to: * Cohort (educational group), a group of students working together through the same academic curriculum * Cohort (floating point), a set of different encodings of the same numerical value * Cohort (military unit ...
s. Of major importance in our understanding of mid-Republican military equipment is the hoard of some 160 Roman weapons at Šmihel in
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
(known to the Romans as western
Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now wes ...
), dating from the period 200–150 BC. This site was along the major Roman route from
Aquileia Aquileia / / / / ;Bilingual name of ''Aquileja – Oglej'' in: vec, Aquiłeja / ; Slovenian: ''Oglej''), group=pron is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river N ...
to
Emona Emona (early gkm, Ἤμονα) or Aemona (short for ) was a Roman castrum, located in the area where the navigable Ljubljanica river came closest to Castle Hill,
(Ljubliana). Originally unearthed in 1890, these finds were not fully published until around AD 2000. They include one helmet, four swords (two of them ''gladii''), two spears, one hundred and six ''pila'' of various types, thirty-seven javelins, arrowheads and other miscellaneous items.


Background: The Roman–Italian military loose federation

The Roman/Italian military alliance had fully evolved by 264 BC and remained for 200 years the basis of Roman military organisation. From 338 BC to 88 BC
Roman legion The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period of ...
s were invariably accompanied on campaign by an equal number of somewhat larger allied units called '' alae'' (literally: "wings", as allied troops would always be posted on the flanks of the Roman battle-line, with the Roman legions holding the centre). 75% of a normal consular army's cavalry was supplied by the Italian ''
socii The ''socii'' ( in English) or ''foederati'' ( in English) were confederates of ancient Rome, Rome and formed one of the three legal denominations in Roman Italy (''Italia'') along with the Roman citizens (''Cives'') and the ''Latin Rights, Latin ...
''. The alliance was distantly descended the ''
Foedus Cassianum According to Roman tradition, the ''Foedus Cassianum'' ( in English) or the Treaty of Cassius was a treaty which formed an alliance between the Roman Republic and the Latin League in 493 BC after the Battle of Lake Regillus. It ended the war betwee ...
'' ("Treaty of Cassius", 493 BC) signed by the fledgling Roman Republic with its neighbouring Latin city-states shortly after the overthrow of the
Roman monarchy The Roman Kingdom (also referred to as the Roman monarchy, or the regal period of ancient Rome) was the earliest period of Roman history when the city and its territory were ruled by kings. According to oral accounts, the Roman Kingdom began wit ...
in 510 BC. This was an indefinite military alliance with the other city-states of
Old Latium Old Latium ( la, Latium vetus or ') is a region of the Italian peninsula bounded to the north by the river Tiber, to the east by the central Apennine mountains, to the west by the Mediterranean Sea and to the south by Monte Circeo. It was the t ...
, the home of the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
tribe, to which the Romans themselves belonged. Although extant details are fragmentary, the treaty's basic features were a mutual non-aggression and defense pact, requiring all signatories to assist any of their number who was attacked with all their forces. It also appears to have provided for joint operations in the field, if such were decided upon at an annual conference. Judging by the provision that the Romans and Latins were to share booty on an equal basis, it is likely that the treaty required the Latins to contribute roughly the same number of troops to joint operations as Rome. It appears that command of any joint forces may have alternated between Romans and allies. The motive factor behind the alliance was the threat posed to the cities of Old Latium by the surrounding Italic
hill-tribe Hill people, also referred to as mountain people, is a general term for people who live in the hills and mountains. This includes all rugged land above and all land (including plateaus) above elevation. The climate is generally harsh, with s ...
s, notably the
Volsci The Volsci (, , ) were an Italic tribe, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the ...
and
Aequi 300px, Location of the Aequi (Equi) in central Italy, 5th century BC. The Aequi ( grc, Αἴκουοι and Αἴκοι) were an Italic tribe on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains to the east of Latium in central Italy who appear in the early his ...
, whose incursions intensified in this period. By 358 BC, however, the hill-tribe menace had receded and the Romans repudiated the ''foedus''. The succeeding period saw a steady increase in Roman encroachment in Old Latium. In 341 BC, the
Latin League The Latin League (c. 7th century BC – 338 BC)Stearns, Peter N. (2001) ''The Encyclopedia of World History'', Houghton Mifflin. pp. 76–78. . was an ancient confederation of about 30 villages and tribes in the region of Latium near the ancient c ...
, a confederation of the other city-states of Old Latium, went to war against Rome in an attempt to save what remained of their independence—the
Latin War The (Second) Latin War (340–338 BC)The Romans customarily dated events by noting the consuls who held office that year. The Latin War broke out in the year that Titus Manlius Imperiosus Torquatus and Publius Decius Mus were consuls and ended ...
(341–338 BC). The Romans won a decisive victory and annexed most of Old Latium, unifying the Latin nation under their hegemony for the first time since the Tarquin era two centuries earlier. Using the resources of their expanded territory, the Romans proceeded to establish control of much of the Italian peninsula by 264 BC. The defunct ''foedus Cassianum'' with the Latins was replaced by a new type of military alliance with the Italian city-states and tribes. As each was progressively subdued, a part of its territory would be annexed by Rome to provide land for Roman/Latin colonists. The defeated state would be allowed to keep the rest of its territory in return for binding itself to Rome with a perpetual treaty of military alliance. Unlike the Latin alliance which was founded on a basis of equality between Rome and the other Latin city-states, the new system reflected Roman hegemony. Strategy was determined by the
Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...
alone, joint forces were always levied and these were always under Roman command. The system was based on a series of bilateral treaties between Rome and, by 218 BC, about 150 Italian city-states and tribal cantons (known collectively as Rome's ''
socii The ''socii'' ( in English) or ''foederati'' ( in English) were confederates of ancient Rome, Rome and formed one of the three legal denominations in Roman Italy (''Italia'') along with the Roman citizens (''Cives'') and the ''Latin Rights, Latin ...
'' ("allies"). These would require the ally to "have the same friends and enemies as Rome", effectively prohibiting war against other ''socii'' and surrendering foreign policy to Rome. Beyond this, the sole obligation on the ally was to contribute to the federate army, on demand, a number of fully equipped troops up to a specified maximum each year, to serve under Roman command. The obligation on the ally was thus purely military, and not tributary. Little is known about the size of contingent each ''socius'' was required to provide, and whether it was proportional to population and/or wealth. The vast majority of ''socii'' were required to supply land troops (both infantry and cavalry), although most of the coastal cities were '' socii navales'' ("naval allies"), whose obligation was to provide either partly or fully crewed warships to the Roman fleet. Despite the loss of territory, independence and heavy military obligations, the system provided substantial benefits for the ''socii''. Most importantly, they were freed from the constant threat of aggression from their neighbours that had persisted in the anarchic centuries prior to the imposition of the ''
Pax Romana The Pax Romana (Latin for 'Roman peace') is a roughly 200-year-long timespan of Roman history which is periodization, identified as a period and as a golden age (metaphor), golden age of increased as well as sustained Imperial cult of ancient Rome ...
''. In addition, the Roman alliance protected the Italian peninsula from external invasion, such as the periodic and devastating incursions of
Gauls The Gauls ( la, Galli; grc, Γαλάται, ''Galátai'') were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). They s ...
from the
Po Valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...
. Although no longer in control of war and foreign policy, each ''socius'' remained otherwise fully autonomous, with its own laws, system of government, coinage and language. Moreover, the military burden was only half that shouldered by Roman citizens, as the latter numbered only about half the population of the ''socii'', but provided around half the total levies. Despite this, allied troops were allowed to share war booty on a 50–50 basis with Romans. Despite these benefits, some ''socii'' rebelled against the alliance whenever the opportunity arose. The best occasions were provided by the invasions of Italy by the Greek king Pyrrhus in 281–275 BC and by the Carthaginian general
Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...
in 218–203 BC, during the
Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...
. During these, many ''socii'' deserted Rome and joined the invaders, mostly
Oscan Oscan is an extinct Indo-European language of southern Italy. The language is in the Osco-Umbrian or Sabellic branch of the Italic languages. Oscan is therefore a close relative of Umbrian. Oscan was spoken by a number of tribes, including th ...
-speakers of southern Italy, notably the Samnite tribes, who were Rome's most implacable enemy. On the other hand, many ''socii'' remained loyal, motivated primarily by antagonisms with neighbouring rebels. Even after Rome's disaster at the
Battle of Cannae The Battle of Cannae () was a key engagement of the Second Punic War between the Roman Republic and Carthage, fought on 2 August 216 BC near the ancient village of Cannae in Apulia, southeast Italy. The Carthaginians and their allies, led by ...
(216 BC), over 80% of the ''socii'' (by population) did not defect and Rome's military alliance was ultimately victorious.


