The command structure of the Roman army. Army of the early Roman Republic

The Romans considered one of their strongest qualities to be their inherent ability to learn, adopt and assimilate all the best that their opponents possessed. The Romans borrowed hoplite weapons and phalanx formation from the Etruscans - and soon defeated their teachers. With the appearance of other opponents, the Romans had to adapt their existing military organization to new conditions. The result of these changes, accompanied by the borrowing of foreign weapons, formation and tactics, was the emergence of the manipulative legion.

Phalanx and Roman order of battle

Titus Livy in the ninth book of Roman history, deviating from the main account of the events of the Second Samnite War (328–304 BC), wondered: what would have happened if Alexander the Great had not died in Babylon in the summer of 323 BC ., but would he go to the West and invade Italy, as his uncle did in his time? Comparing the forces at the disposal of both sides - the Macedonians and the Romans - the Roman historian compares, among other things, their weapons, battle formation and tactics:

“The Macedonians,” writes Livy, “were armed with a round shield and a sarissa (clupeus sarisaeque); The Romans had an oblong shield (scutum), which better protected the body, and a dart (pilum), which hit harder in flight than a spear. Both troops consisted of heavily armed men and maintained ranks, but if the Macedonian phalanx is clumsy and homogeneous, then the Roman battle formation (acies) is mobile, for it is composed of many parts (ex pluribus partibus) and can, if necessary, easily open and close again.”

The Roman battle formation described by Livy, which consists of many parts and can easily open and close again, definitely points to the manipular order of the legion, known from the descriptions of Polybius, Livy himself and other authors. The armament of the Roman soldiers looked the same: instead of a round hoplite shield and spear, they were equipped for battle with an oblong scutum shield and a javelin. This brief description poses many problems for researchers, and among them is the question of the origin of the manipulative organization and the weapon complex characteristic of it.

An ivory plate from Palestrina, decorated with carved images of warriors, early 4th century BC. Villa Giulia, Rome

Centuriate military organization

The number of centuries in the legion (60) provides the key to understanding the process of formation of its structure. As we remember, after the reform of Servius Tullius, the Roman army consisted of 40 heavily armed centuries of youth of the 1st category, which were eventually joined by ten heavily armed centuries of youth of the 2nd and 3rd categories. The result was an army consisting of 60 centuries and numbering 6,000 people.

When the army was divided between the two consuls after 367 BC. the structure of each of the two “legions” was preserved, although the number of warriors in the centuries was halved - to 3,000 people. Subsequently, to the 60 centuries of heavily armed warriors in the legion, another 1,200 lightly armed soldiers were added, recruited from 24 centuries of youth of IV and V categories. Unlike heavily armed soldiers, velites did not form their own units within the legion, but were assigned to existing ones. Thus, the number of each legion was increased to 4,200 soldiers and subsequently remained unchanged until the era of the Punic Wars.

Legion and manipulative tactics

Talking about the events of the Second Latin War (340–338 BC), Livy describes in detail the formation of the legion:

“The first row is the hastati, 15 maniples (ordo), standing almost close to each other. There are 20 lightly armed warriors in the maniple, the rest with large shields, and the lightly armed are those who only have a spear and heavy darts. During the battle, the vanguard included the flower of youth who had reached conscription age. They were followed by the same number of maniples of older and stronger warriors, who are called principles: all of them, armed with oblong shields, were distinguished by their armor. Such a detachment of 30 maniples was called “antepilani” (antepilani), because another 15 rows stood behind the banners (vexilla), and each of them consists of three sections and the first section of each row was called “pilus” (pilus); the row consisted of three vexillas, in one vexilla there were 186 people; in the first vexilla there were triarii, experienced warriors of proven courage, in the second - rorarii, younger and not so distinguished, in the third - accenzi, a detachment that could not be relied upon too much, which is why it was given the last place in the ranks.

