The Roman Army

The legions of Rome were one of the biggest factors in Rome's success as an empire. They conquered vast quantities of land, and were often used by the government to improve the morale of people living in cities, which often had parts that were cramped and unsanitary. The legions were set apart from contemporary armies due to their level of organisation and especially as they fought as a unit and not as individuals, as many tribes did.

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.

Historically, the civilization with the most powerful army dominates the world. It is also common for the most advanced technology to be developed and applied by the military before being put to use to aid the people. One of the main reasons Rome was able to dominate for over a thousand years was because they were on the leading edge of science and technology. The Romans were expert military and civil engineers, among their accomplishments included creating better quality metal, bridge-building, ballistic weapons, elevated and underground aqueducts, the use of arches and domes, and the invention of concrete. Their roman short sword killed more people than any other weapon until the machine gun was developed in WWI(3). This is similar to the Americans who have led the way in the 20th century in military advancement, from the splitting of the atom to advancement in aircraft, military power has allowed its country to both protect themselves and expand economically and socially.

The Roman Army was the most important factor that led to the Romans maintaining such a large empire. The army was very well organised into many groups, and the whips kept by the group leader ensured that the army would be obedient and

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)

One of the many noteworthy reasons Rome came to its demise was the unstable nature of their military. The Romans were rarely using their armor to shield themselves and it was getting tiresome to wear the armor. The emperor then did not require the use of body armor anymore, “Therefore, they first asked the emperor to set aside the breastplates… and then the helmets.” (page 15). Because of the decision to cast away the breastplates and helmets, it made it effortless to wound and kill the Romans with skilled archers, such as the Huns (Doc D). Another pivotal fault was the draft, “The exempted categories were...numerous” (Doc B). Draft exemptions meant that not enough men were fighting and too many were lazing around. Even bakers and cooks were not required to serve under martial law(Doc B). Because of these mistakes, the Roman military became weak. Not having enough members on their command,

The military prowess of Roman commanders and legionaries proved to be successful enough to turn a small community into an ancient super power. There are many discussions to be had about the tactics and success of the Roman army, some of which are: their style of fighting, the attitude toward the fight, and the fruits of their war.

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.

During the decline, the Roman army had been severely weakened to the point where invaders that could have previously been defeated by the Empire were eventually able to destroy it. Ultimately, the Roman Empire collapsed because of "the general failure of its armies to perform the tasks that were required of them." One reason for the breakdown of the army was that the Roman legions would fight in civil wars over their choices for Emperor because they were unhappy with the weaker Emperors that were frequent in the later Roman Empire. "These struggles served as an irresistible invitation to German and other enemies to break into the distracted provinces." Although the civil wars served as a distraction to the Roman army, the wars also had a detrimental

Thankfully, due to the Romans writing a lot down, there are many sources (unlike in the "Dark Ages" for example) available to study how the Roman army worked. In this project, the aim is to find out how the training and organization of the

Chapter 2 entitled “From The Flavians To The Severi” informs the reader of Luttwak’s belief that Rome’s expeditionary units, as was used in the second century, were highly less effective than the legions of the first century because they were not as movable. The author tells us, “… legions were deployed at fixed bases which, in most cases, they were never to leave again; and soldiers soon acquired unofficial families in the settlements that grew spontaneously around the legionary bases. It is sometimes assumed that this domestication diminished the army’s combat capabilities by undermining its fighting spirit”.

The Roman forces were solely civilian-soldiers. The structure of their army was determined by age classes. The skirmishers, also known as, velites, were the youngest and poorest troops on the battlefield. These individuals were equipped with small shields, javelins, swords, and helmets and they were the first ones to engage in the fight (THFE Productions, 2014). The heavy infantry, the core of the Roman Army, had three subcategories: Hastati, who were in their early twenties, Principes, they were in their late twenties, and Triari, who happened to be the oldest and most experienced in battle. The heavy infantry carried a scutum, an oval-shaped shield, and a gladius. Finally, the cavalry comprised of the wealthy, upper-class Romans and they were equipped with a shield, a helmet, grieves, a breastplate, and a lance (THFE Productions, 2014). The commanders of their forces were their consuls, or government officials, which is vastly different from the way Carthage led their troops. Allowing the consuls to be in charge of the forces led to some difficulty for the Romans throughout the war. For instance, they lacked a unity of command, during the Battle of Cannae. The consuls Gaius Terentius Varro and Lucius Aemilius Paullus alternated leadership every day, and this ultimately caused problems with continuity, strategy, and

I always wanted to be a soldier. And yes i am a girl. Im 13 and my Mom is poor. But one thing you need to know is that only Men over 20 can become Roman Soldiers and the and the Roman Army Legions. My Dad died in battle. All i have is my Mom and my Brother Shane. He is 16.