Expansion of the Roman Republic

The Polybian army's operations during its existence can be divided into three broad phases. (1) The struggle for hegemony over Italy, especially against the Samnite League (338–264 BC); (2) the struggle with
Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
for hegemony in the western Mediterranean Sea (264–201 BC); and the struggle against the
Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
monarchies for control of the eastern Mediterranean (200–91 BC). The first phase saw operations confined to the Italian peninsula. The second phase featured operations both in Italy (during Hannibal's invasion 218–203 BC) and other regions of the western Mediterranean: Sicily, Sardinia, Spain and North Africa. During final phase, operations were exclusively conducted overseas, both in the western and eastern Mediterranean.


Army evolution

The
Early Roman army The Early Roman army was deployed by ancient Rome during its Regal Era and into the early Republic around 300 BC, when the so-called "Polybian" or manipular legion was introduced. Until c. 550 BC, there was probably no "national" Roman army, but ...
, from c. 550 to c. 300 BC, is widely believed to have been equipped Greek-style, as hoplite
heavy infantry Heavy infantry consisted of heavily armed and armoured infantrymen who were trained to mount frontal assaults and/or anchor the defensive center of a battle line. This differentiated them from light infantry who are relatively mobile and lightly ...
, complemented by light (unarmoured) infantry and light cavalry. The hoplites would fight in set-piece battles as a
phalanx The phalanx ( grc, φάλαγξ; plural phalanxes or phalanges, , ) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar pole weapons. The term is particularly ...
, or single, deep line of spearmen. The army was levied from landholding farmers for a single campaigning-season each year. It is believed that in the late regal period (550–500 BC), the standard levy was a single legion numbering 9,000 men (6,000 hoplites, 2,400 light infantry and 600 cavalry). In the early Republican period (to c. 300 BC), the levy was split equally into two legions of 5,000 men each. The legion's sub-division, for both recruitment and tactical purposes, was the '' centuria'', or
company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...
, of about 100 men each. Since most fighting in the early period was in the form of small-scale raids and skirmishes, rather than large set-piece battles, it is likely that most encounters were fought by single ''centuriae'' acting independently. In the late 3rd century BC, at the time of the series of wars fought against the Samnite League, Rome's army went from two legions to four. This may have also been the time of the army's transformation from a Greek-style phalanx to the Italian-style manipular structure described by Polybius. It appears that the manipular structure was in place during the
Pyrrhic War The Pyrrhic War (280–275 BC) was largely fought between the Roman Republic and Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, who had been asked by the people of the Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy to help them in their war against the Romans. A ski ...
(280–275 BC).Wallbank (1957) 702 From this time onwards, instead of fielding a single line in battle, the Romans appear to normally have drawn up in three lines (''triplex acies'') of heavy infantry, called (front to rear) ''
hastati ''Hastati'' (singular: ''hastatus'') were a class of infantry employed in the armies of the early Roman Republic, who originally fought as spearmen and later as swordsmen. These soldiers were the staple unit after Rome threw off Etruscan rule. ...
'' (literally: "spear-bearers"), ''
principes ''Principes'' (Singular: ''princeps'') were spearmen, and later swordsmen, in the armies of the early Roman Republic. They were men in the prime of their lives who were fairly wealthy, and could afford decent equipment. They were the heavier in ...
'' ("main-liners") and ''
triarii ''Triarii'' (singular: ''Triarius'') were one of the elements of the early Roman military manipular legions of the early Roman Republic (509 BC – 107 BC). They were the oldest and among the wealthiest men in the army and could afford high qua ...
'' ("third-rankers"). It is presumed that originally all three lines were equipped with the thrusting-spear ('' hastae'', i.e., all three lines were once ''hastati''), but with the introduction of the ''
pilum The ''pilum'' (; plural ''pila'') was a javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times. It was generally about long overall, consisting of an iron shank about in diameter and long with a pyramidal head, attached to a wooden shaft ...
'' (a heavy javelin) around 250 BC, only the rear rank retained ''hastae''. It is also from this time that the normal annual levy was doubled to four legions (two per consul). In addition, every Roman army which took the field was henceforth regularly accompanied by at least as many troops supplied by the ''socii''. Thus, each consular army fielded was now quadruple the size of the earlier army. Closely following the changes in organisation came the introduction of new, more effective weaponry and armour. During the
First Punic War The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and grea ...
(264–241 BC), in Sicily, the Romans encountered Spanish warriors for the first time, serving as mercenaries for Carthage. The Iberians of the time were renowned for the design and manufacture of high-quality weapons, most notably the '' gladius Hispaniensis'', the "Spanish sword", which remained the standard close-combat weapon of Roman infantrymen until the 3rd century AD. Although Polybius states that the ''gladius'' was adopted by the Romans during the Second Punic War, it is clear from elsewhere in his own narrative that it was already in use during the Gallic invasion of 225 BC.Wallbank (1957) 704 The ''gladius'' replaced the generally shorter stabbing-swords of Italic design used until then.Goldsworthy (2003) 29 The Romans were able to marry, from the time for the Second Punic War, the superb design of the ''gladius'' with the finest-quality steel then available in western Europe, the '' ferrum Noricum'', from the Alpine kingdom of
Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celts, Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were th ...
(roughly modern
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
). The ''pilum'', a heavy javelin that eventually all Roman foot-soldiers were equipped with, was probably also of Spanish design and also adopted during the First Punic War. (Alternatively, it has been suggested that the ''pilum'' was of Samnite origin, but there is no evidence that the Samnites possessed any such weapon). For the front two ranks, the ''pilum'' replaced the heavy thrusting-spear called the '' hasta'', with which all infantrymen were until then equipped. A somewhat later innovation was the introduction of the ''
lorica hamata The ''lorica hamata'' (in Latin with normal elision: ) is a type of mail armor used by soldiers for over 600 years (3rd century BC to 4th century AD) from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. ''Lorica hamata'' comes from the Latin ''hamatus'' ( ...
'', or
mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...
coat, replacing the bronze cuirass worn previously. Probably invented by the
Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...
of central Europe, mail was probably not adopted by the Romans before c. 200 BC, most likely after it was encountered during the Roman conquest of
Cisalpine Gaul Cisalpine Gaul ( la, Gallia Cisalpina, also called ''Gallia Citerior'' or ''Gallia Togata'') was the part of Italy inhabited by Celts (Gauls) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. After its conquest by the Roman Republic in the 200s BC it was con ...
in the period 220–180 BC. By c. 122 BC, the date of the Ahenobarbus monument, it appears from the friezes that mail was standard for all infantrymen. The next milestone in the development of the army was the Second Punic War. Hannibal's victories highlighted the deficiencies of the Roman army, which had evolved to fight wars against similarly equipped forces of competing Italian states. The infantry lacked specialist missile troops such as archers (''
sagittarii ''Sagittarii'' (Latin, plural form of ''sagittarius'') is the Latin term for archers. The term ''sagittariorum'' in the title of an infantry or cavalry unit indicated a specialized archer regiment. Regular auxiliary units of foot and horse arc ...
'') and slingers (''funditores''). From c. 218 BC onwards, Roman armies regularly hired mercenary units of archers from Crete and
Balearic slingers Mercenary life is recorded as a custom of Iron Age Spain, particularly in the central area of the Iberian peninsula. Departing from the native tribe and applying to serve in others was a way for economically disadvantaged youth to escape poverty an ...
(the inhabitants of these islands became synonymous with slingers: ''Baleares'' was an alternative name for "slingers" in classical Latin). At the same time, Roman cavalry had become a heavy armoured force specialising in the shock charge. While formidable, it lacked the operational flexibility afforded by the light
Numidian cavalry Numidian cavalry was a type of light cavalry developed by the Numidians. After they were used by Hannibal during the Second Punic War, they were described by the Roman historian Livy as "by far the best horsemen in Africa." History Numidian cava ...
(''equites Numidae'') so effectively employed by Hannibal in conjunction with his own heavy cavalry (Iberians and Gauls). From 206 BC, when the Numidian king
Massinissa Masinissa ( nxm, , ''MSNSN''; ''c.'' 238 BC – 148 BC), also spelled Massinissa, Massena and Massan, was an ancient Numidian king best known for leading a federation of Massylii Berber tribes during the Second Punic War (218–201 BC), ult ...
switched sides from Carthage to Rome, until the 3rd century AD, Roman armies were almost always accompanied by troops of Numidian light horse. From the end of the Second Punic War (201 BC) onwards, the Republic's army fought exclusively outside Italy as it conquered a Mediterranean empire. This required men to remain under arms abroad for much longer periods, which was unpopular with farmer-conscripts concerned with the neglect of their plots. Their political pressure resulted in the passage of a law that conscripts could not be required to serve for more than six years consecutively. To circumvent this, there is evidence that the army in this period recruited ever higher numbers of volunteers for long-term service. The most suitable such recruits were from the ranks of the ''proletarii'', the landless lowest social class, as they had no farms to tend and would be most attracted by the prospect of substantial gain in the form of booty. But the ''proletarii'', despite being the largest social class, were excluded from service in the legions because they did not meet the minimum property-threshold. It appears that the property rule was waived for volunteers from this time onwards. This is shown by the career of Spurius Ligustinus, as related by Livy. This quasi-professional soldier volunteered in 200 BC and served a total of 22 years, reaching the rank of a senior centurion, but he owned a tiny plot of just 1 ''iugum'' (0.25 hectare) of land, only half the 2 ''iugera'' regarded as the equivalent of the minimum property-qualification. The consulship of
Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...
(107 BC) saw the supposed launch of the so-called
Marian reforms The Marian reforms were reforms of the ancient Roman army implemented in 107 BC by the statesman Gaius Marius, for whom they were later named. The reforms originated as a reaction to the military and logistical stagnation of the Roman Republic i ...
of the army. More dated scholars have ascribed to this general many of the changes that had transformed the Republican army by the time of its next extant detailed description in the pages of
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
's ''
De Bello Gallico ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (; en, Commentaries on the Gallic War, italic=yes), also ''Bellum Gallicum'' ( en, Gallic War, italic=yes), is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Ca ...
'' (composed in 51 BC), namely: # Admission of ''proletarii'' to legionary service # Recruitment of large numbers of volunteers # Replacement of maniples with cohorts as the main legionary tactical unit # Abolition of legionary cavalry In reality, the sole documented reform by Marius was the establishment (in 104 BC) of the eagle ('' aquila'') as the sole animal-symbol to be used on the legion's standard (previously there had been a choice of 5 different animals, including the eagle). The attribution to Marius of the other changes is purely speculative, and probably erroneous also. (1 and 2): Marius is credited with recruiting to his legions large numbers of ''proletarii'' in violation of the minimum property-requirement. As the career of Ligustinus shows, ''proletarii'' volunteers were admitted as early as 200 BC, while for conscripts the property threshold had been progressively reduced to a nominal level: according to Livy, the original threshold had been 11,000 ''
asses Ass most commonly refers to: * Buttocks (in informal American English) * Donkey or ass, ''Equus africanus asinus'' **any other member of the subgenus ''Asinus'' Ass or ASS may also refer to: Art and entertainment * Ass (album), ''Ass'' (album ...
'' (1,100 ''drachmae''); Polybius reports that it stood at 400 ''drachmae'' (4,000 ''asses'') in c. 216 BC; in 140 BC, it was reduced to 1,500 ''asses'', by then worth just under 100 ''drachmae''. Marius simply acknowledged the reality that the property requirement had by his time effectively lapsed.
(3) Livy mentions cohorts of Italian allies in Spain during the 2nd Punic War, and it has been argued that the 2nd Punic War-era Roman general
Scipio Africanus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–183 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, most notable as one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the best military com ...
first introduced this unit in the legions almost a century before Marius' consulship. The most recent analysis of archaeological data on the layout of successive army camps at
Numantia Numantia ( es, Numancia) is an ancient Celtiberian settlement, whose remains are located on a hill known as Cerro de la Muela in the current municipality of Garray ( Soria), Spain. Numantia is famous for its role in the Celtiberian Wars. In ...
in Spain suggests that cohorts were introduced gradually in the period from c. 140 BC and the process was probably complete by the time Marius was elected Consul.
(4) Roman cavalry is attested under Marius himself at the
Battle of Vercellae The Battle of Vercellae, or Battle of the Raudine Plain, was fought on 30 July 101 BC on a plain near Vercellae in Gallia Cisalpina (modern day Northern Italy). A Germanic-Celtic confederation under the command of the Cimbric king Boiorix was ...
(101 BC). Jeremiah McCall argues that legionary cavalry was probably abolished during the Social War (91–88 BC), but even this is uncertain. It is widely believed that Julius Caesar's legions in the Gallic war had no attached cavalry. This is based on an incident in 58 BC when Caesar, who needed a large cavalry escort to meet the German king
Ariovistus Ariovistus was a leader of the Suebi and other allied Germanic peoples in the second quarter of the 1st century BC. He and his followers took part in a war in Gaul, assisting the Arverni and Sequani in defeating their rivals, the Aedui. They t ...
, ordered his Gallic allied cavalry, whom he did not yet fully trust, to hand their horses to soldiers of the 10th Legion, which was from that time jokingly nicknamed ''equestris'' ("the mounted legion"). However, according to Plutarch, 7,000 cavalry "from the flower of Rome and Italy" served in Pompey's army at the
Battle of Pharsalus The Battle of Pharsalus was the decisive battle of Caesar's Civil War fought on 9 August 48 BC near Pharsalus in central Greece. Julius Caesar and his allies formed up opposite the army of the Roman Republic under the command of Pompey. P ...
(48 BC). Far more significant for the Republican army's development than Marius' career was the Social War, in the aftermath of which all the inhabitants of peninsular Italy were granted Roman citizenship. This spelled the end of the old dual Romans/''socii'' structure of the army. The ''alae'' were abolished, and all Italians recruited into the legions.Goldsworthy (2003)


