Roman Military
The Roman Military was one of the most successful and powerful military’s in history. Their strength, organization, and size gave them the necessities they needed to make winning battles possible for the Roman Military. Being a very organized force to be reckoned with, the Roman Military was indeed one of the greatest military’s of all time.
Specifically, the Roman Military were known mainly for staying step ahead of their opponents. “The core of Rome’s military strength lay in the professionalism of their heavy infantry. A force that was organized and recognized as it evolved and adapted to survive the assaults of its mortal enemies, and conquer the Western world.” [The Roman Military] The Roman Military reacted quickly enough to their threats to be able to concentrate on areas where they were the least able to defend themselves. The military gave very limited social mobility, even though they were very interactive with civilians of their cities and influenced politics of the time period. There was very harsh disciplinary orders at times when soldiers would step out of line or be disrespectful, however the Roman Military did provide their with basic necessities of life and would dock their pay from the emperors.
Roman soldiers were recruits around the ages of eighteen and twenty years old. Enrolled soldiers were sometimes even slaves that the emperor bought. Soldiers came from all over the Roman Empire. Citizen soldiers would be only enrolled for a specific amount of time, instead of being enrolled for years of service of the Imperial period. “Roman soldiers had to carry their own weapons, food, and camping and sleeping equipment. They often had to march up to twenty miles a day carrying all this so it was impo...
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...r. Beneath him cam six military tribunes: pilus prior, princeps prior, hastus prior, pilus posterior, priceps posterior, and hastus posterior ( ranked highest to lowest ). Being the top commander meant that he was in control of the other six military tribunes, so it was one of the biggest jobs of the Roman Military.
The Roman Military had many advantages and disadvantages for their time of wars. Their strategies, weapons, and force is what made them the very best at what they did. The Romans were very smart people. Hence the reason why their military was one of the most powerful militaries of all times.
Works Cited
Militay, Anctient . "The Roman Military." (2007): http://www.ancientmilitary.com/contact.htm Lloyd, James. “Roman Army.” ( 30 April 2013): http://www.ancient.eu.com/Roman_Army/
Hadrins. “Roman Soldiers.” (2001):
http://www.hadrians.com/index.html
In Document B it states, “[Before the year 400 CE] foot soldiers wore breastplates and helmets. But when, because of negligence and laziness, parade ground drills were abandoned, the customary armor began to seem heavy since the soldiers rarely ever wore it. Therefore, they first asked the emperor to set aside the breastplates… and then the helmets. So our soldiers fought the Goths without any protection for chest and head and were often beaten by archers. Although there were many disasters, which led to the loss of great cities, no one tried to restore breastplates and helmets to the infantry. Thus it happens that troops in battle, exposed to wounds because they have no armor, think about running and not fighting.” Also, the failure to enforce conscription weakened Rome because armies need power to hold front since equipment is useless if there is no person to use it. It also didn’t enforce it mostly on the useless people like the rich who don’t contribute very much to society. The second paragraph in Document B it states, “There can be little doubt that the weakness of the late Roman army were largely due to the eventual failure… to enforce regular conscription [draft of soldiers]... The exempted categories were. Numerous. Hosts of senators, bureaucrats, and clergymen were entitled to avoid the draft; and among other groups who escaped were cooks, bakers, and slaves.” This proves how the Roman Army caused the fall of the Roman Empire because of their laziness and failure to enforce
One reason that many avoided Army service was because Roman citizenship was now offered freely, where in prior times military service had been a path to citizenship. The result was less manpower available for Rome. The Roman army was left with no choice but to recruit barbarians, who could in this way both find employment where they had no skills, and hope to obtain Roman citizenship.
The Roman military was arguably the most important factor in Rome’s illustrious history. Using your knowledge of Rome’s military from the video, text, and the document provided, make an argument for why the Roman military was so successful.
First came the advanced weapons, the Greeks didn't have very many weapons but the ones that they did have were very powerful. Take their spears for example, they were very sturdy and sharp. And because they knew how to use them they succeeded in many of their battles. The Romans on the other hand had quite a variety of weapons. They had short swords, spears, giant darts, bows and flawless armor. This made them quite the force to be reckoned with, and anyone that stood in their way was crushed. The Greeks were very famous for their navy while the Romans didn't really have one. Most of the ancient navy's were made up of giant ships that would ram and then sink each other. But the Romans preferred hand to hand combat so they used swords more than they did spears. The Greeks had more of a frontal attack with large shields that protected them while they stabbed. Greek Armor was very weak, so they wore very little if they wore any at all. But Roman Armor had to be impeccable at all times according to Philopoemen. “Bright armour inspired dismay in the enemy” pg.6.
