Military establishment of the Roman kingdom
Encyclopedia
The city of Rome
, founded in a strategic location among a war-like people (the Etruscans), needed to concern itself with military activity from the start. As Rome grew, its military needs changed. This article covers the Military establishment of the Roman kingdom up to about 300BC.
tribes nearby. The kings were Etruscan. Their language was still spoken by noble families in the early empire, although sources tell us it was dying out. Under the first king, Romulus
, society consisted of gentes
, or clans, arranged in 80 curiae and three tribes. From them were selected 8000 pedites (infantry
) and 800 celeres (cavalry
) of gentes-connected men. The decimal scheme seems already to have existed: one unit of fast troops for every 10 of foot.
The Etruscans were heavily influenced by Greek culture, which can be viewed as dominating the eastern Mediterranean. At first, under the Etruscan Kings, the massive Greek
phalanx
was the most desired battle formation. Early Roman soldiers hence must have looked much like Greek hoplites.
(the counting of the people) under Servius Tullius
. He had found that the aristocratic organization now did not provide enough men for defense against the hill tribes, and, consequently, he accepted non-aristocrats into the state and reorganized society on the basis of wealth, determined at the census.
Citizens were graded into six classes by property assessment. From them were recruited milities according to the equipment they could afford and the needs of the state.
From the wealthiest classes were recruited the heavy-armed infantry, equipped like the Greek hoplite warrior with helmet, round shield (clipeus
), greaves
and breastplate
, all of bronze, and carrying a spear (hasta
) and sword (not the gladius). In battle they followed the principle of "two forward, one back." The first and second acies, or lines of battle, composed of principes
and hastati
, were forward; the triarii
or "third rank", containing the veterani, or "old ones", was held in reserve. From the name, hastati, we can deduce that the hasta, a thrusting spear, was the weapon of choice. Triarii were equipped with a long spear, or pike, a shield and heavy armor.
The remaining class or classes (rorarii) were light-armed with the javelin (verutum). They were no doubt used for skirmishing, which provided some disruption of enemy ranks before the main event.
The officers as well as the cavalry were either not in the six classes or were of the first class. The question remains open. If the nobility were above the six, they were drawn from the senatorial rank or rank of equestrians (equites), also known as knights. Cavalry remained an aristocratic arm up to the introduction of motorized warfare.
Even these measures were inadequate to the challenges Rome was to face. They went to war with the Hernici
, Volsci
and Latini (Italics), undertook the reduction of Etruria
and endured an invasion of Gauls
under Brennus. Into the gap stepped one of the great generals Rome seemed able to produce at critical moments: Marcus Furius Camillus
. He held various offices, such as interrex and dictator
, but was never king himself.
In the early fourth century BC Rome received its greatest humiliation, as the Gauls under Brennus sacked Rome itself. The Romans wanted to abandon the city and resettle at Veii (an Etruscan city), but Camillus prevented it. If Rome was to re-establish her authority over central Italy, and be prepared to meet any similar disasters in future, some reorganization was needed. These changes were traditionally believed to have been the work of Camillus, but in another theory they were introduced gradually during the second half of the fourth century BC.
Italy was not governed by city states like Greece, where armies met on large plains, deemed suitable by both sides, to reach a decision. Far more it was a collection of hill tribes using the difficult terrain to their advantage. Something altogether more flexible was needed to combat such foes than the unwieldy, slow-moving phalanx which had an unbelievably low amount of soldiers in it containing only 20 soldiers.
The legio
, or "levy", was introduced at this time, with a structure of manipuli ("handsful"). A heavier shield, the scutum
, took the place of the clipeus, and a heavier throwing spear, the pilum
, was introduced. The line of battle was more open so that a rank could hurl a volley, preferably downhill, breaking the ranks of the enemy. The first two lines carried pila. The rear rank, remaining in close order, and armed with hastae, were the pilani (not from pilum but from pilus, "closed rank"), in front of which were the antepilani carrying pila. In addition to these changes, the men began to receive pay, making a professional army possible.
