Roman+Military


 * The Roman Empire in 125 A.D.

__Why the Military?__** The archaeology of the Roman Empire is extremely diverse, with subjects ranging from religion, gender, sexuality, architecture, trade, economies, etc. The reason for the variety of Roman topics is obvious, the Roman Empire encompassed all of the Mediterranean World, which included sections of North Africa, Asia Minor, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and of course the Middle East. The question is truly how did one city engulf the Western World for 300 years and leave remnants of its greatness in the Mediterranean area for another 1,100 years? How did the Romans completely dominate such great societies including Egypt and Greece; or utterly defeat the Western World’s greatest warrior societies such as Carthage and Macedonia? The answer can be found by studying the quality of the Roman military; after all it was Rome’s soldiers who bore the burdens of subjugating the Empires enemies. They were directly responsible for the spread of Roman culture through the spread of Rome’s borders (le Bohec, 2000). Therefore, any discussion on the topic of Roman culture would be incomplete without discussing the Roman military itself. However, the archaeology of the Roman military is almost as diverse as studying the archaeology of the Roman conglomerate. For this reason, only three topics will be covered in this Wiki when discussing Roman Legions: tactics and weapons, engineering, and lastly the effect of Rome’s armies on civilian life.

__**Tactics and Weapons**__ First, a discussion in regards to the nature of the Roman military is required, including Roman organization, tactics, and weapons. Roman armies were mainly divided into legions (Webster, 1985). The Legion was arguably the basis for the success of the Roman Empire (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 2009), and these three topics discuss three different facets of the Roman Legion.

A legion was comprised of about 5,500 soldiers (Watson, 1969). Each legion was divided into 10 //cohorts// of 480 men each (Goldsworthy, 2005), with the exception of one //cohort//, which contained 960 men (Watson, 1969). The smallest unit in the legion was the //century//, originally containing 100 soldiers, but that number was reduced to 80 at the time of Polybius the Freedman in the 1st century A.D (Webster, 1985). Each century was divided into 10 sections of 8 men each (//contubernia//), who all shared a tent while in the field, or a room in the permanent barracks (Webster, 1985). A //century// was lead by a centurion, and two //centuries// (160 men), formed a //maniple// (the principle unit of a legion) (Goldsworthy, 2005). Three //maniples// or six //centuries// formed a //cohort.// A small troop of 120 cavalry also was attached to each legion (le Bohec, 2000). The senior staff officers of the legion were 6 //tribunes//, who often reported to a senior staff officer known as a //legatus// (Goldsworthy, 2005)//.// As can be seen by the previous description, the Roman legion was extremely organized with a direct chain of command right up to head of the army through the //legatus//. Other aspects of the Roman military were just as rigidly organized.

Soldiers forming Roman legions were commonly called //legionaries//, and their weaponry was just as standardized as the legions organization was. For example, the legions of Rome were spread throughout the Empire; each legion had the same organization regardless of where it was stationed. The //legionaries// who formed each of these legions all carried virtually the same weaponry. Each Roman soldier was equipped with a short sword (known as a //gladius//), and two javelins which were used for throwing (//pilum//) (Watson, 1965). Each soldier was also equipped with armor that is best described by Webster as a “complex suit of six or seven horizontal overlapping strips attached on the inside by leather strips to allow for freedom of movement. The shoulders were covered with sets of curved strips and there were also pairs of front and back plates” (1985, p.122). This type of armor is known as a //lorica// //segmentata.// The soldiers were also equipped with a helmet and shield. The helmet being comprised of a skull cap and neck cover (known at various times as either a //galea// or //cassis//), and the shield (known as a //scutum//) was either oval in shape or rectangular (depending on the time period) (le Bohec, 2000).

Roman weaponry was used in a standard fashion. The two //pila// would be thrown into the ranks of the enemy. The design of the //pilum// caused it to bend on impact serving two purposes: it could not be thrown back and it was hard to extract from its target. In fact, Webster reports that Ceaser himself noted that when he was fighting the Gauls the "thrown //pilum// would often pierce their shields." Once the //pilum// pierced the shield it could not be removed due to the L-shaped bend of the point. This caused the Gaulish warriors to have to discard the shield altogether, placing them at a serious disadvantage (1985, p.126). The //gladius// was a very short sword of less than 50 centimeters (Webster, 1985), allowing it to quickly be drawn with one hand after the discharge of the //pila.// The //gladius// was used primarily as a short thrusting sword. A Roman infantryman was trained to remain behind the protection of his shield until the enemy overexposed himself, and then stab him with a quick thrust to the abdomen or any exposed part of the body (Watson, 1969).

Roman tactics were based on the phenomenal discipline that the army displayed on the battlefield. The Roman Legions went through rigorous training (Goldsworthy, 2005). It was this training that allowed the soldiers to form into various shaped formations quickly while under pressure. These formations were the difference between life and death for the Roman Legions, due to the fact that they were often outnumbered (and in some cases surrounded) on the battle field. It was maintaining this calm, united front while maneuvering into complex formations such as a phalanx, wedge, tortoise, circle, or line formations that turned a major defeat into a Roman victory (Watson, 1969). In fact, this was the major difference between the Roman //maniple// and the Macedonian phalanx (the most successful war formation of its time in the West). The phalanx could only advance in a forward motion, driving all before it, but the //maniple// could maneuver around the rigid block formation of the phalanx and exploit its flanks, rear, and eventually holes in the center (all of which occurred when the Romans and Macedonians fought at Pydna in 168 B.C.) (Goldsworthy, 2005).

