The Era Of The Roman Republic

The monopoly of military power in the hands of few and its connection between the armed forced and the values of the state grew to be problematic throughout the Roman era. The Roman army dominated the ancient world, however, in the 3rd and 4th cent ury the Roman army had begun to plummet. With such a vast territory to govern, the empire was faced with both administrative and logistical horrors.

Chalking up the fall of the Roman Republic to a decline in traditional Roman morality, while not false, sells the events and changes that were the causes for the fall of the Republic short. At the end of The Third Punic War with Carthage we arguably see the Republic at its height. However in only a decade things begin to change, we see events that send Rome as a Republic past a point that Rome could not recover. Gaius Marius’s military reforms, specifically that of allowing for the captive cencsi, men who owned no property, and the creation of professional soldiers is the true catalyst for the downfall of the Republic. By enacting these reforms Marius opened up military duty to Rome’s largest group of citizens, however it created unforeseen issues, such as what to do with these men once they returned from battle. These reforms opened the door for military generals like Sulla and Caesar to gain the unquestioned support of their troops, in many instances gaining more respect from the soldiers then they had for the Roman state itself. These military reforms are a constant through line through the fall of the Republic, touching large political issues such as the conflicts between the Populares and the Optimates, or the rise of The First Triumvirate; socioeconomic issues such as the rise of Roman aristocracy, development of a slave based agriculture system to the profits from war. The complexity in which these reforms help lead to this immoral Roman state is complex and has been

Some policies and institutions of the Roman Republic were useful to help them succeed in conquering first Italy and then the Mediterranean world. Before of the institution of the republic, the romans were a monarchy since their beginning and they were basically a pastoral people. Rome suffer several changes and improvements under the control of the Etruscan kings. The Etruscan were civilization settled north of Rome in Etruria, and they once had control over almost all the Italic peninsula. The Etruscans influences in Rome were profound, they transformed Rome from a pastoral community to a city (91). The Etruscan built the street and roads that help the development of temples, markets, shops, streets, and houses. They basically brought urbanization to Rome. It is fairly to say that the Rome republic was a fusion between the elements of the Etruscan civilization and the Rome elements. The combination of the different political institutions and policies made the Romans succeed in their conquest territories.

The Roman army was the most powerful war machine of its time and arguably many others. It is this vast war machine that facilitated the Roman Empire and its creation. I call the Roman army a war machine because of the meticulous organization the army displayed, organization so thorough it mimics the individual cogs and gears in a machine working in perfect unison to achieve a common goal. The roman army was responsible for developing revolutionary fighting techniques which not only secured Rome’s position as the most powerful force in the world, but would influence the fighting styles of other armies for hundreds of years. But a machine so intricate and complex was not created in a day. It was through much trial and error and the test of time that the Roman army became the world power that we remember it as. I call the legions a world power because without the approval of the legions an emperor would be powerless. History documents show many Generals who already had the approval of their legions ascending to power, most notably Julius Caesar. So the Roman army was a very prominent military and political influence. Although the Roman army did not simply consist of soldiers and future politicians, it also included engineers. These engineers were responsible for the building of the roads that carried soldiers to and from battle, along with numerous military technologies that would influence the future of warfare. The Roman army’s history and the creation of new war

In Book II “The Organization of the Legion,” Vegetius described the composition of the Roman legions. He began with the explanation of the differences between legions and auxiliaries, legions being Romans and auxiliaries being “drawn from barbarians.” Here, Vegetius discussed the decay of the legion and stated that it was up to the eEmperor to restore the Roman army to greatness, a

Rome used its military aggressively. The Roman army had started from mainly farmers, and gaining new farming lands from other countries, for the its growing population or later retiring soldiers, was often one of the military’s main objectives. Only in the late Empire did the Roman military's goal become keeping control over its territories.