“When the army lined up in this order, the hastati were the first to enter the battle. If they were unable to overthrow the enemy, they gradually retreated back, occupying gaps in the ranks of the principles. Then the principles went into battle, and the hastati followed them. The triarii, under their banners, stood on their right knee, putting their left leg forward and resting their shoulder on the shield, and spears, sticking out menacingly upward, stuck into the ground; their formation bristles like a picket fence. If the principles did not achieve success in the battle, they retreated step by step to the triarii (that is why they say, when things get tough: “it has come to the triarii”). The triarii, having received the principles and hastati in the spaces between their ranks, rose up, quickly closed the formation, as if closing the passages and exits, and attacked the enemy with a single solid wall, no longer having any support behind them. This turned out to be the most terrible thing for the enemies, because thinking that they were pursuing the vanquished, they suddenly saw how a new system, even more numerous, suddenly grew up ahead.”

Roman warriors of the Punic Wars: hastat or principle, triarius and velite. Reconstruction by A. McBride

Livy's text is very reminiscent of Polybius's description of the manipular legion. There is no division of warriors, characteristic of the Servian army, according to property criteria and the weapons corresponding to this difference. In the description of Livy, as well as subsequently in the text of Polybius, the differences between all categories of warriors were determined by the principle of age and military experience. All categories of heavily armed men wore uniform weapons. True, heavy dart gaesum (= ΰσσος Plutarch and Polybius) had lightly armed warriors. Although the weapons of the others are not specifically mentioned, most likely the hastati, as their name suggests, were armed not with darts, but with hast spears, like the triarii. Finally, the tactics described by Livy, associated with changing battle lines during the battle and constantly increasing the onslaught - “until it reached the triarii”, - is a manipulative tactic known from descriptions of battles during the Punic Wars.

Along with the similarities, there were also differences, which we will consider separately. In general, researchers' assessments regarding the authenticity of Livy's description are divided. Some believe that this is a real recreation of the appearance of the Roman legion from the mid-4th century BC. Others are convinced that Livy simply failed to reconcile all the data he had, and therefore the legion he described is only an unsuccessful reconstruction by a historian and never really existed.

Literature:

1. Alföldi, A. Early Rome and Latins. - University of Michigan Press, 1971.
2. Cornell, T. J. Beginnings of Rome Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (1000–264 BC). - New York: Routledge, 1995.
3. Eichberg, M. Scutum. Die Entwicklung einer italisch-etruskischen Schildform von den Anfangen bis zur Zeit Caesars. - Frankfurt am Main/Bern, 1987.
4. Oakley, S. P. A Commentary on Livy Books VI–X. Volume 1. Introduction and Book VI. - Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
5. Rawlings, L. Army and Battle During the Conquest of Italy (350–264 bc) // A Companion to the Roman army / Ed. by Paul Erdkamp. - Blackwell Publishing, 2007. - R. 45-62.
6. Mayak, I. L. Rome of the first kings. Genesis of the Roman polis. – Moscow: Moscow University, 1983.
7. Nechai, F. M. Formation of the Roman state. - Mn., 1972.
8. Tokmakov, V. N. Military organization of Rome in the Early Republic (VI–IV centuries BC). - M., 1998.
9. Tokmakov, V. N. Structure and combat formation of the Roman army of the early republic / V. N. Tokmakov // Bulletin of Ancient History. - 1995. - No. 4. - P. 138-160.

Peace Treaty of Cassius 490 BC brought Rome into the Latin Union, and over the next 160 years the development of its military system paralleled that of the rest of the Latin states. Livy assures that the military organization of the Latins and Romans was the same at the time when Rome put forward demands for recognition of its dominance in the Union (Latin War 340-338 BC). He was undoubtedly right, although he got a little carried away, when he said that in the battle the primus pilus, i.e. the senior centurion of the legion, was opposite the enemy primipile - they should have been at opposite ends of their legions.

Here, however, Livy again gives us a valuable insight into the organization of the legion. All legionnaires were now equipped with oval Italic shields, scutums. Instead of a phalanx, the legion was formed in a new battle formation, in three lines. The back line consisted of 15 rows (ordines), each of which was divided into three parts, vexillas. The best of the veterans, the triarii, stood in front. Behind them are young, less distinguished warriors, rorarii, and behind them are the least reliable soldiers, accensi. In reality this means reserve. The triarii were armed with spears, but Livy says nothing about the armament of the rest.

Each of the three vexillas consisted of 60 men, two centurions and a standard-bearer, a vexillarius, who carried a flag-like standard, probably similar to those of the Samnites.

