The Roman army in its era was considered the strongest on the planet. Few could then compete with her in military power. Thanks to the strictest discipline and high-quality training of the military, this entire “military machine” of Ancient Rome was an order of magnitude ahead of many military garrisons of other developed states of that time. Read the article about the number, ranks, divisions and victories of the Roman army.
Discipline is a priority
The divisions of the Roman army have always been under the strictest discipline. And absolutely all soldiers, without exception, had to comply with generally accepted principles. For any violation of order in the troops of the famous Roman army, even corporal punishment was applied to the "obeyed" soldiers. Often, those who did not maintain order in the military camps were beaten with lictor rods.
And those actions that could have serious negative consequences for the military unit of the Roman army were generally punishable by death. This action allegedlythe fact was emphasized that it was unacceptable for a soldier of the empire to behave in an inappropriate way so that all his other comrades would not follow the bad example.
The most severe death pen alty during the existence of the Roman army was rightfully considered decimation. Entire legions were subjected to it for showing cowardice during military battles, either for not following or completely ignoring military orders. The essence of this "unpleasant procedure" was that in the detachment that was guilty during the battle, every 10 warrior was selected by lot. And these unfortunate soldiers were beaten to death by the rest of the detachment with stones or sticks.
The rest of the powerful Roman army was also subjected to shameful condemnation of their cowardice on the battlefield. They were not allowed to pitch tents in the military camp, and instead of wheat, barley was given to such warriors as food.
Fustuary was more applied to each individually for any serious misconduct. This is the type of punishment most often used in practice. It involved beating a delinquent soldier to death with stones and sticks.
Shameful punishments were also used very often, the main purpose of which was to arouse a sense of shame in the guilty. They could be completely diverse in their essence, but the main educational feature remained the same - so that the military man who committed a cowardly act would never resort to it again!
For example, weak-willed soldiers could be forced to dig unnecessary trenches, wear heavy stones, to the waisttake off all your clothes and come to the military camp in such an unsightly state.
The structure of the army of Ancient Rome
The military unit of the Roman army consisted of the following military representatives:
- Legionnaires - they included both Roman soldiers and mercenaries from other states. This legion of the Roman army consisted of cavalry, infantry units, as well as cavalry.
- Allied cavalry and allied units are the military of other countries that have been granted Italian citizenship.
- Auxiliary troops - recruited local residents from the Italian provinces.
The Roman army consisted of many different units, but each of them was well organized and properly trained. At the forefront of the army of Ancient Rome was the security of the entire empire, on which all state power was based.
Ranks and ranks of the Roman military
The ranks of the Roman army contributed to the construction of a clear military hierarchy of that time. Each officer performed a specific function assigned to him. And this contributed in many ways to maintaining military discipline within the legions of the Roman army.
Legiate of the Legion, Tribune Laticlavius, Tribune of Angustiklavia and Prefect of the Camp were senior officers.
Legate of the legion - a certain person was appointed to this post directly by the emperor himself. Moreover, on average, a military man held this position for 3 or 4 years, but in some cases he could hold this post for a little longer than the specified period. ATprovincial area Legion legion could perform the function of the governor assigned to him.
Tribune Laticlavius - the emperor or the senate chose the military for this position by their decisions. In the legion, a military man bearing this rank was considered the second person in seniority.
The prefect of the camp was the third most important and influential position within the legion. Often, veterans who had previously held the rank of Centurion and were promoted over time became perfects.
Tribune Angusticlavius - these ranks were received by those soldiers of the Roman army who were in charge of administrative posts for a certain time. In the event of a certain need, this category of senior officers could well command even an entire legion.
And the average officers of the army of Ancient Rome included such military ranks as Primipilus and Centurion.
Primipil was the assistant to the commander of the legion and he was taught an important mission - to organize the protection of the banner of the unit. And the main attribute and pride of the legions was the "Roman eagle". Also, Primipil's duties included giving certain sound signals, telling about the beginning of the offensive.