The Roman Republic and the Roman Empire together lasted for over one-thousand years,and at its height, their extensive territories stretched from the Atlantic Ocean in the West, to the rivers of Mesopotamia in the East, and from the Sahara desert in the South, to the River Rhine in Northern Europe. The one factor that made this spectacular feat possible was the exploits of the Roman Military. The military had succeeded in their expansion campaigns and had successfully defended the borders against foreign invaders for centuries. The fact of the matter was that the Roman Military was the deciding factor in any successes or failures the Roman state incurred, and at its most basic element, it was ultimately the successful strategies and doctrines of the Roman Army that made their victories so pervasive. This paper will trace the development of the military from the early Roman period through the Marius ' reforms, with an emphasis placed on the primary battle formations and tactics employed by the Roman Legions.

The Roman Army’s composition and expansion was one of its greatest strengths as well as one of its more important weaknesses. “Augustus professionalized the military” and by doing so, made the Roman army “a recognized institution of the government (pg. 149). This allowed those who served in the army to receive certain benefits when they retired. For instant, Roman citizens who served could receive land or cash bonus, and noncitizen volunteers who served received Roman citizenship. This made volunteering for the army and attractive opposition.

The next century would unfold as little more than a political free for all, power was everyone’s ultimate objective and might. Gaius Graccus entered office focused on one single issue of Gregorian reform and met his downfall running for an illegal second term, “his most enlightened piece of legislation fell foul” (Kamm,pg. 30). In the third term, his supporters were ta an all-time low and were defeated in the polls, eventually leading himself to suicide. During 87-83 B.C. Gaius Marius and Lucius Sulla reformed the rise of private armies in favor for a more robust and more mobile legion recruiting private armies in their fight for Rome restoring the Republic. After Sulla completed his campaign he marched back to Rome and took political positions by force, he did not take position as an elected consul, rather as a position of a dictator.

Their strategy allowed the Romans to effectively turtle through enemies, however when this was not possible the Romans utilized strategies like the wedge in which a group of Romans rush at one point in a wedge shape towards the defending enemies pressing through the lines and separating the enemy formation dividing and conquering the enemy. This tactic was used against the Persians by Alexander the Great back when the Greeks ruled most of the western world. With these things considered Rome was by far the most strategic empire during combat.

The Roman army was essential in the creation and upkeep of the Roman Empire. It defended the homeland and conquered other nations to bring wealth that benefited the nation. The Roman army was the most advanced of its time, using new techniques and weapons that brought other nations to their knees. The fighting techniques that they came up with were only able to work due to the rigorous training that took place. “They developed fighting techniques that were linked to a very hard training regimen” (Trueman). Training was very tough, long days of parading and maneuvers as well as physical fitness and martial skills was what a typical day would consist of. Recruits would often be punished for failure so they would become very fit and disciplined or else could face extra duty or even worse, a whipping.

This investigation aims to explore to what extent the most significant outcome of the Second Punic War was the changes in social hierarchy within the Roman army. In order to examine whether the impact on the Roman army following the Second Punic War was the most significant outcome, other key outcomes must also be assessed, such as peace treaties, territorial gains and the destruction of Rome’s greatest enemy: Carthage.

As a descendent of the deified Emperor Augustus, Agrippina was born into a powerful and respected family. She exploited this power, obtaining a level of influence over her husband and son that was only available to ambitious, imperial men. Her use of manipulation and violence has led ancient writers, such as Tacitus, to describe her political career as inappropriate and excessive. But I will argue against these views. On the contrary, I will show that because of her political achievements, she played a positive role in advancing the Augustan principate in such a way that it was beneficial in keeping with the guise of the ideology of the Roman Republic.

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.

Edward Luttwak’s The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire from the First Century A.D. to the Third gives a militaristic analysis of the tactics used by the Roman Empire while also highlighting parallels between Rome and contemporary U.S. military policy. Luttwak divides his book into three chapters, a chapter for each of the 3 identified systems; the first chapter discusses Rome’s use of mobile armies and client states to defend her borders. The second chapter shows border defense as was provided by small groups of marching legionary troops. The third and final chapter details the transition from an offense stance to a more