The Roman Army
It was a mess, 2nd century BC and Rome had no army. Troops were drawn periodically from the population of male, property-owning citizens between 17 and 46. Men were ranked by age and height to ensure that no one legion monopolized the prime candidates, officers from various legions took their pick in turn. Romans considered military service a privilege, even though the soldiers received a small allowance and had to provide their own weapons and equipment. This levy system worked well as long as the tour was brief. At the end of the 2nd century resentment for the levy flared up, the need for more troops made Roman consul Gauis Marius overlook the property-owning requirement and entice poor citizens by giving arms and equipment at the states' expense. They flocked to the city and served for 16 year terms. As the Republic dissolved and emperors came into power they realized their power rested on their control of these massive armed forces, paid for out of the emperor's own pocket and bound to him by an oath of allegiance. Without a generous pension, maintaining a standing army would have been almost impossible. Becoming a soldier.....Typically men in their late teens and early twenties wanting to enlist reporte
Protective gear worn by the Roman troops evolved during the time of the early emperors. However strict, the military regimen was effective. There were others dedicated to Syrian goddess, Astarte and to the demigod, Hercules. They also raided surrounding areas for food, went fishing and hunted for fresh meat. They learned how to create a testudo, or turtle, a squared, tightly packed formation of men all holding shields overhead for protection from enemy rocks, arrows, or spears. Roman army rations included grain, which one of the men in the contubernium would grind into flour with a millstone to make bread, as well as cheese, meat, and vinegary wine. Above centurions stood the commander of the whole legion, the legatus leionis, who was usually appointed by the senate, emperor, or a general. Each century broke further down into 10 contubernia, made up of 8-10 men who shared the same tent, traveled, and ate together, equivalent to today's platoon or squad. For personal defense they would have a gladius (short sword) hanging from a belt on their right hand side and maybe a short dagger on their left. According to Casson, in basic training, a recruit: "ran and jumped to harden his physique, learned to swim, practiced marching with the standard military pace, which enabled troops to cover 24 miles in 5 hours, and took lessons in handling the legionary's standard weapon, the short sword; at the outset he hacked with a wooden sword at a wooden stake, a technique introduced into the army from the gladiator schools. First step was clerk or orderly to a high ranking officer (no extra pay but he was exempt from hard work like erecting stockades, digging ditches, or building bridges). Once in shape and having completed his initial weapon training, he had to get used to marching with a full pack consisting of sixty pounds of weapons, tools (such as a sickle, basket, bucket, saw, and pickaxe), and rations. Legionaries were armed with one or two pila, which were 6' long throwing spears with a 3 to 4' wooden shaft at the base with a metal spike which would bend on impact. Men grew old and gray in the ranks still subject to scoldings and beatings. Most legions had 5,000 to 6,000 men, each legion was broken down into 10 cohorts of 500-600 mean, each cohort into centuries of 80-100 mean.
Common topics in this essay:
According Casson,
Gauis Marius,
BC Rome,
Augustus AD,
Hercules Mithras,
,
near camps,
2nd century,
discipline harsh,
short sword,
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