Centurion is the basic officer rank in the entire structure of ancient Roman military formations. In the legions, there were about 59 warriors with this rank, who lived together with ordinary soldiers in tents, and during the battles they commanded them.
The army of ancient Rome had a lot of junior officers in its ranks. Among their ranks were Option,Tesserarius, Decurion, Dean.
Option was an assistant to the Centurion and, at the first opportunity, could successfully replace him during heated battles with the enemy.
Tesserarius was Option's deputy, while his duties were entrusted with the functions related to the organization of guards and the transmission of the necessary passwords to sentries.
Decurion - led a small cavalry detachment, consisting of 30 riders.
Dean - commanded a small combat unit, which included no more than 10 soldiers.
All ranks in the Roman army were awarded for any specific merit in the military field. But this does not mean at all that the highest ranks were submitted to purely experienced warriors. There were quite a few situations when a young, but at the same time promising officer, who perfectly understood his job, was appointed to a high post.
Historic victories
It's time to talk about the most significant victories of the Roman soldiers. History knows many cases when a well-organized military group of Ancient Rome literally smashed its enemy. The victories of the Roman army marked, to a greater extent, the assertion of the power of the entire empire in the world hierarchy.
One such incident occurred at the Battle of Varcellae in 101 BC. The Roman troops were then led by Gaius Marius, who was opposed by the detachments of the Cimbri, led by the leader Boyorig. It all ended with the true destruction of the opposing side and the Cimbri on the battlefield lost from 90 to 140 thousand of theirbrothers. This is not counting 60 thousand of their soldiers taken prisoner. Thanks to this historic victory of the Roman army, Italy secured its territories from unpleasant enemy campaigns against them.
The Battle of Tigranakert, which took place in 69 BC, made it possible for the Italian forces, inferior in number to the Armenian military camp, to defeat the opponent. After this armed conflict, the state of Tigran II completely collapsed.
The Battle of Roxter, which took place in 61 AD in what is now England, ended in a landslide victory for the Roman legions. After those bloody events, the power of Ancient Rome was quite firmly entrenched over all of Britain.
Tough tests of strength during the uprising of Spartacus
The real test of strength for the army of the Roman Empire passed during the suppression of a grandiose in scale uprising of slaves, which was organized by the fugitive gladiator Spartacus. In fact, the actions of the organizers of such a protest were dictated by the desire to fight for their own freedom to the very end.
At the same time, the revenge of the slaves for the Roman military figures was prepared with particular strictness - they were not spared a bit. Perhaps this was retaliation for those humiliating actions that were applied in ancient Rome to the gladiators. They were forced by the high ranks of Rome to fight on the sand until death. And all this happened as a kind of fun, and living people died in the arena and no one took it into account at all.
The war of slaves against their Italian masters began quite suddenly. In 73 BCThe escape of the gladiators from the school of Capua was organized. Then about 70 slaves, well trained in military craft, fled. The shelter of this detachment was a fortified position at the foot of the volcano Vesuvius. It was here that the first battle of the slaves took place against a detachment of Roman soldiers who were pursuing them. The Roman attack was successfully repulsed, after which a lot of fairly high-quality weapons appeared in the gladiators' arsenal.
In the course of time, an increasing number of freed slaves, as well as those civilians of Italy who were dissatisfied with the then authorities, joined the uprising of Spartacus. Thanks to the art of Spartacus to organize his units well (even the Roman officers recognized this fact), a solid army was formed from a small detachment of gladiators. And it crushed the Roman legions in many battles. This made the entire empire of Ancient Rome feel a certain fear for its continued existence.
Only unfavorable circumstances for Spartacus did not allow his army to cross Sicily, replenish their own units with new slaves and avoid death. Sea pirates, having received a conditional payment from the gladiators for the provision of services regarding the crossing of the sea, brazenly deceived them and did not fulfill their own promises. Driven virtually into a corner (on the heels of Spartacus Crassus was heading with his legions), Spartacus decided on the last and decisive battle. During this battle, the famous gladiator died, and the scattered ranks of slaves were successfully exterminated by the Roman troops.