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, founded in a strategic location among a war-like people (the Etruscans), needed to concern itself with military activity from the start. As Rome grew, its military needs changed. This article covers the Military establishment of the Roman kingdom up to about 300BC.
Initial army
Rome was probably founded as a compromise between Etruscan residents of the area and ItalicAncient Italic peoples
Ancient people of Italy are all those people that lived in Italy before the Roman domination.Not all of these various people are linguistically or ethnically closely related...
tribes nearby. The kings were Etruscan. Their language was still spoken by noble families in the early empire, although sources tell us it was dying out. Under the first king, Romulus
Romulus
- People:* Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome* Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor* Valerius Romulus , deified son of the Roman emperor Maxentius* Romulus , son of the Western Roman emperor Anthemius...
, society consisted of gentes
Gens
In ancient Rome, a gens , plural gentes, referred to a family, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a stirps . The gens was an important social structure at Rome and throughout Italy during the...
, or clans, arranged in 80 curiae and three tribes. From them were selected 8000 pedites (infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
) and 800 celeres (cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
) of gentes-connected men. The decimal scheme seems already to have existed: one unit of fast troops for every 10 of foot.
The Etruscans were heavily influenced by Greek culture, which can be viewed as dominating the eastern Mediterranean. At first, under the Etruscan Kings, the massive Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
phalanx
Phalanx formation
The phalanx is a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar weapons...
was the most desired battle formation. Early Roman soldiers hence must have looked much like Greek hoplites.
Reforms of Servius Tullius
A key moment in Roman history was the introduction of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
(the counting of the people) under Servius Tullius
Servius Tullius
Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of ancient Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned 578-535 BC. Roman and Greek sources describe his servile origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, Rome's first Etruscan king, who was assassinated in 579 BC...
. He had found that the aristocratic organization now did not provide enough men for defense against the hill tribes, and, consequently, he accepted non-aristocrats into the state and reorganized society on the basis of wealth, determined at the census.
Citizens were graded into six classes by property assessment. From them were recruited milities according to the equipment they could afford and the needs of the state.
From the wealthiest classes were recruited the heavy-armed infantry, equipped like the Greek hoplite warrior with helmet, round shield (clipeus
Clipeus
In the military of classical antiquity, a clipeus was a large shield worn by the Greeks and Romans as a piece of defensive armor, which they carried upon the arm, to secure them from the blows of their enemies...
), greaves
Greaves
Greaves may refer to*Greave, armour that protects the leg *Greaves Greaves is also a surname, which may refer to:*Jimmy Greaves, English footballer*John Greaves, English mathematician and antiquary...
and breastplate
Breastplate
A breastplate is a device worn over the torso to protect it from injury, as an item of religious significance, or as an item of status. A breastplate is sometimes worn by mythological beings as a distinctive item of clothing.- Armour :...
, all of bronze, and carrying a spear (hasta
Hasta (spear)
Hasta is a Latin word meaning spear. Hastae were carried by early Roman Legionaries, in particular they were carried by and gave their name to those Roman soldiers known as Hastati...
) and sword (not the gladius). In battle they followed the principle of "two forward, one back." The first and second acies, or lines of battle, composed of principes
Principes
Principes were spearmen, and later swordsmen, in the armies of the early Roman Republic. They were men in the prime of their lives who were fairly wealthy, and could afford decent equipment. They were the heavier infantry of the legion who carried large shields and wore good quality armour. Their...
and hastati
Hastati
Hastatii were a class of infantry in the armies of the early Roman Republic who originally fought as spearmen, and later as swordsmen. They were originally some of the poorest men in the legion, and could afford only modest equipment — light armour and a large shield, in their service as the...
, were forward; the triarii
Triarii
Triarii were one of the elements of the early Roman military Manipular legions of the early Roman Republic . They were the oldest and among the wealthiest men in the army, and could afford good quality equipment. They wore heavy metal armour and carried large shields, their usual position being...
or "third rank", containing the veterani, or "old ones", was held in reserve. From the name, hastati, we can deduce that the hasta, a thrusting spear, was the weapon of choice. Triarii were equipped with a long spear, or pike, a shield and heavy armor.
