Roman Army
Early Roman Army
At first, under the
Etruscan Kings, the
massive Greek phalanx
was the mode of battle.
Looked much like Greek
hoplites.
Changes Made
In the early fourth century BC Rome
humiliated in battle by Gauls.
Romans needed a new solution…..
The Solutions - Legions
Became the basic unit of Rome's standing
army of career soldiers
Roman citizens and fought primarily as
foot-soldiers (infantry).
Legions and Structure
Images of the Roman Army
Cohort
Images of the Roman Army
Roman Legionaire
(Soldier)
Gladius – good
for close attacks
Pilum or javelins - bend once
inside the enemy so could not pull
them out or reuse them
Images of the Roman Army
Standards –
Eagle
symbol of
Roman Army
Roman Centurion
Auxiliary Troops
• Composed of noncitizens, usually from the
various Roman provinces.
• Supplement the infantry
• Employ different methods of fighting
• light-armed infantry
• Slingers
• Archers
• Cavalry
• Organized in cohorts
Battle Tactics
Tortoise - Shields overhead
Wedge – Triangle w/ one man at
tip pointing toward the enemy
Saw - detached unit behind the font
line, capable of fast sideways
movement down line to block any
holes
Skirmishing formation - Widely
spaced line up of troops, as opposed
to the tighter packed battle
Orb - circle taken by a unit in
desperate straits.
Development of Legion
Army at time of 1st Emperor Augustus
referred to as the 'classic' legion
– And it is this state of the legion which is
largely recreated in illustrations or Hollywood
movies (e.g. Gladiator)
Why was Roman Army so good?
At its finest period, the Roman army was
almost unconquerable. Why?
– Discipline
– Hard and efficient training
– Speed at which they learnt new tactics
Height of Roman Army
Reached pinnacle of greatness during
Emperor Trajan
However, contrary to popular belief, this
was not the army which was eventually
defeated by the northern barbarians.
Changes in 3rd Century
Border warfare increased due to size of
Empire.
– Emperors desperate to defend borders
– Recruited any military forces they could.
Germans Sarmatians, Arabs, Armenians, Persians,
Moors
Sources
http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/romanarmy.html
http://www.roman-empire.net/army/army.html
http://qa.perl.org/phalanx/history.html