The middle line consisted of 15 units, maniples, heavy infantry (principes). These were the cream of the army - fighters in their prime. The front line also consisted of heavy infantry (hastati, hastati), but it consisted of younger warriors; they were also divided into 15 maniples. The hastati maniple was assigned 20 lightly armed warriors (leves), who had a spear and a javelin. Each back line unit consisted of 186 men; each unit of principles and hastati must have contained a little more than 60 warriors - all of them probably consisted of double centuries. With a calculation of 50 people per century, plus commanders and assistant commanders, standard bearers, buglers, etc., who are listed outside the ranks. we get a total of five thousand warriors - a legion. Livy says nothing about arming the principles and hastati. In the time of Polybius they had throwing spears - pilums - and swords. Since it is known that pilums were actually used at this time, we have to admit that this statement is correct.

Most scientists do not agree with the description given by Livy or try to “fit” it into the framework of the legion of a later time. However, the Roman army was constantly in the process of development and improvement, and it would be very strange if it did not undergo any changes between 340 and 150 AD. BC The army of Livy can be thought of as being halfway between the Etruscan army (c. 550 BC) and that described by Polybius (c. 150 BC).

Those who say that Livy changed the general picture are wrong; Usually he brought the description of events closer to his time, modernized them, but not in this case. Here he tried his best to convey to the reader the information he discovered as unaltered as possible. Perhaps he slightly embellished it in places, but in all other aspects we have a real description. To try to fit it into the story of Polybius, written two centuries later, means in fact to follow the usual manner of Livy. Here the picture given by Livy is too vague and complex to be untrue.

The historian reports that round shields (clypeus) were abandoned around the time legionnaires began to receive pay, i.e. during the siege of Veii at the beginning of the 4th century. BC He also talks about abandoning the phalanx. The reason for this could be the fact that at the Battle of Allia it was literally trampled into the ground; Perhaps this is also related to the transition of the army to larger shields - scutums, reinforced with an iron edge.

The army of the time of Servius consisted of two parts, each of which had 40 centuries of hoplites and 45 centuries of lightly armed soldiers. And apparently, it is no coincidence that in the Libyan legion, where there were no hoplites, there are 45 combat units (15 rows in the back line and 15 maniples in the middle and front lines).

At this time there are still traces of the old system of qualification division, but it seems that the warriors of the first, second and third ranks formed one group, within which they were divided not by property qualifications, but by age. The youngest become hastati, those in their prime become principes, and the oldest become triarii. The Rorarii, it seems, were recruited from representatives of the fourth category, and the Accentes and Levis, of which there were relatively many, belonged to the fifth category.

One should not be surprised by the size of the century - at the early stage of the development of the army, it could change along with the change in the size of the army itself. During the time of Polybius, the century of triarii consisted of only 30 people.

The main striking weapon of the legionary of the new army must now have become the throwing spear (pilum). The triarii, rorarii, and accensi were still common spearmen, but about a third of the entire army now advanced, armed with pilums to hit the approaching enemy.

The three lines of troops were now staggered. In front there were 15 centuries of hastati, between which there were equal intervals. They were followed by principles designed to close these gaps. The rear line warriors were lined up in the same way - they covered the gaps in the line of principles. The battle began with Levis skirmishers, who sought to disrupt the enemy's battle formation with light darts. When the opposite side began to attack, the lightly armed warriors retreated into gaps in the line, and the hastati went into battle. First, they threw pilums, and then moved towards the enemy in order to get into hand-to-hand combat. If the hastati were unable to defeat the enemy, they also retreated into the gaps between the detachments of principles. If both lines were defeated, the hastati and principles retreated behind the triarii, who closed the ranks; then the entire army retreated. Livy assumed that the triarii also participated in the offensive, but this can be considered an attempt to disguise the fact that the Roman army sometimes lost battles. The old Roman saying “it came down to the triarii” meant that things could not have turned out worse.

While the hastati and principes fought, the triarii dropped to one knee, putting their left leg forward. They leaned their large oval shields against their left shoulders so that they covered them from enemy projectiles. The undercut of the spear was stuck into the ground, and the tip was tilted forward “like a palisade,” as Livy said. The triarii did not engage in battle until all other parts of the army were defeated. It should be noted that the banners were located behind the rear line, so that the retreating troops could see which of the ranks they should retreat to. Livy does not say how many centurions there were for each maniple of principles and hastati - one, two, or none at all.