Army structure

Until 200 BC, the republican army, like its earlier forebear, did not maintain standing or professional military forces, but levied them, by compulsory conscription, as required for each campaigning season and disbanded them thereafter (although formations could be kept in being over winter, and for several years consecutively, during major wars). After Rome acquired an overseas empire following the Punic Wars, armies stationed in key provinces became in effect standing forces, although no conscript could legally be required to serve more than 6 years consecutively. The forces levied (or kept under arms) each year were normally divided equally between the two
consuls A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...
, but the Senate could place additional forces under the command of the
praetors Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...
, as well as extend the single-year command of both types of Roman magistrate, in which case they assumed the title of
proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...
and
propraetor In ancient Rome a promagistrate ( la, pro magistratu) was an ex-consul or ex-praetor whose ''imperium'' (the power to command an army) was extended at the end of his annual term of office or later. They were called proconsuls and propraetors. Thi ...
respectively. Following the Punic Wars, proconsuls and propraetors served as the
governors A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of the
provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of the overseas empire, in command of the military forces deployed there for a set term (normally 3 years). While Roman citizens were recruited to the
legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...
s, the Latin and Italian allies were organised into '' alae'' (literally: "wings", because they were always posted on the flanks of the Roman line of battle). From the time of the Samnite Wars, when the number of legions levied each year was doubled to four, a normal consular army would contain two legions and two ''alae'', or about 20,000 men (17,500 infantry and 2,400 cavalry). In times of emergency, a consul might be authorised to raise a double-strength army of four legions, but the allied ''alae'' would always number two, as they represented the two wings of the battle-line, but be double-strength e.g., at the
Battle of Cannae The Battle of Cannae () was a key engagement of the Second Punic War between the Roman Republic and Carthage, fought on 2 August 216 BC near the ancient village of Cannae in Apulia, southeast Italy. The Carthaginians and their allies, led by ...
in 216 BC, where each consul commanded an army of about 40,000 men. In battle, it was the custom to draw up the Roman legions in the centre of the infantry line, with the Latin ''alae'' on the flanks. Hence, the two ''alae'' in a normal consular army were named ''dextra'' (right) ''ala'' and ''sinistra'' or ''laeva'' (left) ''ala''. The Roman cavalry was posted on the right wing, the allied Italian cavalry held the left. The left wing thus outnumbered the right by 3 to 1, a practice exploited by
Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...
at Cannae, who drew up his best cavalry to face the much smaller Roman cavalry and quickly routed it. The order of battle of a normal consular army could be summarised thus: * Note: The legions in a consular army bore either odd or even numbers. In the case above, the other consular army would contain legions II and IV.


