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te help learn to edit community portal recent changes upload file special pages search search appearance donate create account log in personal tools donate create account log in contents move to sidebar hide top 1 early roman army c 550 c 300 bc 2 roman army of the mid republic c 300 107 bc 3 imperial roman army 30 bc ad 284 4 late roman army east roman army 284 641 5 demographic scalability and roman state survival in classical antiquity 6 byzantine army 641 1081 7 komnenian byzantine army 1081 1204 8 palaiologan byzantine army 1261 1453 9 see also 10 references 11 bibliography 12 external links toggle the table of contents roman army 46 languages العربية asturianu беларуская тарашкевіца български brezhoneg bosanski català dansk ελληνικά esperanto español eesti euskara فارسی suomi français frysk galego עברית hrvatski magyar հայերեն bahasa indonesia italiano 日本語 ქართული 한국어 latina lombard lietuvių latviešu македонски nederlands polski română русский srpskohrvatski српскохрватски simple english slovenčina slovenščina shqip српски srpski svenska türkçe українська 中文 edit links article talk english read edit view history tools tools move to sidebar hide actions read edit view history general what links here related changes upload file permanent link page information cite this page get shortened url switch to legacy parser print export download as pdf printable version in other projects wikimedia commons wikidata item appearance move to sidebar hide from wikipedia the free encyclopedia army of roman civilisation 753 bc 1453 ad exercitus romanus vexillum and aquila displaying spqr senatus populusque romanus active 753 bc ad 1453 2 205 years country roman kingdom roman republic roman empire western roman empire eastern roman empire size legions 28 50 headquarters aquincum bonn lauriacum isca augusta alexandria singara regensburg novae busra motto gloria exercitus lit glory of the army engagements see list of roman external wars and battles and list of roman civil wars and revolts commanders commander in chief emperor de facto 27 bc ad 1453 consul de jure 509 bc ad 887 king 753 509 bc notable commanders marcus furius camillus scipio africanus gaius marius julius caesar germanicus flavius stilicho flavius belisarius military unit coin showing obverse head of the late roman emperor julian ruled 361 363 ad wearing diadem and reverse soldier bearing standard holding kneeling barbarian captive by the hair legend and myth virtus exercitus romanorum valour of roman army gold solidus sirmium mint the roman army latin exercitus romanus served ancient rome and the roman people enduring through the roman kingdom 753 509 bc the roman republic 509 27 bc and the roman empire 27 bc ad 476 1453 including the western roman empire collapsed ad 476 480 and the eastern roman empire collapsed ad 1453 it is thus a term that broadly spans approximately 2 205 years during which the force underwent numerous permutations in size composition organization equipment and tactics while conserving a core of lasting traditions 1 2 3 early roman army c 550 c 300 bc edit main article early roman army until c 550 bc there was no national roman army but a series of clan based war bands which only coalesced into a united force in periods of serious external threat around 550 bc during the period conventionally known as the rule of king servius tullius it appears that a universal levy of eligible adult male citizens was instituted this development apparently coincided with the introduction of heavy armour for most of the infantry although originally low in numbers the roman infantry was extremely effective and developed some influential battle strategies the early roman army was based on a compulsory levy from adult male citizens which was held at the start of each campaigning season in those years that war was declared there were no standing or professional forces during the regal period to c 500 bc the standard levy was probably of 9 000 men consisting of 6 000 heavily armed infantry probably greek style hoplites plus 2 400 light armed infantry rorarii later called velites and 600 light cavalry equites celeres when the kings were replaced by two annually elected praetores in c 500 bc the standard levy remained of the same size but was now divided equally between the praetors each commanding one legion of 4 500 men it is likely that the hoplite element was deployed in a greek style phalanx formation in large set piece battles however these were relatively rare with most fighting consisting of small scale border raids and skirmishing in these the romans would fight in their basic tactical unit the centuria of 100 men in addition separate clan based forces remained in existence until c 450 bc at least although they would operate under the praetors authority at least nominally in 493 bc shortly after the establishment of the roman republic rome concluded a perpetual treaty of military alliance the foedus cassianum with