The remaining class or classes (rorarii) were light-armed with the javelin (verutum). They were no doubt used for skirmishing, which provided some disruption of enemy ranks before the main event.
The officers as well as the cavalry were either not in the six classes or were of the first class. The question remains open. If the nobility were above the six, they were drawn from the senatorial rank or rank of equestrians (equites), also known as knights. Cavalry remained an aristocratic arm up to the introduction of motorized warfare.
Reforms of Camillus
All in all the Roman army consisted of 18 centuries of equites, 82 centuries of the first class (of which 2 centuries were engineers), 20 centuries each of the second, third and fourth classes and 32 centuries of the fifth class (of which 2 centuries were trumpeters).Even these measures were inadequate to the challenges Rome was to face. They went to war with the Hernici
Hernici
The Hernici were an ancient people of Italy, whose territory was in Latium between the Lago di Fucino and the Sacco River , bounded by the Volsci on the south, and by the Aequi and the Marsi on the north....
, Volsci
Volsci
The Volsci were an ancient Italic people, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. They then inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the south, the Hernici on the east, and stretching roughly from...
and Latini (Italics), undertook the reduction of Etruria
Etruria
Etruria—usually referred to in Greek and Latin source texts as Tyrrhenia—was a region of Central Italy, an area that covered part of what now are Tuscany, Latium, Emilia-Romagna, and Umbria. A particularly noteworthy work dealing with Etruscan locations is D. H...
and endured an invasion of Gauls
Gauls
The Gauls were a Celtic people living in Gaul, the region roughly corresponding to what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland and Northern Italy, from the Iron Age through the Roman period. They mostly spoke the Continental Celtic language called Gaulish....
under Brennus. Into the gap stepped one of the great generals Rome seemed able to produce at critical moments: Marcus Furius Camillus
Marcus Furius Camillus
Marcus Furius Camillus was a Roman soldier and statesman of patrician descent. According to Livy and Plutarch, Camillus triumphed four times, was five times dictator, and was honoured with the title of Second Founder of Rome....
. He held various offices, such as interrex and dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
, but was never king himself.
In the early fourth century BC Rome received its greatest humiliation, as the Gauls under Brennus sacked Rome itself. The Romans wanted to abandon the city and resettle at Veii (an Etruscan city), but Camillus prevented it. If Rome was to re-establish her authority over central Italy, and be prepared to meet any similar disasters in future, some reorganization was needed. These changes were traditionally believed to have been the work of Camillus, but in another theory they were introduced gradually during the second half of the fourth century BC.
Italy was not governed by city states like Greece, where armies met on large plains, deemed suitable by both sides, to reach a decision. Far more it was a collection of hill tribes using the difficult terrain to their advantage. Something altogether more flexible was needed to combat such foes than the unwieldy, slow-moving phalanx which had an unbelievably low amount of soldiers in it containing only 20 soldiers.
The legio
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
, or "levy", was introduced at this time, with a structure of manipuli ("handsful"). A heavier shield, the scutum
Scutum
Scutum is a small constellation introduced in the seventeenth century. Its name is Latin for shield.-History:Scutum is the only constellation that owes its name to a non-classical historical figure...
, took the place of the clipeus, and a heavier throwing spear, the pilum
Pilum
The pilum was a javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times. It was generally about two metres long overall, consisting of an iron shank about 7 mm in diameter and 60 cm long with pyramidal head...
, was introduced. The line of battle was more open so that a rank could hurl a volley, preferably downhill, breaking the ranks of the enemy. The first two lines carried pila. The rear rank, remaining in close order, and armed with hastae, were the pilani (not from pilum but from pilus, "closed rank"), in front of which were the antepilani carrying pila. In addition to these changes, the men began to receive pay, making a professional army possible.