Senior officers

The republican army contained no professional officers. Each of the two army corps (of two legions and two ''alae'' each) normally levied every year was commanded by one of the two
Roman consul A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...
s, the highest of the annually elected magistrates. ''
Equites The ''equites'' (; literally "horse-" or "cavalrymen", though sometimes referred to as "knights" in English) constituted the second of the property-based classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the senatorial class. A member of the equestrian o ...
'' were exclusively eligible to serve as senior officers of the army. Each legion was officered by six '' tribuni militum'' ("tribunes of the soldiers"), totaling 24 tribunes for the normal levy of four legions. These were elected by the people's assembly from the ranks of those ''equities'' who had completed at least five years' military service, presumably in the cavalry. In those years in which more than four legions were deployed, the tribunes needed to command the extra legions were appointed by the consuls. Pairs of tribunes would take turns to command their legion for two-month terms.Polybius VI.34 In addition, ''equites'' provided the three decurions (''decuriones'', literally "leaders of ten men") who commanded each ''
turma A ''turma'' (Latin for "swarm, squadron", plural ''turmae''), (Greek: τούρμα) was a cavalry unit in the Roman army of the Republic and Empire. In the Byzantine Empire, it became applied to the larger, regiment-sized military-administrative ...
'' of cavalry, and the ''praefecti sociorum'', the commanders of the Italian confederate ''alae'', who were appointed by the consuls. The duplication and rotation of command was a characteristic feature of the Roman Republic, which, from the time of the expulsion of the kings, had always aimed for collegiate offices, to avoid excessive concentration of power (e.g., two consuls, two praetors, etc.). ''Equites'' (and anyone else) who aspired to public office were required to perform at least 10 years' military service, which implies that the minimum age for public office was 27 years.Polybius VI.19 A military tribune wore a bronze cuirass (often engraved), ''
pteruges Pteruges (also spelled pteryges; ) refers to strip-like defences for the upper parts of limbs attached to armor in the Greco-Roman world. Appearance and variation Pteruges formed a defensive skirt of leather or multi-layered fabric (linen) stri ...
'', a mantle, and an Attic-style helmet with horsehair plume. Unlike lower ranks, officers never adopted mail armour.


Legionary infantry


Levy and conditions of service

Conscription of recruits would take place in the
Campus Martius The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which covers ...
(Field of Mars) on the outskirts of Rome under the supervision of the consuls. Service in the legions was limited to property-owning Roman citizens, normally those known as ''iuniores'' (age 16–46). Elders, paupers, debtors, convicts, freedmen and slaves were excluded, save in emergencies. The service that each recruit was assigned to depended on his property-assessed social class. Each soldier was originally expected to pay for his own equipment, so persons of the lowest class (below assessed wealth of 150 ''drachmae'') were not eligible for service in the legions. According to the Greek author
Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...
, these were assigned to naval service as oarsmen, which required no equipment. Of the other classes, the poorest troops would join the ''
velites ''Velites'' (singular: ) were a class of infantry in the Roman army of the mid-Republic from 211 to 107 BC. ''Velites'' were light infantry and skirmishers armed with javelins ( la, hastae velitares), each with a 75cm (30 inch) wooden shaft the ...
'' (singular form: ''veles'' = light infantry), who did not bear body-armour and whose equipment was thus less expensive than a heavy infantryman's. Those with the highest property rating, and thus able to afford their own horse, joined the cavalry.Polybius VI.20 The majority of Roman foot-soldiers came from the families of small farmer-freeholders (i.e., peasants who owned small plots of land). At an early stage, however, the state assumed the cost of armour and weapons, probably when pay was introduced for both infantry and cavalry around 400 BC. However, it is unclear whether the cost of armour and weapons was deducted from pay: food, clothing and other equipment certainly were.Polybius VI.39 Armour and weapons were certainly provided by the state by the time of the Second Punic War, during which the minimum property-qualification was largely ignored because of manpower shortages. This position probably continued after the war, at least as regards volunteers. ''Iuniores'' infantrymen (aged 16–46) were liable to call-up for a maximum of 16 campaigns (but no more than 6 years in succession) until age 46, although this could be extend to 20 years in emergencies (men over 46 years of age, known as ''seniores'', were not liable to call-up save in emergencies). At the time of Polybius, pay was set at 2 ''
obols The obol ( grc-gre, , ''obolos'', also ὀβελός (''obelós''), ὀβελλός (''obellós''), ὀδελός (''odelós'').  "nail, metal spit"; la, obolus) was a form of ancient Greek currency and weight. Currency Obols were u ...
'', or a third of a ''
drachma The drachma ( el, δραχμή , ; pl. ''drachmae'' or ''drachmas'') was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history: # An ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, fro ...
'' (''
denarius The denarius (, dēnāriī ) was the standard Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the antoninianus. It continued to be minted in very ...
'' after 211 BC) per day, for the period that they were held under arms. (For comparison, an imperial-era legionary of the 1st century AD was paid around twice as much per day until around AD 85, and nearly 1 ''denarius'' per day thereafter, year-round, as they were professionals). In addition, the foot-soldier was entitled to a share in the spoils of war (captives sold as slaves, animals, treasure, weapons and other goods) which were sold at auction and the proceeds distributed to officers and men according to established criteria.


Organization

The normal size of a legion in this period was 4,200 infantry, of which 3,000 were heavily armed and 1,200 ''velites'' (plus 200–300 cavalry). In times of emergency, a legion of 5,000 infantry could be levied, of which 3,800 would be heavy infantry. However, Polybius and Livy also mention legions of 6,000 infantry. This has led Roth to conclude that republican legions were variable in size, depending on circumstances when they were raised. The heavy infantry of the earlier legion was organised into 30 '' centuriae'' units of 100 men each. The subdivisions in the mid-republican period were called maniples (''manipuli'', from ''manus'' = "hand"). There were 10 maniples in each of the three lines that a legion was drawn up in for battle: ''hastati'', ''principes'' and ''triarii'', for a total of 30 maniples in each legion. The maniples of the front two lines contained twice as many men (120) as those in the rear line (60). If the legion numbered 5,000 men, the maniples in the front lines were increased to 160 men each.Polybius VI.21 Membership of each line was determined by age-group: the ''hastati'' contained the younger men (up to 25 years old); the ''principes'' those in the 26–35 group; and the ''triarii'' the older men (36–46). Each maniple was commanded by two
centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...
s (''centuriones'', literally "leaders of 100 men"), one senior (''prior''), one junior (''posterior''), who were elected by the unit's members.Polybius VI.24 Centurions were paid double the rate of their men (i.e., 4 ''obols'', or two-thirds of a ''drachma'' per day). Each centurion would then appoint a deputy ('' optio''), whose role was to supervise the rear of the unit in action, while the centurions led from the front. In addition, each maniple included two ''
signifer A ''signifer'' () was a standard bearer of the Roman legions. He carried a ''signum'' ( standard) for a cohort or century. Each century had a ''signifer'' so there were 59 in a legion. Within each cohort, the first century's ''signifer'' would ...
i'' (standard-bearers), appointed by the centurions, and at least one '' tubicen'' (trumpeter). The presence of two centurions and two standard-bearers in each maniple has led many historians to assume that a maniple contained two ''centuriae'', the basic unit of the earlier Roman army. In this scenario, the ''centuriae'' of the front two ranks would contain 60 men each, but Polybius makes clear that the maniple was the smallest tactical unit in the army. It was in some cases, smaller than the later cohort Furthermore, the sources are clear that a maniple possessed only one ''signum'', or
standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...
. Indeed, ''signum'' was used as an alternative name for ''manipulus''. Thus, the role of the maniple's second ''signifer'' was presumably to act as a substitute for the first if the latter fell in combat. This is how Polybius explains the presence of two centurions in each maniple, emphasizing that the senior one was in command of the maniple. Furthermore, if each maniple contained two ''centuriae'', the ''centuriae'' of the ''triarii'' would contain only 30 men each, improbably few for a unit that was nominally 100-strong. Thus, it is possible that ''centuriae'' did not exist in this period and were wholly replaced by maniples.


Equipment


= Body armour

= Chain mail coats (known then simply as the ''lorica'') were worn by the wealthier infantry and offered superior protection to the small square chest-piece used as an alternative. Chain mail was, however, heavier and more expensive to manufacture. The mail coats worn seem to have had a double thickness on the shoulders for extra protection against downward cuts.Goldsworthy (2000) Polybius states that only those soldiers rated over 10,000 ''drachmae'' (i.e., the First Class of commoners) wore a mail coat, while the rest wore a ''pectorale'', or small, square breastplate designed to protect the heart.Polybius VI.23 The First Class at this time served mainly in the cavalry, so this would imply that only a tiny minority of heavy infantrymen wore mail. This would also result in different armour within the same ranks. As the Ahenobarbus monument shows all foot soldiers in mail armour, it would appear that by c. 120 BC at the latest, mail was standard issue.