The Romans must have been defeated more than once in the first 200 years of the Republic. The patriotic Livy usually says in such cases that the battle was “prevented by bad weather.” The biggest defeat befell the Romans at the Battle of Allia (390 BC). Perhaps it was precisely because of this (especially because of the last battle) that the legion of the 4th century. BC has a pronounced defensive character. A fairly mobile system of hastati-principles appeared, obviously, in response to the light and mobile armies of the Celts and Samnites. The spear-throwing units on the front flank were specially designed to withstand the Celts' attack.

In the IV-II centuries. BC e. Initially from the first property class, they had full defensive weapons, long spears and swords, and formed the third line in the battle order (hence the name); from the 3rd century BC e. - warriors 40-45 years old, armed with swords and pilums (short throwing spears); were introduced into battle at the decisive moment. . According to Polybius, triarii (triarchs) are people who have served at least 15 years in the army. During the era of the Republic, the legion did not have this division.

Triarii within the legion

Often the triarii did not deploy on the battlefield, but guarded the military camp. This, for example, happened during the Battle of Cannes; researchers suggest that if 10,000 triarii were fielded, they would be able to resist Hannibal's Numidian cavalry.

See also

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Notes

Literature

• // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
• Titus Livy - “History from the Founding of the City”

Excerpt characterizing the Triarii

(All dates are BC)

Peace treaty of Spurius Cassius 493 BC. (end of the First Latin War) brought Rome into the Latin Union, and over the next 160 years the development of its military system paralleled that of the rest of the Latin states. Livy assures that the military organization of the Latins and Romans was the same at the time when Rome put forward demands for recognition of its dominance in the Union (Second Latin War 340-338 BC)

All Roman citizens from 17 to 45 years of age were considered liable for military service and were included in . Only the poorest population was exempt from military service. Legion (Latin: Legere - to choose, to gather) originally meant the entire Roman army. When the need arose to convene an army, each city century fielded the required number of people. At the end of hostilities, the army disbanded. The warrior was supposed to provide himself with equipment, which led to a wide variety of weapons and armor.

The army was divided into two parts, serving according to age. Veterans, warriors 45-60 years old, formed garrisons, and young ones participated in military campaigns. Only those persons who participated in 20 military campaigns when serving in the infantry or in 10 campaigns when serving in the cavalry were exempted from military service. Evasion from military service was punished very strictly, including sale into slavery.

The entire Roman army was divided into two legions, each of which was subordinate to one of the consuls. The wars waged by the Roman Republic became more and more frequent and gradually ceased to be simple raids, taking on the character of planned military operations. In the 4th century BC. Each consul was already subordinate to two legions, and their total number, accordingly, increased to four. If it was necessary to conduct a military campaign, additional legions could be recruited.

In the second half of the 4th century BC. led to a significant expansion of the contingent from which the army was recruited. Military reform became inevitable. The soldiers were given a salary, against which they were given uniforms, weapons and food. This equalized the position of the haves and have-nots and served as an impetus for the introduction of uniform weapons. Uniform weapons, in turn, made it possible to reorganize the legion, making it more uniform and functional.

From 331, a military tribune stood at the head of each legion. The internal structure of the legion became more complex. Instead of the phalanx adopted by the Etruscans, the legion was built in a new battle formation (possibly adopted from the Samnites), in three lines. The total number of the legion was about 4,500 people.

The front line consisted of heavy infantry - hastati(Latin Hastati - spearmen). It consisted of younger warriors, divided by 15 maniples(lat. Manipula- a handful) for 60 - 120 people. Each of the maniples was divided into two centuries under the command centurion, appointed from among the most distinguished warriors. One of the centurions was the eldest and commanded the entire maniple. In addition, each hastati maniple was assigned 20 lightly armed warriors - Levi's or velites, who had a spear and a javelin.

The middle line also consisted of 15 maniples of heavy infantry - principles. But these were already the cream of the army - fighters in their prime.

The back line consisted of 15 rows, each of which was divided into three parts - vexillas. The best of the veterans stood ahead, . Behind them are young, not so distinguished warriors, roraria, and behind them are the least reliable soldiers, accents. Each of the three vexillas consisted of 60 soldiers, two centurions and a standard bearer - vexillaria, which carried a flag-like standard.

