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Military of ancient Rome

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The Roman military (known to the romans as the militia) relates to the combined military forces of Ancient Rome from the founding of the city of Rome to the end of the Western Roman Empire. Originally consisting of a Roman army and a small navy, the Roman navy was significantly upgraded during the First Punic War as a counterpoint to Carthage's naval might and became highly superior to its former enemy[1].

The Roman military were charged with protecting the Repulic of Rome and later Roman Empire. They were instrumental in expanding Rome from a small hilltop city to an empire covering 2,300,000 sq.miles, the Imperium Romanum.

History

Main article: Military history of ancient Rome

The Roman military evolved over the course of nearly 1300 years, from a voluntary militia based on the Italian warfare with javeliners to a Etruscan/Greek influenced phalanx of citizen spearmen. Following a series of reforms at various periods, the army grew to an highly-trained and well equipped army of professional soldiers in the middle of the Roman Imperial period alongside an extensive military navy that rules the Mediterannean and European Atlantic coast. In the late Roman Empire, the Roman military grew further in size to cover the borders and supress inner unrest, while the soldiers received often minor quality equipment. The circumstances of the Empire had changed and especially the Western Roman Empire was forced to rely massively on allied forces, foederati, raised of Germanic tribes within the borders, who fought nominally in the name of Rome.

Manpower

At the height of the Roman Empire, it is thought that it contained around 120 million citizens within its borders - half the world's population at that time. Such a substantial population was obviously able to support a substantial army. Historian Edward Gibbon estimated that the maximum size of the Roman army "most probably formed a standing force of 375 000" men in the time of Hadrian [2]. However, this probably included only legionary and auxiliary troops. In the late Imperial period when vast numbers of foederati were employed by the Romans to counter the Hunnish and other threats to its borders, it is estimated by Antonio Santosuosso and others that the combined number of men in arms of the two Roman Empires numbered closer to 700,000 in total.[3] Gibbon and Santosuosso both note however that the numbers, as Gibbon puts it, are "not... easy to define them with any tolerable accuracy". Santusuosso himself notes that his own figures were probably subject to inflation due tot he practice of leaving dead soldiers " ont he books" in order to continue to draw their wage and ration. Additionally, it seems that Gibbon's figure covers the Roman Empire at its greatest extent, whereas Santusuosso's figures, drawn from the Notitia Dignitatum are interested solely in the Roman army at its greatest extent, irrespective of the Empire's boundaries at that time, and irrespective of whether the troops were raised by the Romans or simply hired by them to fight on their behalf.

Expenditures

The cost of maintaining up to 30 legions and a dozen fleets was astronomical and provided a massive drain on the finances of the Roman state. Some areas, such as the Germannic tribes and the Persian Gulf, provided near constant threats and military campaigns for hundreds of years. As the size of the army increased in the later empire the problem increased. Although there were more people in the later Roman Empire,a nd thus the cost of an increased standing army could be spread over a greater populace, in practice this was impractical - a large number of the population were slaves, a great number again were Roman citizens exempt from tax through one law or another, a larger number still were impoverished by centuries of warfare and increasing tax burden, and an even larger number in the West had nothing much to tax: a great part of the Western empire didn't produce a great deal of goods beyond agricultural goods.

Capabilities

Readiness

Locations of Roman legions, 80 AD.

The military capability - that is, its military preparedness or readiness - of Ancient Rome was always primarily based upon the maintenance of an active fighting force acting either at or beyond its military frontiers. This is best illustrated by showing disposition of the Roman legions, the backbone of the Roman army. (see right).This had the impact that the Roman military didn't keep a central strategic reserve at all for much of its history until the late Empire, when its army was split into a border defense force and mobile response field armies. The Roman navy too was based upon a series of regional fleets with no effort at creating a central reserve.

Power Projection

The Roman military was also keen on the doctrine of Power projection, the idea of implementing policy by means of force outside of its own territory - it frequently removed foreign rules by force or intimidation and replaced them with rules more to its likened. This was facilitated by the maintenance for at least part of its history of a series of client states and other subjugate and buffer entities beyond its official borders although over which it extended massive political and military control.

Sustainability

The Empire's system of building an extensive and well-maintained road network enabled a primitive form of rapid reaction as stressed in modern military doctrine, although because there was no real strategic reserve, this often entailed the raising of fresh troops or the withdrawing of troops from another part of the borders. On the other hand the border troops were usually very capable to handle enemies before they could penetrate far into Roman hinterland.

In terms of sustaining existing forces, the Roman military had an extensive logistical supply chain. There was no specialised branch of the military devoted to logistics and transportation, although this was to a great extend carried out by the Roman Navy due to the ease and low costs of transporting goods via sea and river compared to over land. There is archeological evidence that Roman armies campaigning in Germania were supplied by a logistical supply chain beginning in Italy and Gaul, then transported by sea to the northern coast of Germania, and finally penetrating into Germania via barge on inland waterways. Forces were routinely supplied via fixed supply chains, although Roman armies in enemy territory would often supplement or replace this with foraging for food, and the forging and repair of their own weaponry and tools.

Policing

Roman cities for the most part had a civil guard used for maintaining the peace, although due to fears over rebellions and other uprisings, they were forbidden to be armed up to the level of a militia. Policing was therefore split between the civil guard for low-level policing, and the Roman legions and auxilia to suppress higher-level rioting, rebellion, etc. This way a limited strategic reserve was existing.

Engineering

Main article: Roman military engineering

The Roman military also had extensive engineering capabilities.