= Helmets

= Polybius does not describe in detail the helmets of heavy infantry. However, the Ahenobarbus friezes and archaeological discoveries show that the "Montefortino" type was prevalent. This was made of bronze, and only protected the face with cheek-guards, so as not to obstruct soldiers' vision, hearing, breathing and shouting-range. According to Polybius, the foot-soldier adorned his helmet with three tall black or purple plumes to look taller and more awesome to the enemy. Other helmet types used was an Italian version of the Corinthian helmet. The latter had a face-guard with two eye-holes which could be lifted off the face when out of combat. But the Romans did not like face-guards, because they obstructed soldiers' senses. In the Italo-Corinthian helmet, the face-guard was worn off the face at all times, although the eye-holes were retained for decoration. Also used were Attic-type helmets, which were popular in Italy because they left the face unobstructed.


= Shield

= The heavy infantry shield (''
scutum The ''scutum'' (; plural ''scuta'') was a type of shield used among Italic peoples in antiquity, most notably by the army of ancient Rome starting about the fourth century BC. The Romans adopted it when they switched from the military formati ...
'') was a long oval in shape and convex, made of two layers of wood glued together, with canvas and calf-skin covers and an iron boss at the centre. This provided very good overall protection and the boss could be used as a weapon, to be smashed in the face of the enemy.


= ''Pilum''

= Polybius states that the three lines of heavy infantry were equipped with similar weapons and shields, save that the ''triarii'' were armed with a heavy thrusting-spear (''hasta''), while the ''hastati'' and ''principes'' held two ''pila'' (throwing-javelins, singular form: ''pilum''), one heavy, the other light. The ''pilum'' was a type of heavy javelin designed for launch at short range (15m or less). It consisted of a wooden shaft with a long shank with barbed point affixed to one end, either attached by rivets or socketed into the shaft itself. The weapon thus had great penetrative power, as its weight, unusually high for a javelin, was channeled into a tiny point. It was designed to punch through an enemy's shield and penetrate the shield-bearer's body behind it. If successful, the enemy would be pinned to his shield and placed ''hors de combat''. Even if the bearer was not struck, the barb on the ''pilum'' point would prevent him from removing it from his shield, rendering it useless. Modern reconstruction of the heavy ''pilum'' according to Polybius' specifications has shown that it would have weighed some 8.5 kg, far too heavy to be of any practical use as a throwing-weapon. The light ''pilum'' would have weighed a more serviceable 2.2 kg. The ''pilum'' used during the earlier period was not as sophisticated as the fully developed weapon used in the later Republic: it did not feature lead counterweights or a buckling shank until around 150 BC.


= ''Gladius''

= The key weapon of the mid-republican soldier was the ''gladius Hispaniensis'' or "Spanish sword", so-called because the basic design originated in Iberia. The few exemplars of republican ''gladii'' found show that these were significantly longer (and heavier) than those of the imperial period. Typical blade-length was 60–68 cm, compared to 45–55 cm in the 1st century AD. This made the early ''gladius'' suitable for use by cavalry as well as infantry. The characteristic shape of the ''gladius'' blade, narrowing in the middle to provide greater balance and stabbing-force, was more pronounced in the Republican than imperial types. Although stabbing remained the preferred method of combat for the Romans, as it was far more likely to result in fatal wounds than slashing, the advantage of the ''gladius'' over the Italic sword-types previously used by the Romans were that it could be used for slashing (with both edges) as well as more effective stabbing. The ''gladius'' was made of the best-quality steel then available, the '' chalybs Noricus'', celebrated in Roman times, from the region of
Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celts, Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were th ...
(Austria). The strength of iron is determined by its
carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent In chemistry, the valence (US spelling) or valency (British spelling) of an element is the measure of its combining capacity with o ...
content (the higher the content, the stronger the metal). The
wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...
produced in the Greco-Roman world generally contained only minimal traces of carbon and was too soft for tools and weapons. It thus needed to be carburised to at least 1.5% carbon content. The main Roman method of achieving this was to repeatedly heat the wrought iron to a temperature of over 800 C (i.e. to "white heat") and hammer it in a
charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...
fire, causing the iron to absorb carbon from the charcoal. This technique had been developed empirically, as there is no evidence that ancient iron producers understood the chemistry involved. The rudimentary methods of carburisation used rendered the quality of the iron ore critical to the production of good steel. The ore needed to be rich in
manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...
(an element which remains essential in modern steelmaking processes), but also to contain very little, or preferably zero,
phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...
, whose presence would compromise the steel's hardness.Buchwald (2005) 124 The ore mined in
Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...
(S. Noricum) fulfills both criteria to an unusual degree. The Celtic peoples of Noricum (predominantly the
Taurisci The Taurisci were a federation of Celtic tribes who dwelt in today's Carinthia and northern Slovenia ( Carniola) before the coming of the Romans (c. 200 BC). According to Pliny the Elder, they are the same as the people known as the Norici. Etym ...
tribe) empirically discovered that their ore made superior steel around 500 BC and established a major steel-making industry around it. At
Magdalensberg Magdalensberg ( Slovene: ''Štalenska gora'') is a market town in the district of Klagenfurt-Land in Carinthia in Austria. Geography Magdalensberg lies at the foot of the Magdalensberg in the Klagenfurt basin in the lower Gurk valley. The Gurk an ...
, a major production and trading centre was established, where a large number of specialised blacksmiths crafted a range of metal products, especially weapons. The finished products were mostly exported southwards, to
Aquileia Aquileia / / / / ;Bilingual name of ''Aquileja – Oglej'' in: vec, Aquiłeja / ; Slovenian: ''Oglej''), group=pron is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river N ...
, a Roman colony founded in 180 BC. From 200 BC onwards, it appears that the tribes of Noricum were gradually united in a native Celtic kingdom, known to the Romans as the ''regnum Noricum'', with its capital at an uncertain location called Noreia. Noricum became a key ally of the Roman Republic, providing a reliable supply of high-quality weapons and tools in return for Roman military protection. Although there was no formal treaty of military alliance, the Norici could count on Roman military support, as demonstrated in 113 BC, when a vast host of
Teutones The Teutons ( la, Teutones, , grc, Τεύτονες) were an ancient northern European tribe mentioned by Roman authors. The Teutons are best known for their participation, together with the Cimbri and other groups, in the Cimbrian War with th ...
invaded Noricum. In response to a desperate appeal by the Norici, the Roman consul
Gnaeus Papirius Carbo Gnaeus Papirius Carbo (c. 129 – 82 BC) was thrice consul of the Roman Republic in 85, 84, and 82 BC. He was the head of the Marianists after the death of Cinna in 84 and led the resistance to Sulla during the civil war. He was proscribed by Su ...
rushed an army over the Alps and attacked the Germans near
Noreia Noreia is an ancient lost city in the Eastern Alps, most likely in southern Austria. While according to Julius Caesar it is known to have been the capital of the Celtic kingdom of Noricum, it was already referred to as a lost city by Pliny the ...
(although, in the event, he was heavily defeated). The ''gladius'' was structurally robust, very light for its size and superbly balanced, possessed razor-sharp blades and strong triangular point. It could wreak fearsome carnage: Livy relates the reaction of the Macedonians to the results of an early cavalry skirmish in the
Second Macedonian War The Second Macedonian War (200–197 BC) was fought between Macedon, led by Philip V of Macedon, and Rome, allied with Pergamon and Rhodes. Philip was defeated and was forced to abandon all possessions in southern Greece, Thrace and Asia Min ...
(200-197 BC): "The Macedonians were used to the relatively limited wounds caused by arrows and spears, as their traditional enemies were Greeks and Illyrians. When they saw the horrendous injuries inflicted with the Spanish sword – arms hacked off at the shoulder, heads entirely severed, bellies ripped open and guts hanging out – they realised the kind of weapons and the sort of enemy that they were up against, and a wave of fear spread through their ranks." The light infantry (''velites'') wore no armour over their tunics. They wore a light helmet, probably of leather, covered by an animal-skin such as a wolf-skin, according to Polybius, and a small round shield (''
parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
''). They carried light javelins and a sword.


