The Nitpicker’s Guide to Ancient Warfare: The Romans

[Gary Oswald]

Discuss this article here.

 

[TheIO]

Specifically, the armies of the late Republic and Roman Empire. There were a number of key organisational differences between the mid and late Republican armies, even if both were Roman, and the ancient history nitpicker in me (who just finished reading Richard Miles' history of Carthage) wants that noted.

Before Marius, AIUI, it wasn't a professional army in the same way - before then soldiers still needed to provide their own equipment and conscripts had a nominal property requirement.

Almost immediately, an additional system emerged for incorporating non-Romans into the army. In addition to incorporating subjugated people into the legions and “Romanising” them, non-Romans were used, called auxilia (literally, helpers). These first appeared during the Civil Wars, with Julius Caesar placing heavy reliance on Gallic cavalry to support his legions. At first, the auxilia were a small part of Roman armies, but by 23AD, they made up half of the total strength of the Roman army. This proportion seems to have then remained constant.

"Romanising" could refer to the Republican practice of the legions being half Romans and half Italian allies, but even so auxillary troops from outside the Roman/Italian core were present from the Second Punic War onwards - Scipio's victory at Zama was partially reliant on Numidian cavalry which outnumbered the Republican horse by over double, for example.

Good article overall, just want it clear that it's the Roman Empire talked about here rather than the Roman Republic.