the combined other latin city states the treaty probably motivated by the need for the latins to deploy a united defence against incursions by neighbouring hill tribes provided for each party to provide an equal force for campaigns under unified command it remained in force until 358 bc roman army of the mid republic c 300 107 bc edit main article roman army of the mid republic levy of the army detail of the carved relief on the altar of domitius ahenobarbus 122 115 bc the central feature of the roman army of the mid republic or the polybian army was the manipular organization of its battle line instead of a single large mass the phalanx as in the early roman army the romans now drew up in three lines consisting of small units maniples of 120 men arrayed in chessboard fashion giving much greater tactical strength and flexibility this structure was probably introduced in c 300 bc during the samnite wars also probably dating from this period was the regular accompaniment of each legion by a non citizen formation of roughly equal size the ala recruited from rome s italian allies or socii the latter were approximately 150 autonomous states which were bound by a treaty of perpetual military alliance with rome their sole obligation was to supply to the roman army on demand a number of fully equipped troops up to a specified maximum each year the second punic war 218 201 bc saw the addition of a third element to the existing dual roman italian structure non italian mercenaries with specialist skills lacking in the legions and alae numidian light cavalry cretan archers and balearic slingers from this time these units always accompanied roman armies the republican army of this period like its earlier forebear did not maintain standing or professional military forces but levied them by compulsory conscription as required for each campaigning season and disbanded thereafter although formations could be kept in being over winter during major wars the standard levy was doubled during the samnite wars to four legions two per consul for a total of c 18 000 roman troops and four allied alae of similar size service in the legions was limited to property owning roman citizens normally those known as iuniores age 16 46 the army s senior officers including its commanders in chief the roman consuls were all elected annually at the people s assembly only equites members of the roman knightly order were eligible to serve as senior officers iuniores of the highest social classes equites and the first class of commoners provided the legion s cavalry the other classes the legionary infantry the proletarii those assessed at under 400 drachmae wealth were ineligible for legionary service and were assigned to the fleets as oarsmen elders vagrants freedmen slaves and convicts were excluded from the military levy save in emergencies the legionary cavalry also changed probably around 300 bc onwards from the light unarmoured horse of the early army to a heavy force with metal armour bronze cuirasses and later chain mail shirts contrary to a long held view the cavalry of the mid republic was a highly effective force that generally prevailed against strong enemy cavalry forces both gallic and greek until it was decisively beaten by the carthaginian general hannibal s horsemen during the second punic war this was due to hannibal s greater operational flexibility owing to his numidian light cavalry the polybian army s operations during its existence can be divided into three broad phases 1 the struggle for hegemony over italy especially against the samnite league 338 264 bc 2 the struggle with carthage for hegemony in the western mediterranean sea 264 201 bc and 3 the struggle against the hellenistic monarchies for control of the eastern mediterranean 201 91 bc during the earlier phase the normal size of the levy including allies was in the region of 40 000 men two consular armies of c 20 000 men each gaius marius to whom later historians would misattribute putative reforms of the roman army during the latter phase with lengthy wars of conquest followed by permanent military occupation of overseas provinces the character of the army necessarily changed from a temporary force based entirely on short term conscription to a standing army in which the conscripts whose service was in this period limited by law to six consecutive years were complemented by large numbers of volunteers who were willing to serve for much longer periods many of the volunteers were drawn from the poorest social class which until the second punic war had been excluded from service in the legions by the minimum property requirement during that war extreme manpower needs had forced the army to ignore the requirement and this practice continued thereafter maniples were gradually phased out as the main tactical unit and replaced by the larger cohorts used in the allied alae a process probably complete by the time the general marius assumed command in 107 bc the so called marian reforms of the