In short, the organization, weaponry, and the tactics of Rome were designed to exploit any weakness the enemy armies showed. It was the flexibility of the //maniple// which allowed these maneuvers and the discipline of the highly trained legionnaire that brought it to fruition.

__**Engineering**__ The Roman Military was renowned throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia for the discipline of it's highly trained heavy infantry. However oftentimes the infantry were unable to engage the enemy because of obstacles such as walls or natural landscapes. Here are a few examples of the siege weapons that Rome had at it's disposal so the infantry could go to work:

Aries Battering Ram: used to take down walls. The following image is a model taken from the 'Model of Jerusalem during the Second Temple Period' (designed by Michael Avi Yonah) at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The photo was taken by someone who only identifies himself as Joseph. []#



Archaeological Remains of the ramp that the Romans constructed during the siege of Masada (73 AD) to be able to bring their troops and siege weopons up to the mesa like top of the Mesada Fortress. []# Photagrapher only identifies himself as Mike. Heres another image of the ramp taken from wikipedia.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vista_general_de_Masada.jpg

It was not enough for the army to be able to defeat an enemy. Once conquered the enemies of Rome had to be governed, and in time protected from outside threats as well. The army also needed to travel from one location to the next, so a road system had to be built to ensure the quick transport of troops and supplies (Scarre, Fagan; 2008). In many instances bridges had to be built to ford rivers and forts needed to be erected to prevent surprise attack from enemies. Who else better suited to the task than the legions of Rome?

Arguably the most famous archaeological site that Roman Engineers constructed is that of Hadrian’s Wall, in Britain (Goldsworthy, 2005). This stone wall essentially runs for 73 miles across Britain from coast to coast. (Scarre, Fagan; 2008). Other sites include the remains of temporary camps (//castra// //aestiva//) and permanent forts (//castra// //hiberna// or //stativa//) (le Bohec, 2000).

Roman roads were another complex feat altogether. Roads such as the Via Appia, were paved over and can still be seen today (Goldsworthy, 2005). However, most frontier roads that the army employed were not paved; but instead merely leveled dirt roads that linked supply stations and lines of march (Webster, 1985). Many of these ancient roads however lie below the surface of modern highways and can still be detected today (Scarre, Fagan; 2008).

__**Civilian Life and Economies**__

At least 25 legions were constantly in service during the Roman Empire (Webster, 1985). These legions were probably supported by the same amount of Auxiliary troops who were allies of Rome, but not Roman citizens (Goldsworthy, 2005). This equates to about 275,000 active soldiers during normal peacetime years to maintain discipline throughout the empire and guard the frontiers. The Following link directs the user to a website detailing the enormous amount of food products that each soldier ingested in the Roman Army: [] Also discussed is the complicated process of providing all the food for the armies. According to the article, garrisons were supplied with enough grain to last a year. Soldiers themselves were expected to consume one third of a ton of corn each year (one half a cubic meter in the granary). Archaeological evidence suggests that this is true from examining the //horrea// of Roman Forts. Providing all this grain was a major concern for the empire. In war time, soldiers would carry sickles with them to reap crops, they would also pillage and forage the countryside in search of food. Archaeological evidence suggests that garrisons would have tracts of land around their forts to either grow crops, or contract civilians (or force them) to farm the land in times of peace (Davies, 1971).

One aspect of everyday life affected by the Roman Military is how they influenced the civilian economy. The following article discusses the possibility of civilians producing bricks used by Roman armies for their fortifications and roads __([])__. The article entitled "Soldier, Civilian and Military Brick Production," by Renate Kurzmann, states that Roman soldiers hired civilians to construct pottery (first paragraph). It is not very surprising than that the Romans would also hire civilians to make bricks. According to the article, bricks have been recovered with what appears to be civilian names stamped onto them, offering some proof that this theory could have occurred. Ultimately the article states that the evidence is not sufficient to prove that civilians provided a significant amount of brick production versus the legionnaires just yet, but time will settle the debate. John P. Bodel, of the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, suggests in his book titled 'Roman Brick Stamps at the Kelsey's Museum,' that more and more wealthy land owners in the Tiber Valley began exploiting the claylands on their estates for brick production (1983, p.1). Even though it says nothing about civilians producing the bricks, it clearly shows how the economy of the Tiber was influenced through the demand for clay. This is just another example of how Romes legions affected the everyday life of the average citizen throughout the empire. Here is a picture of a stamped brick taken from Wikipedia:


 * Conclusion

The military might of the Roman Empire dominated the people subjugated under them. The common legionnaire may not have realized it, but he was directly responsible for spreading the glory and culture of Rome throughout the Western World. Finally, through the era of peace that was introduced and maintained in the West by the Roman Army, culture and trade was facilitated throughout the Mediterranean region and into Europe. **

References Bodel, John P., and Kelsey Museum of Archaeology 1983 Roman Brick Stamps in the Kelsey Museum. Vol. 6. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Davies, R. W. 1971 The Roman Military Diet. Britannia 2:122-142. Goldsworthy, Adrian Keith, and John Keegan 2005 Roman Warfare. New York: Smithsonian Books/Collins. Kurzmann, Renate 2005 Soldier, Civilian and Military Brick Production. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 24(4):405-414. Le Bohec, Yann, and Raphael tr Bate 2000 The Imperial Roman Army. London ; New York: Routledge. Scarre, Christopher, and Brian M. Fagan 1997 Ancient Civilizations. New York: Longman. Watson, George Ronald 1969 The Roman Soldier. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press. Webster, Graham 1985 The Roman Imperial Army of the First and Second Centuries A.D. 3rd ed. Totowa, N.J.: Barnes & Noble Books.

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