Roman army tactics
Army of the Roman world has always protected from enemy encroachments. Therefore, the empire took very seriously the issues of its configuration, as well as the development of tactics in battles.
First of all, the Roman generals always thought over the places for future battles. This was done so that the strategic position of the Roman legions was in a more advantageous situation compared to the location of the enemy. The best place was considered a hill, around which free space was clearly visible. And offensives were often carried out precisely from the side from which the bright sun shone. This blinded the enemy forces and created an uncomfortable situation for him.
The battle plan was thought out in advance, as the transmission of orders was difficult. The generals tried to line up and train their ward soldiers in such a way that they were well versed in all the intricacies of his strategic military idea and performed all actions on the battlefield in automatic mode.
The military unit in the army of the Roman Empire was always well prepared for the upcoming battles. Each soldier individually knew his job well and was mentally prepared for certain difficulties. Many tactical developments were comprehended in the exercises, which were not neglected by the Roman generals. This during the battles gave certain results, so the Roman military often achieved some success due to mutual understanding and good physical and tactical training.
History knows one remarkable fact: sometimes the Roman militarythe chiefs before the battles performed ritual divination, which could predict to them how successful this or that company might turn out.
Uniforms and equipment of the Roman military
And what was the uniform and equipment of the soldiers? The military unit in the Roman army was quite well technically equipped and had good uniforms. In battle, the legionnaires used the sword very successfully, inflicting more piercing wounds on the enemy.
Very often used was a pilum - a dart more than two meters long, at the end of which an iron rod with a double-thorn or pyramidal tip was installed. For short range, the pilum was the ideal weapon to confuse the enemy formations. In some situations, thanks to this weapon, the Roman military pierced the enemy's shield and inflicted mortal wounds on him.
The legionnaire's shield had a curved oval shape. In a hot battle, he largely helped to avoid injury. The width of the shield of a Roman warrior was 63.5 centimeters, and the length was 128 centimeters. At the same time, this item was covered with calf leather, as well as felt. His weight was 10 kilograms.
The sword of the Roman military was rather short, but very sharp. They called this type of weapon gladius. During the reign of Emperor Augustus in ancient Rome, an improved sword was invented. It was he who replaced the old modifications of these weapons and, in fact, immediately gained particular popularity in military affairs. Its blade was 8 centimeters wide and 40-56 centimeters long. This weapon weighed, causing panic in enemy troops, relatively silent - from 1.2 to 1.6 kilograms. In order for the sword to have a presentable appearance, its sheath was trimmed with tin or silver, and then carefully decorated with various unusual compositions.
Besides the sword, the dagger could also become effective in battle. Outwardly, in structure, it was very similar to a sword, but its blade was shorter (20-30 centimeters).
The armor of the Roman soldiers was very heavy, but not all military units used them. A number of units, whose duties were to organize a skirmish with the enemy, as well as reinforcements for the active cavalry, were lightly equipped, so they did not wear heavy armor. The weight of chain mail among legionnaires could vary in the range from 9 to 15 kilograms. But if the chain mail was additionally equipped with shoulder pads, it could weigh about 16 kilograms. The material from which it was made most often is iron. Bronze armor, although encountered in practice, was much less common.
Numbers
The size of the Roman army in many cases showed its military power. But her training and technical equipment also played a big role. For example, Emperor Augustus in 14 AD took a radical step and reduced the number of armed formations to 28,000 people. However, during its heyday, the total number of Roman combat legions was about 100,000 people, but in some cases the number of military men could be increased andup to 300,000 if this step was dictated by necessity.