Accents (outside qualifications) were armed only with a sling, which corresponded to the 5th property class under military reform. They had no armor or any other protection.

The Roraria were armed with a spear for close combat and a javelin. They corresponded to the fourth property class of the reform of Servius Tullius. They did not wear armor.

The triarii were armed with spears and swords. Originally from the first property class, they had full defensive weapons.

In battle, maniples were usually located in a checkerboard pattern - maniples principles covered the gap between hastata, and those were covered by maniples triarii.

In addition to infantry, the legion also included cavalry. Heavy cavalry - equites- was originally the most prestigious branch of the military. The cavalryman himself bought weapons and equipment - a round shield, helmet, armor, sword and spears. The legion consisted of approximately 300 cavalrymen, divided into units - tours- 30 people per team decurion. They were located on the flanks of the legion - five turmas on each. The light cavalry was recruited from less wealthy citizens and young wealthy citizens who were not suitable in age for other units.

Initially, legionnaires were armed with round shields - clypeus. But during (405-392) larger shields were introduced - scutum, reinforced with iron edge. At the same time, the abandonment of the phalanx occurred. The reason for this could be the defeat at the Battle of Allia (390), where the Romans were literally “trodden into the ground.” Much attention began to be paid to issues of troop control and logistics organization. The army began to include one century of clerks and buglers, as well as two centuries of blacksmiths and carpenters, fleets of siege engines and centuries of engineers.

From that time on, legionnaires began to be paid. A Roman infantryman received two coins a day, a centurion received twice as much, and a horseman received six obols. A Roman infantryman received allowance in the form of 35 liters of grain per month, a horseman - 100 liters of wheat and 350 liters of barley (including food for the horse and groom). A fixed fee for these products was deducted from the salary of both foot and horse warriors. Deductions were also made for clothing and items of equipment requiring replacement.

The main striking weapon of the legionnaire of the new army became a throwing spear - pilum. The triarii, rorarii, and accensi were still common spearmen, but about a third of the entire army advanced, armed with pilums to defeat the approaching enemy.

The battle began with the Levis, who sought to disrupt the enemy's battle formation with the help of light darts. When the opposite side began to attack, the lightly armed warriors retreated into gaps in the line, and the hastati went into battle. First, they threw pilums, and then moved towards the enemy in order to get into hand-to-hand combat. If the hastati were unable to defeat the enemy, they also retreated into the gaps between the detachments of principles. If both lines were defeated, the hastati and principles retreated behind the triarii, who closed the ranks; then the entire army retreated. The old Roman saying “it came down to the triarii” meant that things could not have turned out worse.

While the hastati and principes fought, the triarii dropped to one knee, putting their left leg forward. They leaned their large oval shields against their left shoulders so that they covered them from enemy projectiles. The undercut of the spear was stuck into the ground, and the tip was tilted forward “like a palisade” (Livy). The triarii did not engage in battle until all other parts of the army were defeated. The banners were placed behind the rear line, so that the retreating troops could see which rank they should retreat to.

The Romans suffered defeats more than once during the first 200 years of the republic. The patriotic Livy usually says in such cases that the battle was “prevented by bad weather.” The biggest defeat befell the Romans at the Battle of Allia. Perhaps it was because of this that the legion of the 4th century BC. has a pronounced defensive character. The mobile system of hastati - principles appeared, apparently, in response to the light and mobile armies of the Celts and Samnites. The detachments of spear throwers on the front flank were specially designed to withstand the attack of the Celts.

In addition, the Roman army was strengthened by the so-called “allies” - troops of conquered neighbors who did not have Roman citizenship. The Allies were obliged to provide auxiliary armed forces. Usually, for one Roman legion, the allies fielded 5,000 infantry and 900 horsemen, supported at their own expense. The allied troops lined up on the flanks of the Roman legions in units of 500 people. Such units were called “cohort” (Latin cohors - retinue, string). The cohorts were subordinate to the Roman high command, and the composition of the junior commanders was determined by the allies themselves.