Tactics

For set-piece battles, in contrast the single massed line of the
Early Roman army The Early Roman army was deployed by ancient Rome during its Regal Era and into the early Republic around 300 BC, when the so-called "Polybian" or manipular legion was introduced. Until c. 550 BC, there was probably no "national" Roman army, but ...
phalanx, the heavy infantry were usually drawn up in three lines (''triplex acies''). However, the vast majority of the heavy infantry (2,400 out of 3,000) were stationed in the front two lines, the ''hastati'' and ''principes''. Contained in these lines were the younger recruits who were expected to do all the fighting. The rear line (''triarii''), was a reserve consisting of 600 older men who formed a line of last resort to provide cover for the front lines if they were put to flight (and also to prevent unauthorised retreat by the front ranks). It is thus more accurate to describe the Roman battle-line as a double-line (''duplex acies'') with a small third line of reserve. It is this double line that constituted the most significant change from the previous single-line phalanx. The three lines of maniples were drawn up in a
chessboard A chessboard is a used to play chess. It consists of 64 squares, 8 rows by 8 columns, on which the chess pieces are placed. It is square in shape and uses two colours of squares, one light and one dark, in a chequered pattern. During play, the bo ...
pattern (dubbed ''quincunx'' by modern historians, after the Latin for the "5" on a dice-cube, whose dots are so arranged). In front of the heavy infantry, would be stationed the legion's 1,200 ''velites''. It appears that the ''velites'' were not members of the maniples, but for the purposes of battle, they were divided into 10 companies of 120 men, each under the command of a senior centurion of ''hastati''. The replacement, for the two front lines, of the thrusting-spear with the thrown ''pilum'' implies a shift to a different tactic by the heavy infantry. The phalanx of spearmen was replaced by ranks of sword-fighters armed with javelins. In the mid-republican army, the central tactic was a shock infantry-charge, designed to put the enemy to flight as quickly as possible. ''Hastati'' legionaries would advance at a measured pace towards the enemy line. When the gap was only around 15m, each successive line of ''hastati'' would fling their two ''pila'', draw their swords and break into a run, yelling their war-cry and charging into the enemy line. Smashing the enemy in the face with their shield-bosses, legionaries would use their ''gladii'' to stab the enemy in the groin, belly, or face, inflicting fatal wounds in the great majority of cases. Where the enemy was tribal and unarmoured, the initial impact alone frequently resulted in the collapse of the enemy line. Against advanced enemies such as the Greeks, the initial impact would at least disrupt the enemy line and, in the ensuing
melee A melee ( or , French: mêlée ) or pell-mell is disorganized hand-to-hand combat in battles fought at abnormally close range with little central control once it starts. In military aviation, a melee has been defined as " air battle in which ...
, the Romans would benefit from their improved weaponry.


''Alae'' infantry

The ''socii'' were summoned to arms by a message from the consuls, ordering each ally to deliver a specified number of troops to a specified assembly-place (one location for each consular army) by a set deadline. At the assembly-point, where the legions would also muster, the allied troops would be allocated to an ''ala'' and placed under the command of Roman officers.Polybius VI.26 Each consul would then arrive from Rome to assume command of their army. Compared to the manipular legion, Polybius gives little detail about the structure of an allied ''ala''. An ''ala'' contained the same number of infantry as a legion (i.e., 4,200 or 5,000). It was commanded by three Roman ''praefecti sociorum'', appointed by the consuls, presumably with one acting as commander and the other two as deputies, as in the cavalry ''turmae''. Reporting to the ''praefecti'' were the native commanders of each allied contingent, who were appointed by their own government. The allied infantry appears to have been divided into cohorts. The first mention of such units, which were eventually adopted by the legions (after the Social War), is in Livy's account of the Second Punic War. The size of the allied cohorts is uncertain, and may not originally have been standard units at all, but simply a generic term denoting the contingent from each ''socius''. However, Livy's account of Scipio Africanus' operations in Spain during the
Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...
mentions Italian allied units of 460, 500 and 600 men which he terms ''cohortes''. A select group of the best Italian allied troops, denoted ''milites extraordinarii'' ("special troops"), would be detailed to act as an escort brigade for the consul. They would normally number one-third of the ''alae'' cavalry and one-fifth of the infantry (i.e., in a normal consular army, 600 horse and about 1,800 foot). The ''extraordinarii'' were at the immediate disposal of the Consul, and were allocated their own distinct position both in the line-of-march and in the marching-camp (next to the ''praetorium''). However, in battle, there is no evidence that the ''extraordinarii'' occupied a special position. Presumably, they fought in their ''alae'', alongside the rest of the ''socii'' troops. There is no reason to believe that heavy infantry in the ''alae'' was equipped any differently from the legions, nor that they fought in a significantly different way.


Cavalry


Levy and conditions of service

The legionary cavalry during this period was drawn exclusively from the two wealthiest classes, the ''equites'' and the first property class of commoners. The latter had started to be admitted to cavalry service when the ''equites'' were no longer sufficiently numerous to satisfy the needs of the cavalry. This may have occurred as early as 400 BC, and certainly by the time of the Samnite Wars, when the normal levy of Roman cavalry was doubled to 1,200 (four legions' contingent). According to Mommsen, First Class ''iuniores'' were all eventually required to join the cavalry. As for infantry, pay was introduced for cavalrymen around 400 BC, set at a ''drachma'' per day, triple the infantry rate. Cavalrymen were liable to call-up for a maximum of ten campaigns up to age 46. The Second Punic War placed unprecedented strains on Roman manpower, not least on the ''equites'' and the first class of commoners which provided the cavalry. During Hannibal's apocalyptic march through Italy (218–216 BC), thousands of Roman cavalrymen were killed in the field. The losses were especially serious for the equestrian order, which also provided the army's senior officers. Livy relates how, after Cannae, gold rings (a badge signifying equestrian rank), recovered from the corpses of Roman ''equites'' formed a pile one ''modius'' (about 9 litres) large. In the succeeding years 214–203 BC, the Romans kept at least 21 legions in the field at all times, in Italy and overseas, with a Roman cavalry requirement of 6,300.Brunt (1971) 418 This would have required the depleted ranks of ''equites'' to provide at least 252 senior officers (126 ''tribuni militum'', 63 ''decuriones'' and 63 ''praefecti sociorum''), plus the army commanders (Consuls, Praetors, Quaestors, Proconsuls, etc.). It was probably from this time that ''equites'' became largely an officer-class, while legionary cavalry was henceforth composed mainly of commoners of the first class.


Organization

Each Polybian legion contained a cavalry contingent of 300 horse, which does not appear to have been officered by an overall commander. The cavalry contingent was divided into 10 ''
turma A ''turma'' (Latin for "swarm, squadron", plural ''turmae''), (Greek: τούρμα) was a cavalry unit in the Roman army of the Republic and Empire. In the Byzantine Empire, it became applied to the larger, regiment-sized military-administrative ...
e'' (squadrons) of 30 men each. The squadron members would elect as their officers three decurions, of whom the first to be chosen would act as the squadron's commander and the other two as his deputies.Polybius VI.25 In addition, each allied ''ala'' contained 900 horse, three times the size of the legionary contingent. The allies would thus supply three-quarters of a consular army's cavalry.


Equipment

Legionary cavalry underwent a transformation during this period, from the light, unarmoured horsemen of the early period to the Greek-style armoured cuirassiers described by Polybius. It appears that until c. 200 BC, Roman cavalrymen wore bronze breastplates, but after that time, mail became standard, with only officers retaining a breastplate. Most cavalrymen carried a spear ('' hasta'') and the cavalry version of the small, round shield (''parma equestris''). However, it appears that in the late 2nd century BC, some cavalrymen carried long lances ('' contus''), which would be held in both hands, precluding a shield.