In the era of Honorius, the armed Roman garrisons were much more numerous. At that time, about 1,000,000 soldiers defended the empire, but the reform of Constantine and Diolectian significantly narrowed the scope of the “Roman military machine” and left only 600,000 soldiers in the service. At the same time, about 200,000 people were part of the mobile group, and the remaining 400,000 were part of the legions.
In terms of ethnicity, the composition of the Roman army also underwent fundamental changes over time. If in the 1st century AD, the Roman military ranks were dominated by local residents, then by the end of the 1st century - at the beginning of the 2nd century AD, quite a lot of Italics could be found there. And at the end of the 2nd century AD, the Roman army was such only on paper, since people from many countries of the world served in it. To a greater extent, it began to be dominated by military mercenaries who served for material rewards.
In the legion - the main Roman unit - about 4500 soldiers served. At the same time, a detachment of horsemen operated in it, of which there were approximately 300 people. Thanks to the correct tactical dismemberment of the legion, this military unit could successfully maneuver and inflict significant damage on the opponent. In any case, the history of the Roman army knows many cases of successful operations, crowned with a crushing victory by the military forces of the empire.
The essence of the reform changes
Major reform of the Roman army introduced in 107 BC. It was during this period that the consul Gaius Marius issued a historical law that significantly changed the rules for recruiting legionnaires for military service. Among the main innovations of this document, the following highlights can be distinguished:
- The division of legions into maniples (small units) has been somewhat modified. Now the legion could also be divided into cohorts, which included more people than it was supposed in the maniples. At the same time, the cohorts could successfully carry out serious combat missions.
- The structure of the Roman army was now formed according to new principles. Poor citizens could now become military. Up to this point, they had no such prospect. People from poor families were supplied with weapons at public expense, and the necessary military training was also provided for them.
- For their service, all soldiers began to receive regular solid monetary rewards.
Thanks to the reform ideas that Gaius Marius successfully put into practice, the Roman army became not only more organized and well trained, the military had a considerable incentive to improve their professional skills and move up the “career ladder”, seeking to be awarded new ranks and officials. The soldiers were generously encouraged with land plots, so this agrarian issue was one of the levers for improving the combat skills of the then troops.
Besides this, the professional army began to play a significant role in the political life of the empire. In fact, it gradually turned into a major political force, which simply could not be ignored insidestate.
The main criterion that showed the viability of the reform of the armed forces of Ancient Rome was the victory of Mary over the tribes of the Teutons and Cimbri. This historical battle dates back to 102 BC.
Army during the Late Roman Empire
The army of the late Roman Empire was formed during the "crisis of the III century" - this is how historians have characterized this period. In this troubled time for the Romans, many territories of the empire are separated from it, as a result of which the threat of attacks from neighboring countries is growing. Such separatist sentiments were fueled by the recruitment of legionnaires into the armed forces of many residents from provincial villages.
The Roman army was subjected to great trials during the raids on the territory of Italy by the Alamanni. It was then that entire numerous territories were devastated, which led to the usurpation of power on the ground.
Emperor Gallienus, who by all means tried to counteract the crisis within the state, is carrying out new transformations in the Roman army. In 255 and 259 AD, he managed to raise a large cavalry group. However, the main marching army of this period was 50,000 people. Milan has become an excellent place to counteract numerous enemy raids from there.
During the crisis period that fell on the 3rd century AD, there is constantly dissatisfaction among the military of Ancient Rome with the fact that they are not being paidservice pay. The situation was aggravated by the depreciation of money. Many of the soldiers' previous money savings were fading before our eyes.
And here the moment has come to carry out the last reform in the structure of the Roman army, initiated by Diocletian and Aurelian. This historical period of the late existence of the Roman Empire was nicknamed "Dominate". It was due to the fact that the process of separation into military and civil administration began to be actively introduced in the state. As a result, 100 provinces appeared, in each of which duxes and comites were in charge of military orders. At the same time, recruitment into the legions of Roman troops is carried out forcibly, there is a mandatory draft into the army.