A third of the Allies' best cavalry and a fifth of their best infantry were selected to form a special fighting unit - the extraordinarii. They were a striking force for special assignments and were supposed to cover the legion on the march. The internal organization of the Allied army for this period is not described in the sources, but most likely it was similar to the Roman one, especially among the Latin allies.

Thus, the legion, with its heavy infantry, cavalry, additional allied cavalry, light infantry, siege weapons and engineers, included all branches of the ground forces and was, although cumbersome, a self-sufficient army unit.

It was in this form that the Roman legions entered the period of great wars.

In the fourth century BC: Rome was almost completely sacked by the Gauls. This seriously undermined his authority in central Italy. But this event entailed an almost complete reorganization of the army. The author of the reforms is believed to have been the hero Flavius ​​Camillus, but many historians agree that the reforms were adopted centrally throughout the fourth century BC.

Original legions

Having abandoned the phalanx, the Romans introduced a new battle formation. Now the soldiers were lined up in three lines. The hastati, who had been second-class spearmen in the previous formation, the phalanx, stood in front. Young people were recruited there, dressed in armor and carrying a rectangular shield, the scutum, which remained in service with the Roman legionnaires throughout. The hastati were armed with two 1.2-meter javelins (pilums) and the traditional short sword gladius/gladius. Each hastati maniple included lightly armed warriors. In the phalanx system they were assigned to the fourth and fifth classes.

While the hastati and principes were fighting, the triarii knelt on their right knee, tilted their spears forward and covered themselves with shields on the left so as to protect themselves from enemy projectiles. They entered into battle only if both the hastati and the principes were defeated.

Soldiers formerly assigned to the first class were divided into two types: principes and triarii. Together they formed the heavy infantry, the Hastati being the first to engage in battle. If they began to be crushed, they could retreat between the ranks of the heavy infantry of the principles and reform for a counterattack. Behind the principles at some distance were the triarii, who, when the heavy infantry retreated, came forward and caused confusion in the ranks of the enemies by their sudden appearance, thereby giving the principles the opportunity to reorganize. The triarii were usually the last line of defense, which, if the outcome of the battle was unsuccessful, covered the retreating hastati and principes.

The armament of legionnaires has undergone significant changes. Bronze helmets did not provide good protection against the long swords of barbarians, and the Romans replaced them with iron helmets with a polished surface on which the swords slid (although bronze helmets were later reintroduced).
Also, the adoption of the scutum - a large rectangular shield - greatly affected the effectiveness of the legionnaires.

At the beginning of the 3rd century BC. Roman legions performed well in battles against well-trained Macedonian phalanxes and war elephants. In the same century, the First Carthaginian War hardened the Roman legions in battle even more, and by the end of the century the legions stopped the Gauls' attempt to pass south from the Po River valley, proving to everyone that the Roman legions were no match for the barbarians who ravaged their city.

At the beginning of the Second Punic War, the historian Polubius writes that Rome possessed the largest and best army in the Mediterranean, 6 legions consisting of 32,000 infantry and 1,600 cavalry, together with 30,000 allied infantry and 2,000 cavalry. And this is only the regular army. If Rome announced the gathering of allied troops, then it could count on 340,000 infantry and 37,000 cavalry.

Scipio's reform

One of the people who made a great contribution to the prosperity and survival of Rome was Scipio Africanus. He was present at the defeat at Trebbia and Cannae, from which he learned the lesson that the Roman army urgently needed to change tactics. At the age of 25, he became commander of troops in Spain and began to train them more intensively. Undoubtedly, the Roman legionaries were the best warriors of the time, but they needed to be prepared for the tactical tricks that Hannibal used on the battlefield. Scipio was on the right path and his victory over Hannibal's troops at Zama completely proved this.

Scipio's reform radically changed the concept of legions. The Oda now relied on tactical superiority rather than the physical strength of the legionnaires. From this time on, Roman soldiers went into battle under the leadership of smart officers who tried to outmaneuver the enemy rather than just line up and march towards the enemy.

In the second century BC. the formation of the legions changed slightly. The soldiers used the gladius, also known as the "Spanish sword". Iron helmets were again replaced by bronze ones, but made of a thicker layer of metal. Each maniple was commanded by 2 centurions, with the first centurion commanding the right part of the maniple, and the second the left part.