Campaign record

There is a persistent view among some historians that the Romans of this period were inept at horsemanship and that their cavalry was simply a token adjunct to their far superior infantry. Indeed, some authors have even claimed that Roman cavalry preferred to fight on foot whenever possible, on the basis of a few incidents in which cavalry dismounted to assist their hard-pressed infantry colleagues. Against this, Sidnell argues that this view is misguided and that the record shows that Roman cavalry were a formidable force which won a high reputation for skill and valour in numerous battles of the 3rd century BC. Roman cavalry of the Republican period specialised in the shock charge, followed by close melee combat. Examples include the
Battle of Sentinum The Battle of Sentinum was the decisive battle of the Third Samnite War, fought in 295 BC near Sentinum (next to the modern town of Sassoferrato, in the Marche region of Italy), in which the Romans overcame a formidable coalition of Samnite ...
(295 BC), in which the cavalry played a crucial role in the Romans' crushing victory over an enormous combined army of Samnites and Gauls. On the left wing, the Romans twice drove back the more numerous and highly rated Gallic cavalry with spirited frontal charges, but pursued too far and became entangled in a melee with the enemy infantry. This gave the Gauls the opportunity to unleash on the Roman cavalry their
chariot A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&nbs ...
forces, whose unfamiliar deep rumbling noise panicked the Roman horses and resulted in a chaotic Roman flight. However, on the right, the Roman cavalry routed the Samnite infantry with a devastating charge on their flank. At Heraclea (280 BC), the Roman cavalry dismayed the enemy leader king Pyrrhus by gaining the advantage in a bitterly contested melee against his
Thessalian Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessa ...
professional cavalry, then regarded as the finest in the world, and were only driven back when Pyrrhus deployed his elephants, which panicked the Roman horses. At
Telamon In Greek mythology, Telamon (; Ancient Greek: Τελαμών, ''Telamōn'' means "broad strap") was the son of King Aeacus of Aegina, and Endeïs, a mountain nymph. The elder brother of Peleus, Telamon sailed alongside Jason as one of his Argo ...
(225 BC), the Roman cavalry hotly contested a strategic hill on the flank of the battlefield with more numerous Gallic cavalry. In what developed as a separate cavalry battle before the main infantry engagement began, the Gauls were eventually driven off the hill by repeated Roman charges, enabling the Roman horse to launch a decisive flank attack on the Gallic foot. At the Battle of Clastidium, the Roman cavalry under Marcellus achieved a unique victory in overwhelming a larger force of Gallic horse and foot, without any aid of their infantry. On the eve of the Second Punic War, therefore, Roman cavalry was a prestigious and much feared force. A key reason for some historians' disparagement of the Roman cavalry were the crushing defeats at the Trebia and at Cannae, that it suffered at the hands of the Carthaginian general
Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...
during the latter's invasion of Italy (218–216 BC). Sidnell points out these reverses were not due to poor performance by the Romans, who fought with their customary courage and tenacity, but to the Hannibalic cavalry's far superior numbers and the operational flexibility afforded by his Numidian light cavalry. Hannibal's already powerful cavalry (6,000 men) that he brought over the Alps, consisting of Hispanic heavy cavalry and Numidian light, was swollen by the adherence of most of the Gallic tribes of northern Italy, who provided an additional 4,000, bringing his horse up to 20% of his total force. At Cannae, 6,000 Roman horse (including Italian confederates) faced 10,000 Carthaginians, and on the Roman right wing, the Roman cavalry of 2,400 was probably outnumbered by more than 2 to 1 by Hannibal's Spaniards and Gauls. It is on this wing that the Roman disaster at Cannae was determined, as the Roman cavalry were overwhelmed and broken. In the words of Polybius: "As soon as the Spanish and Celtic horse on the (Carthaginian) left wing came into contact with the Roman cavalry... the fighting which developed was truly barbaric... Once the two forces had met they dismounted and fought on foot, man to man. Here the Carthaginians finally prevailed, and although the Romans resisted with desperate courage, most of them were killed..." The fact that the Romans dismounted has been used to support the thesis of a Roman cavalry that lacked confidence in its horsemanship and was in reality just a mounted infantry. But since the Carthaginian cavalry also dismounted, Livy's explanation is more credible, that fighting on horseback was impractical in the confined space between the right flank of the Roman infantry and the river Aufidus. One reason for Hannibal's cavalry superiority was greater numbers. Whereas the Roman/Italian cavalry constituted about 12% of a confederate army, Carthaginian and Gallic cavalry were around 20% of their respective forces. It also became evident to the Romans that their exclusive reliance on heavy shock cavalry was insufficiently flexible. In addition to superior numbers, Hannibal's cavalry superiority was primarily based on his formidable light Numidian horse. Numidians rode their small but tough horses bareback, without bridles and unarmoured. They were armed simply with a few javelins and a light leather shield. They were exceptionally fast and manoeuvrable, ideal for scouting, skirmishing, harassment, ambushing and pursuit. Their standard tactic was to repeatedly approach the enemy, throw their javelins and then hastily scatter before the enemy could engage them. To this, the Romans, used to the charge followed by close melee combat, had no effective response. Nevertheless, in the years following Cannae (216–203 BC), the record of Roman cavalry in operations against Hannibal in southern Italy was creditable, scoring a number of successes in cavalry encounters although never depriving the enemy of overall cavalry superiority. The Romans finally succeeded in closing the light cavalry gap with the Carthaginians by winning over the Numidian king
Massinissa Masinissa ( nxm, , ''MSNSN''; ''c.'' 238 BC – 148 BC), also spelled Massinissa, Massena and Massan, was an ancient Numidian king best known for leading a federation of Massylii Berber tribes during the Second Punic War (218–201 BC), ult ...
, previously an ally of Carthage. This enabled the Romans to field at least an equal number of Numidians at the
battle of Zama The Battle of Zama was fought in 202 BC near Zama, now in Tunisia, and marked the end of the Second Punic War. A Roman army led by Publius Cornelius Scipio, with crucial support from Numidian leader Masinissa, defeated the Carthaginian ...
(202 BC), who, outnumbering the Roman/Italian cavalry by 2 to 1, played a vital role in neutralising their compatriots fighting for Hannibal. Even so, it was the Roman cavalry that decided the issue, charging and routing the Carthaginians facing them, then wheeling to attack the Punic infantry in the rear.


Native allied cavalry

The cavalry of Roman armies before the Second Punic War had been exclusively Roman and confederate Italian, with each holding one wing of the battle line (the Romans usually holding the right wing). After that war, Roman/Italian cavalry was always complemented by allied native cavalry (especially Numidian), and was usually combined on just one wing. Indeed, the allied cavalry often outnumbered the combined Roman/Italian force e.g. at Zama, where the 4,000 Numidians held the right, with just 1,500 Romans/Italians on the left. One reason was the lessons learnt in the war, namely the need to complement heavy cavalry with plenty of light, faster horse, as well as increasing the cavalry share when engaging with enemies with more powerful mounted forces. It was also inevitable that, as the Roman Republic acquired an overseas empire and the Roman army now campaigned entirely outside Italy, the best of non-Italian cavalry would be enlisted in increasing numbers, including (in addition to Numidians) Gallic, Spanish and Thracian heavy cavalry. Nevertheless, Roman and Italian confederate cavalry continued to form an essential part of a Roman army's line-up for over a century. They were especially effective in wars in the East, where they encountered Hellenistic
Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...
ian and
Seleucid The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...
cavalry which fought in set-piece battles using equipment and tactics similar to the Romans' own. For example, at Magnesia (190 BC), 3,000 Roman cavalry on the right wing routed 7,000 facing Syrian and Greek cavalry (including 3,000
cataphracts A cataphract was a form of armored heavy cavalryman that originated in Persia and was fielded in ancient warfare throughout Eurasia and Northern Africa. The English word derives from the Greek ' (plural: '), literally meaning "armored" or "co ...
- Parthian-style heavily armoured cavalry) then wheeled and assisted the legions in breaking the Seleucid
phalanx The phalanx ( grc, φάλαγξ; plural phalanxes or phalanges, , ) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar pole weapons. The term is particularly ...
by attacking it in the flank and rear. As earlier in the war against Hannibal, Roman cavalry was far less effective against elusive tribal light cavalry such as the
Lusitanians The Lusitanians ( la, Lusitani) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people living in the west of the Iberian Peninsula prior to its conquest by the Roman Republic and the subsequent incorporation of the territory into the Roma ...
under
Viriathus Viriathus (also spelled Viriatus; known as Viriato in Portuguese and Spanish; died 139 BC) was the most important leader of the Lusitanian people that resisted Roman expansion into the regions of western Hispania (as the Romans called it) or w ...
in their bitter resistance to Roman rule (151–140 BC) and the Numidians themselves under king
Jugurtha Jugurtha or Jugurthen (Libyco-Berber ''Yugurten'' or '' Yugarten'', c. 160 – 104 BC) was a king of Numidia. When the Numidian king Micipsa, who had adopted Jugurtha, died in 118 BC, Jugurtha and his two adoptive brothers, Hiempsal and Adh ...
during the latter's rebellion (112–105 BC) During these conflicts, the Romans were obliged to rely heavily on their own Numidian allied horse.