The Roman Republic had an upstanding infrastructure, a stable social system, and a balanced constitution that solidified Rome’s greatness. Regardless of its achievements, however, the Roman Republic owes much of its success to classical Greek cultures. These cultures, in conjunction with the fundamental values of Roman society, certified Rome as one of the most significant powers the world has ever seen.
There were several strengths of the Roman Empire which enabled it to survive for more than four hundred years. These strengths included a strong foundation, having been built off of the Roman Republic; the standardization across the empire of many aspects of life, such as language, law, and especially the extension of citizenship, which made the empire more cohesive and easier to rule; and strong leaders, who were able to utilize the manipulation of the upper class and Senate, and the management of the military.
One of the main reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire was the military struggles they encountered. The footsoldiers in the army were lazy and refused to do drills, which then led to their armour seeming to be too heavy to wear so that was abandoned as well (Doc B). Because they didn't use their armour anymore, they fought without protection and many soldiers died and this eventually led to a decrease in the size of Rome's military (Docs B and C)....
At an early age, Tiberius was given military command and in his first campaign he won great renown with his troops and the Senate. He followed this up with another victory in Pannonia and for his efforts he received a triumph in Rome, the single greatest honor any general could receive. Augustus granted him the powers of a Tribune. Tiberius cared greatly for the welfare of his soldiers and they responded with respect and deep ...
Outward appearance was extremely important to the Romans and the first thing that new recruits learned was to march in perfect form. Once they knew how to march they were then assigned to the legions in which they would remain for the next 20 years of service. (the book) The legions were made up of between 5000 and 5500 men. In a legion there were 10 Cohorts and in those Cohorts there were 6 Centuries. Auxiliary troops, although not usually counted as part of a legion, were part of a legion and could raise the number of men from around 5000 to 6000. The number of legions active in the empire was consistently between 25 and 33. (internet, http://museum.simplenet.com/rome/military/military.htm) The average year for auxiliaries to serve was 25 years or less. After about 20 years in the legions they “graduated” to a veteran cohort, and continued service there for about 5 years. The soldiers who completed their 25 years of military service to Rome were given a “diploma” made of bronze. It was actually a record of their service throughout the years and a copy was kept in soldier’s files in Rome. (the book)
During their time, the strategy the Roman’s employed was second to none. The success of their strategy started with the Roman’s separating their armies into smaller, more specific types. They used many different types of infantry throughout the years, but the main types they used were the velites, hastati, principes, triarii, and later the famous Legionaries were introduced (Roman Empire Wars). These infantry worked together on the battlefield to effectively eliminate the enemy and win the battle.
There are many political, economic, sociological causes to the growth and expansion of the Roman republic and later the Roman Empire, but one major factor of expansion that the Romans are most famous for is there Army. There Army was famous for their harsh discipline amongst their own ranks and there mercifulness brutality amongst their enemies. According to our text Roman warfare was characterized by great ferocity and the Roman pursuit of victory was relentless. The Romans had a pragmatic view towards atrocity and massacre that viewed almost any act as justifiable if it eased the path of victory (Goldsworthy 2000) p. 24. The hoplite phalanx which originated by the Greeks and later adopted by the Roman army, demanded great discipline and adherence to orders in order for this group of soldiers...
Although, many might say that the Roman Empire was already very successful even without the Greek influence, the Romans were already known for their very great army. The Romans were able to conquer so many lands and keep a great structure to the point where other communities feared them because of their army. It is true, Rome was already very successful they had conquered many lands before the Hellenistic period, and were already known to be a very rich and powerful community. Just as Chris Truman states on the website the History learning site where du...
Recruits were taught to march and performed parade drill twice a day. They were taught how to build a camp, swim and ride. A Roman was half a soldier from the start, and he could endure discipline which soon produced the other half (Adcock 5).
The Greeks basic soldier was a foot soldier that was trained for close combat. The basic combat soldier in Rome was a horse rider and an expert bowman. This was also due in part to the increase in technology as well. The Grecian hoplite would also carry a spear that compared to the Roman pilum as a predecessor. The pilum was much longer and could be thrown a lot further.
Leadership can be defined as “the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization.” While the wording comes from the United States Army’s Leadership manual, the same principles applied to the men who served in the Roman army, both the Republic and the Empire. From 508 BC to 1453 the Roman’s would be a considered a “superpower” in the world with “all roads” leading to Rome as the old proverb explains. A superpower is maintained with a strong military and Rome was no exception. During her reign, Rome saw a vast number of generals and leaders that would stand out over time. Three of these leaders would be Trajan, Marius and Scipio Africanus. These three generals would have great impact on the Roman army and its establishment of their power.