army hypothesised by some scholars are today seen by other scholars as having evolved earlier and more gradually in the period after the defeat of carthage in 201 bc the army was campaigning exclusively outside italy resulting in its men being away from their home plots of land for many years at a stretch they were assuaged by the large amounts of booty that they shared after victories in the rich eastern theatre but in italy the ever increasing concentration of public lands in the hands of big landowners and the consequent displacement of the soldiers families led to great unrest and demands for land redistribution this was successfully achieved but resulted in the disaffection of rome s italian allies who as non citizens were excluded from the redistribution this led to the mass revolt of the socii and the social war 91 88 bc the result was the grant of roman citizenship to all italians and the end of the polybian army s dual structure the alae were abolished and the socii recruited into the legions imperial roman army 30 bc ad 284 edit main article imperial roman army under the founder emperor augustus ruled 30 bc 14 ad the legions c 5 000 strong all heavy infantry formations recruited from roman citizens only were transformed from a mixed conscript and volunteer corps serving an average of 10 years to all volunteer units of long term professionals serving a standard 25 year term conscription was only decreed in emergencies in the later 1st century the size of a legion s first cohort was doubled increasing legionary personnel to c 5 500 roman auxiliary infantry crossing a river they can be distinguished by the oval shield clipeus they were equipped with in contrast to the rectangular scutum carried by legionaries panel from trajan s column rome alongside the legions augustus established the auxilia a regular corps of similar numbers to the legions recruited from the peregrini non citizen inhabitants of the empire about 90 of the empire s population in the 1st century as well as comprising large numbers of extra heavy infantry equipped in a similar manner to legionaries the auxilia provided virtually all the army s cavalry heavy and light light infantry archers and other specialists the auxilia were organised in c 500 strong units called cohortes all infantry alae all cavalry and cohortes equitatae infantry with a cavalry contingent attached around 80 ad a minority of auxiliary regiments were doubled in size until about 68 ad the auxilia were recruited by a mix of conscription and voluntary enlistment after that time the auxilia became largely a volunteer corps with conscription resorted to only in emergencies auxiliaries were required to serve a minimum of 25 years although many served for longer periods on completion of their minimum term auxiliaries were awarded roman citizenship which carried important legal fiscal and social advantages alongside the regular forces the army of the principate employed allied native units called numeri from outside the empire on a mercenary basis these were led by their own aristocrats and equipped in traditional fashion numbers fluctuated according to circumstances and are largely unknown as all citizen formations and symbolic guarantors of the dominance of the italian hegemony citation needed legions enjoyed greater social prestige than the auxilia this was reflected in better pay and benefits in addition legionaries were equipped with more expensive and protective armour than auxiliaries however in 212 the emperor caracalla granted roman citizenship to all the empire s inhabitants at this point the distinction between legions and auxilia became moot the latter becoming all citizen units also the change was reflected in the disappearance during the 3rd century of legionaries special equipment and the progressive break up of legions into cohort sized units like the auxilia roman relief fragment depicting the praetorian guard c 50 ad by the end of augustus reign the imperial army numbered some 250 000 men equally split between legionaries and auxiliaries 25 legions and c 250 auxiliary regiments the numbers grew to a peak of about 450 000 by 211 33 legions and c 400 auxiliary regiments by then auxiliaries outnumbered legionaries substantially from the peak numbers probably underwent a steep decline by 270 due to plague and losses during multiple major barbarian invasions numbers were restored to their early 2nd century level of c 400 000 but probably not to their 211 peak under diocletian r 284 305 after the empire s borders became settled on the rhine danube line in europe by 68 virtually all military units except the praetorian guard were stationed on or near the borders in roughly 17 of the 42 provinces of the empire in the reign of hadrian r 117 138 the military chain of command was relatively uniform across the empire in each province the deployed legions legati legion commanders who also controlled the auxiliary regiments attached to their legion reported to the legatus augusti pro...