Marching-order and camps

It is during this period of the Republic that emerged a central feature of Roman military practice, which was adhered to until at least c. AD 400 if not beyond: the fortified marching-camp (''
castra In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...
''), whose earliest detailed description is in Polybius.Vegetius I.21 One Roman author claims that the Romans copied the design of their camps from those of king Pyrrhus, but this seems unlikely, as Polybius himself criticises his fellow-Greeks for not constructing fortified camps. Roman troops would construct a fortified camp, with a standardised size and layout, at the end of each day's march. Most of their adversaries would rely on camping on defensible features (such as hilltops) or in places of concealment (such as in forests or swamps).Polybius VI.42 Although this practice spared troops the toil of constructing fortifications, it would frequently result in camps often being situated on unsuitable ground (i.e., uneven, waterlogged or rocky) and vulnerable to surprise attack, if the enemy succeeded in scouting its location. The advantages of fortified marching-camps were substantial. Camps could be situated on the most suitable ground: i.e,. preferably level, dry, clear of trees and rocks, and close to sources of drinkable water, forageable crops and good grazing for horses and pack-animals. Properly patrolled, fortified camps made surprise attacks impossible and successful attacks rare – in fact, no case is recorded in the ancient literature of a Roman marching-camp being successfully stormed. The security afforded by fortified camps permitted soldiers to sleep soundly, while animals, baggage and supplies were safely corralled within its precinct. If the army engaged an enemy near a marching-camp, a small garrison of a few hundred men would suffice to defend the camp and its contents. In case of defeat, fleeing soldiers could take refuge in their marching-camp. After their disaster on the battlefield of Cannae (216 BC), some 17,000 Roman troops (out of a total deployment of over 80,000) escaped death or capture by fleeing to the two marching-camps that the army had established nearby, according to Livy. The process of establishing a marching-camp would start when the consul in command of a consular army determined the general area where the day's march would terminate. A detail of officers (a military tribune and several centurions), known as the ''mensores'' ("measurers"), would be charged with surveying the area and determining the best location for the ''
praetorium The Latin term (also and ) originally identified the tent of a general within a Roman castrum (encampment), and derived from the title praetor, which identified a Roman magistrate.Smith, William. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, 2 ed., ...
'' (the consul's tent), planting a standard on the spot.Polybius VI.41 Measured from this spot, a square perimeter would be marked out from the ''praetorium''. According to Polybius, the marching-camp of a typical consular army of 20,000 men would measure 2150 Roman feet square (c. 700m x 700m = c. 50 hectares). Along the perimeter, a ditch (''fossa'') would be excavated, and the spoil used to build an earthen rampart (''agger'') on the inside of the ditch. On top of the rampart was erected a palisade (''vallum'') of cross-hatched wooden stakes with sharpened points. Within this precinct, a standard, elaborate plan was used to allocate space, in a pre-set pattern, for the tents of each of the various components of the army: officers, legionary infantry (split into ''hastati'', ''principes'' and ''triarii'') and legionary cavalry, Italian allied infantry and cavalry, ''extraordinarii'' and non-Italian allies. The idea was that the men of each maniple would know exactly in which section of the camp to pitch its tents and corral its animals.Polybius VI.27 The construction of a marching-camp would take a consular army just a couple of hours, since most soldiers would participate and were equipped with picks and shovels for the purpose. Where both consular armies were marching together, a twin-camp was established, back-to-back, so that the overall shape was rectangular.


Social impact of military service

During the Samnite Wars, the military burden on the core social group was very onerous. The standard levy was raised from two to four legions and military operations took place every single year. This implies that c. 16% of all Roman adult males spent every campaigning season under arms in this period, rising to 25% during emergencies. But even this pales into insignificance compared to the demands on Roman manpower of the
Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...
. Polybius estimates Roman citizen ''iuniores'' (excluding the Italian allies) at about 231,000 in 225 BC, on the eve of the war. Of these, some 50,000 perished in the great defeats of 218–206 BC. Of the remaining 180,000, the Romans kept at least 100,000 in the field, in Italy and overseas, continuously in the period 214–203 (and 120,000 in the peak year). In addition, about 15,000 were serving in the Roman fleets at the same time. Thus, if one assumes that fresh recruits reaching military age were cancelled out by campaign losses, fully ''two-thirds'' of Roman ''iuniores'' were under arms continuously during the war. This barely left enough to tend the fields and produce the food supply. Even then, emergency measures were often needed to find enough recruits. Livy implies that, after Cannae, the minimum property qualification for legionary service was largely ignored. In addition, the normal ban on criminals, debtors and slaves serving in the legions was lifted. Twice the wealthy class were forced to contribute their slaves to man the fleets and twice boys under military age were enlisted.CAH VIII 74–75 The century following the Second Punic War saw Rome's acquisition of an overseas empire, including major possessions in Africa, Spain, Illyricum and Greece. The Republic's army, however, retained much the same structure as before, a citizen-levy alongside conscripts provided by the ''socii''. The ''socii'' appear to have played their role in the new paradigm uncomplainingly, despite the fact that the confederation, previously an alliance primarily designed for mutual defence, was now engaged mostly in aggressive expansion overseas. ''Socii'' acquiescence was mainly bought by the generous share of booty that overseas campaigns brought to each ''socius'' soldier. In addition, the ''socii'' were becoming increasingly integrated with the Romans. Shared service in an army whose operational language was Latin resulted in the latter becoming the ''
lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
'' of the peninsula, gradually eclipsing its other native languages. In the Roman provinces outside Italy, foreigners made no distinction between Romans and Italians and referred to both simply as "Romans". In Italy, ever more ''socii'' voluntarily adopted Roman systems of government, laws and coinage. Yet, underneath the surface, resentment was steadily building among the Italian allies about their second-class status in the Roman system. In particular, not holding
Roman citizenship Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...
, they were unable to benefit from the large-scale redistribution of Roman common land (''ager publicus''), from large landowners to smallholders, carried out by the Gracchi brothers starting in 133 BC. The agrarian reforms sparked a massive movement among the ''socii'' to demand full citizenship. It appears from the fragmentary evidence that the conservative majority in the Roman Senate succeeded, by both fair means and foul (such as assassinating reform leaders), in blocking any significant expansion of citizenship among the ''socii'' in the period following the agrarian law of 133 BC. In 91 BC, the ''socii'' rebelled ''en masse'' against the Roman alliance system, sparking the so-called " Social War" (91–88 BC), probably the toughest challenge faced by Rome since the Second Punic War over a century earlier. The Romans ultimately prevailed, not only by military action but by conceding the very demands that had set off the revolt in the first place. In 89 BC, ''socii'' which had remained loyal were granted full Roman citizenship, and that privilege was extended to all inhabitants of the Italian peninsula shortly after the end of the war. This entailed the demise of the old allied ''alae'', as the former ''socii'', now citizens, were now recruited into the legions. The "Polybian" army gave way to the
Roman army of the late Republic The Roman army of the late Republic refers to the armed forces deployed by the late Roman Republic, from the beginning of the first century BC until the establishment of the Imperial Roman army by Augustus in 30 BC. Shaped by major social, politi ...
.


See also

* Structural history of the Roman military *
Campaign history of the Roman military From its origin as a city-state on the peninsula of Italy in the 8th century BC, to its rise as an empire covering much of Southern Europe, Western Europe, Near East and North Africa to its fall in the 5th century AD, the political history of An ...
* List of Roman army unit types


Citations


References


Ancient

*
Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...
''
De Bello Gallico ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (; en, Commentaries on the Gallic War, italic=yes), also ''Bellum Gallicum'' ( en, Gallic War, italic=yes), is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Ca ...
'' (50 BC) *
Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...
, ''
Ab Urbe Condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an exp ...
'' (c. AD 20) *
Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
''
Parallel Lives Plutarch's ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', commonly called ''Parallel Lives'' or ''Plutarch's Lives'', is a series of 48 biographies of famous men, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, probably writt ...
'' *
Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...
, '' Histories'' (c. 150 BC) *
Vegetius Publius (or Flavius) Vegetius Renatus, known as Vegetius (), was a writer of the Later Roman Empire (late 4th century). Nothing is known of his life or station beyond what is contained in his two surviving works: ''Epitoma rei militaris'' (also r ...
, '' De Re Militari'' (c. AD 400)


Modern

* Bishop, M.C. and Coulston, C.N. (2006): ''Roman Military Equipment'' * Brunt, P. A. (1971): ''Italian Manpower'' * Buchwald, Vagn (2005): ''Iron and Steel in Ancient Times'' * Cambridge Ancient History (CAH) 2nd Ed Vol VII (1989): ''Rome and Italy in the early 3rd century BC'' * Cambridge Ancient History (CAH) 2nd Ed Vol VIII (1989): * Cary & Scullard (1980): ''History of Rome'' * Cornell, T. J. (1995): ''The Beginnings of Rome'' * Dobson, Michael (2008): ''The Army of the Roman Republic: the 2nd Century BC'' * Eckstein, A. M. (2006): ''Mediterranean Anarchy, Interstate War and the Rise of Rome'' * Fields, Nic (2007): ''The Roman Army of the Punic Wars 264–146 BC'' (Osprey Publishing) * Goldsworthy, A. (2000): ''Roman Warfare'' * Goldsworthy, A. (2001): ''Cannae'' * Goldsworthy, A. (2003): ''The Complete Roman Army'' * Healy, F. (1978): ''Mining and Metallurgy in the Greek and Roman Worlds'' * Roth, Johnathan (1998): ''Logistics of the Roman Army at War (246 BC – AD 235)'' * Roth, Johnathan (2009): ''Roman Warfare'' * Scullard, H. H. (1984): ''A History of the Roman World'' * Sidnell, P. (2006): ''Warhorse: Cavalry in Ancient Warfare'' * Wallbank, F.W. (1957): ''A Historical Commentary on Polybius'' Vol I {{DEFAULTSORT:Manipular Roman Army Military of ancient Rome