International Stance

Rome was an incredibly aggressive and highly-militarized nation. From very early on its history it would raise two armies annually to campaign abroad. Far from the Roman military being solely a defense force, for much of its history, the Roman military was a tool of aggressive military expansion. Noteably the Roman army had derived from a militia of mainly farmers and gaining new farming lands for the growing population or later retiring soldiers, was often one of the campaign's chief objectives. Only later in the Empire's last days did the Roman military primary role being solely the preservation of the sovereignty of existing Roman territories. Major powers next to Rome were the Kingdom of Aksum, Parthia and the Hunnic Empire. Knowledge of China, the Han Dynasty at the times of Mani, existed and it was considered a force to be reckoned with.

Branches and Structural overview

The branches of the Roman military at the highest level were the Roman army and the Roman navy.

Roman army

Main article: Roman army

Roman army field units

Military establishment of the Roman kingdom
  • legio - the basic army unit of 3,000 infantry and 300 cavalry, one third from each tribe (Grant, M., The History of Rome, p. 22). Not to be confused with the later legion.
  • pedites (undifferentiated infantry armed with javelins)
  • celeres (cavalry)
  • First Class - heavy infantry with sword and long spear (resembling hoplites) first line of the battle formation
  • Second Class - armed similar to First Class, but without a breastplate and with an oblong rather than a round shield behind the First Class in battle formation
  • Third and Fourth Class - more lightly armed with a spear and javelins, behind the Second class, giving javelin support
  • Fifth Class - poor men to be armed as skirmishers with slings and stones covering the approach of the main army
  • Equites - mounted units from the equestrian class.
Military establishment of the Roman Republic - the manipular army:

The manipular army of the Roman Republic was based partially upon social class and partially upon age and military experience. It therefore represents a "halfway house" between the earlier socially-divided army, and the later class-free armies of later years.. It was traditionally supposed to have been reformed under the Camillian Reforms of the semi-apocryphal figure of Marcus Furius Camillus, but Grant and others argue that it was not created by proactive reform of the earlier forces, but rather by natural evolution of the centurial army [5]

The equites cavalry was still drawn from the equestrian class of nobles in Roman society, and the remaining classes may have retained some slight parallel to social divisions within Roman society, but in theory at least the three lines were based upon: young, unproven men as hastati; older men with some military experience as principes; and veteran troops of advanced age and experience as triarii.

  • Supporting light infantry and cavalry troops:
  • Velites - lightly armed skirmishing troops drawn from the youngest and lower social classes
  • Equites - cavalry still drawn primarily from the richest class of equestrians
  • At times, additional allied troops drawn from the Socii and Latini, usually half the infantry and three quarters of the cavalry.
  • Accensi, also adscripticii and later supernumerarii - Supernumerary soldiers following the Roman army without military duties, who were taken to supply any vacancies that might occur in the legions. In battle in the rear of the army, behind the triarii. They seem to have acted sometimes as orderlies to the officers.
Military establishment of the early to mid Roman empire - the legionary army:

The legionary Roman army came about as a result of a deliberate reform of the Roman military by Gaius Marius - a process known as the Marian reforms. In 107 BC Marius opened up eligibility of entry into the Roman army to all citizens, regardless of wealth or social class. [6]

  • Roman legion - heavy infantry drawn exclusively from Roman citizens of any class
  • Alae - Roman Auxiliary Cavalry:
Military establishment of the late Roman empire - army split into field army and border troops

This was a deliberate policy of defense in depth in response to the outmoding of their traditional legionary defensive perimeter. Edward Luttwak argues that the Persian and Parthian armies were "sufficiently mobile and sufficiently strong to pierce a defensive perimeter on any selected axis of penetration"[7]

Certainly, the army became more mobile, with one cavalryman for every three infantryman, compared to one in forty in the early Empire[8][9]

Edward Gibbon argues that whilst there still existed nominal Roman legions in this period, in actuality Their arms, titles and ensigns were calculated... to display the variety of nations... under the Imperial standard... not a vestige was left of that severe simplicity which... distinguished the line of battle of a Roman army from [a] confused host, so that they may not be seen as comparable to the earlier Roman legions.[10]

Contemporary sources describe the field armies of being a higher quality than the limitanei border guards[11] but later commentator Edward Gibbon is scathing of both comitatenses and limitanei, accusing the former of ""contracting the vices of civil life...degraded...[and] enervated by the luxury" of their quarters in cities and "careless of their martial exercises", and of the later that their "spirit was degraded... [they] dare to desert their colours, to connive at the inroads of barbarians".[12]

Roman army special units and non-field units:

Roman navy

Main article: Roman navy

The Roman Navy (Latin: Classis) operating till to the end of the Western Roman Empire.

  • Major Fleets:
  • Minor Fleets:

Notes

  1. ^ Polybius, World history
  2. ^ Gibbon E., The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Penguin, 1985, para. 65
  3. ^ Santosuosso, A., Soldiers, Emperors and Civilians in the Roman Empire, Westview Press, 2001, p. 188
  4. ^ Livy, The Rise of Rome, Book 1, chapter 43
  5. ^ Grant M, The History of Rome, Faber and Faber, 1979 p. 54
  6. ^ Antonio Santosuosso, Soldiers, Emperors and Civilians in the Roman Empire, Westview, 2001, p. 10
  7. ^ Luttwack, E., The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire, JHUP, 1979
  8. ^ Elton, Warfare in Roman Europe, p. 94
  9. ^ Sanusuosso, A., Soldiers, Emperors and Civilians in the Roman Empire, Westview, 2001, p. 190
  10. ^ Gibbon, E., The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 1985, p. 362
  11. ^ Synesius, Patrologia Graeca, Ep. 78
  12. ^ Gibbon, E., The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 1985, p. 359
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