Success of the Roman Army Essay examples

Thus it happens that troops in battle, exposed to wounds because they have no armor, think about running and not about fighting.” (Doc. B) This shows that the Roman soldiers didn’t care about not having the protection to help them win the war. This also shows that the Roman soldiers started to give up and quit before the fight had even started. This is significant because without the armor the Romans got more wounds and were more likely to die.This also significant because it made the soldiers weaker and more likely for Rome to be put to an end, because they didn’t have the weight of the armor to made them stronger and protect them, and the more soldiers that were killed the smaller the military got. With the army smaller it let the enemies start to overcome Rome and make it fall. Furthermore, according to The Fall of the Roman Empire: A Reappraisal, Crown Publishing, 1982, “ There can be little doubt that the weaknesses of the late Roman army were largely due to the eventual failure … to enforce regular conscription [draft of soldiers] … the exempted categories were … numerous.” (Doc. B) This demonstrates how the government made people live once they became lazy. With the government forcing people to be in the army it made people not want to do their jobs, so they

Rome was at the peak of their time. They had powerful armies and constantly won wars, so Romans became lazy and neglected their daily drills and armor such as helmets and breastplates because they thought it was unnecessary (Document B). According to Document B it states, “...the customary armor began to seem heavy since the soldiers rarely wore it.” Overconfident, the soldiers were unprotected during times of war leaving Rome with little defense. Also, people such as clergymen, senators, bureaucrats, cooks, chefs, and slaves were exempted from joining the army, leaving a small group of people to defend their empire from foreign invaders (Document

The Battle of Cannae, between the Carthaginian General Hannibal and the larger Roman army under the command of Lucius Aemilius Paulus and Gaius Terentius Varro in 216 B.C. serves as one of the most influential tactical battles in history. Two enemy forces faced off using very different tactics. The Roman Empire had succeeded in amassing over 50,000 infantry troops and an estimated 6,000 cavalry troops. The Roman army planned to use its vast numbers to subdue the smaller numbered forces of the Carthaginian army using sheer force. Hannibal’s army, though lesser in quality and quantity compared to the Roman army, was composed of seasoned fighters. Hannibal plan was to use the fighting techniques of the Roman army to his benefit.

The Roman Republic military was one of the first well-organized military of all time. Because of this, most succeeding militaries follow their example by adopting and adapting some of the same characteristics. The Roman and U.S. military are from different eras, but still share similar characteristics as well as vast modernized differences that have established the U.S. military as efficient and organized.

The powerful and well known Roman army was another key factor in maintaining the empire. The Roman army was large, well equipped, well trained, disciplined and skilled military force that was stationed throughout the empire to prevent uprisings and crush rebellion. Military training was a very important and arduous affair in the Roman Empire. It was essential for each soldier to achieve a high level of skill in fighting and using their weapons. They also had to march 30 kilometers 3 times a month wearing 20kg armor, do drills twice a day, learn to build camps, swim, mount and ride a horse and fight mock battles. The Roman army was quite ruthless when it came to crushing rebellion. They did not hesitate to hurt or even slaughter the people who went against the Roman rule.

The pre-eminence of the Greek soldier proved decisive in the Battle of Marathon. Although only ‘citizen soldiers’, the Greek hoplites were far more disciplined than their Persian counterparts and also better protected, with their bronze-visored helmets, solid bronze breastplates, shields and javelins. The Persians on the contrary were generally lightly dressed, with wicker shields and bows and arrows and sometimes had body armour of scales sewn to leather vest. Herodotus states that the Persians were “deficient in armour, untrained and greatly inferior in skill”. This crucial element destabilized the Persian assault as they fell at the hands of a much more skillful, better equipped and tactically superior Greek army. With their unprecedented use of battle strategy and intimate knowledge of their surroundings, the Greeks were able to defeat their Persian enemy.

Some examples of these would include The Battering Ram, The Turris, and The Ballista. The Roman army was also very willing to incorporate the war tactics and the weapons of their defeated enemies if they were deemed beneficial. (Alchin) These improvements provided the Roman army advantages in battle. The Roman generals that were picked to lead the army were highly skilled in the art of war. They were masters of attack and counterattacks, the use of mounted and unmounted calvary as well as archery. As a result of the Roman army's successful tactics, Rome therefore was able to achieve massive amounts of territory and assemble a substantial empire. (Cavazzi)

empire, they created a time of great peace that had never been seen before in recorded history.

The Greeks, Trojans, and Spartans armies were very strategic and resourceful. They used battle forms, The Gods, their religion, and outside the box thinking to overcome battles and win wars. Tactics were highly impressive in the “Bronze Age” and are shown through the very impressive wars they have won. The Greeks used many tactics that included some strategies that are still used in today's

The era dominated by Roman empire is one the most well-known and influential periods of history, home to famous names from Julius Caesar to Jesus Christ. At its height, Rome’s territory stretched from the Atlantic coastline to the Middle East, reigning over 60 million people, one-fifth of the population of the ancient world. However, the Roman empire’s treatment of their conquered people’s and their own citizens ultimately led to the permanent downfall of Rome.

Romans fought in a manner very similar to the Greeks. In early times they utilized the phalanx and a cavalry back-up, but around the 1st century BCE they began to form a “checkered board” pattern. This allowed them to cover more ground and allow men room to fight. In the first century they also retired using a cavalry (Cartwright). The form of foot soldiers only with no horseback cavalry was uncommon. In

Current militaries have benefitted from the principles of ancient Greek and Roman warfare by studying the ancient battles, tactics, and use of supplies to develop effective military plans. Current militaries study and debate historical turning points of the ancient battles to understand how the leaders planned and executed battles. The empires’ growth was due in part to the might and successes of their military. The strength of their militaries came from many factors including their use of armor, weapons, and military tactics. The empires’ leaders used these three advantages to create the superior armies of their time.

Their incredibly good fighting techniques helped with the control and safety of the empire. To keep order in the empire they had a civil guard maintaining peace. They dealt with less threatening affairs while the Roman legions and auxilia suppressed higher level rioting and rebellion. The Romans were highly skilled when it came to battles, and even though their weapons were not significantly better than their enemies they were highly disciplined. The army was organised in a very simple way, they would be split into groups in equal amounts with a leader or commander.

Defeat of the Grand Strategy of Rome The Gothic uprising of 376 A.D. was a turning point in the history of the Roman Empire. It was the beginning of the end for the Roman Empire in some sense of how had stood for the past 400 years. By looking at the events on both sides of the Danube that led to the devastating defeat of the Romans at The Battle of Adrianople and the composition and layout of the Roman border, the implications of what this turning point caused can be examined, such as its effects on the concept of the “Grand Strategy”. The concept of a grand strategy is an idea that can be applied to any peoples.

Rome, considered by most the greatest empire of the ancient world, stretched from modern day England to Palestine and was more successful than all previous Empires. Rome's government, military, economic and civic structures were all superior to those of their predecessors.