As Rome conquered the east, more people were drawn into manufacturing, and lifelong military service became unacceptable. Rome could no longer rely on a constant stream of legionaries from the villages in the provinces. Military service in Spain caused discontent among the civilian population, and led to a series of local wars and uprisings. The loss of life, injuries and low flow of money into the treasury forced a reconsideration of the time-tested method of conscription. In 152 BC. It was decided to draft citizens into the army by drawing lots for a period of no more than 6 years of service.

The use of Allied troops became more active. In 133 BC, Scipio took Numantia, two-thirds of his army were Iberian troops. In the east, during the Battle of Pydna, which ended the Third Macedonian War, troops allied with Rome, using war elephants, defeated the left flank of Perseus's army, thereby giving the legionnaires the opportunity to approach the Macedonian phalanx from the phalanx and disrupt its ranks.

Reforma Maria

It was Marius who is credited with the complete reform of the army, although he structured and put the finishing touches on a process that began much earlier. Rome in general, and the Roman army in particular, always resisted rapid reforms, considering gradual change acceptable. The reform of Gaius Gratius was that legionnaires were given equipment at the expense of the state and it was forbidden to conscript persons under seventeen years of age into the army.

Mari, however, made the army accessible to everyone, even the poorest, the main thing is that they had a desire to serve. They enlisted in the army for a period of service of more than 6 years. For these people, military service in the army became a profession, an opportunity to make a career, and not just repaying a debt to Rome. Thus, Marius became the first ruler in Roman history to create a professional army. Mari also offered special benefits to veterans, thereby attracting them to serve. It was the new army of Maria that saved Italy from a massive invasion of barbarian tribes, defeating first the Germans and then defeating the Cimbri.
Marius also changed the design of the pilum, replacing the metal shaft with a wooden one. On impact it broke and could not be thrown back (as mentioned earlier, the tip of the pilum bent on impact, but it was very difficult to make a metal tip that deformed and at the same time caused significant damage).

Mari began distributing land to legionnaires after demobilization - giving guarantees to veterans for a so-called pension at the end of their service.

Changes also affected the combat order of the legion. Lines of battle order depending on weapons were abolished. Now all soldiers had the same equipment. Cohort tactics were actively used.
By the way, cohorts appeared under Scipius Africanus, so it is difficult to say whether this was the merit of Marius. Although no one denies that cohort tactics became dominant in Maria’s army, due to the fact that the border between classes was erased, because all the soldiers were armed equally.

"Classic Legion"

Under the rule of Julius Caesar, the army became highly effective, professional, highly trained and remarkably controlled.

On the march, the legion relied only on its own supplies. To set up camp each night, each soldier carried tools and two poles. In addition to this, he carried his own armor, bowler hat, camp rations, clothes and personal effects. Because of this, the legionnaires received the nickname “Mules Maria”.

Disputes continue about how much the legionnaire actually carried. In a modern army, a fighter carries 30 kg on himself. According to calculations, including all equipment and a legionnaire’s 16-day ration, it turns out that one soldier carried 41 kg. The legionnaires carried with them dry rations, which, based on the standard iron consumption of a soldier, provided it for 3 days. The weight of the ration was 3 kilograms. For comparison, soldiers used to carry grain rations weighing 11 kg.

During the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great, infantry remained the main military force of the Roman army. With the introduction of regular cavalry, Constantine abolished the post of praetorian prefect and introduced two new positions in its place: commander of infantry and commander of cavalry.

The rise in importance of cavalry is due to two main reasons. Many barbarian tribes avoided open invasion and simply limited themselves to raids. The infantry was simply not fast enough to intercept the barbarian troops.

Another reason was that the superiority of the Roman legion over any rival was no longer as clear as before. The barbarians have learned a lot over the past centuries. Thousands of Germans served as mercenaries and adopted the experience of Roman military leaders and applied it upon returning home. The Roman army had to adopt new tactical solutions and provide reliable support for the heavy infantry with the help of cavalry. Between the third and fourth centuries, the Roman army hastily increased its cavalry numbers when disaster struck at the end of the period. In 378 AD. Heavy Gothic cavalry destroyed the entire eastern army led by Emperor Valens at the Battle of Adrianople. Now no one had any doubt that heavy cavalry was capable of defeating heavy infantry...