Rome began its history as a small city-state on the Italian Peninsula. One of many such settlements that jockeyed for power. Within a few centuries, Rome would become the global superpower. But what made Rome special compared to all the other regional powers in Europe at the time and allowed them to dominate the Mediterranean to such an extent?
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Roman Expansion: 338 BCE - 476 CE
Rome's rise was fuelled by conquest, and at the heart of this conquest lay the Roman Legionnaires - elite heavy infantry that was unmatched in the ancient world. But how were these soldiers able to conquer most of the known world, often facing and defeating armies ten times their size? What made the Roman Legionnaires so effective?
Origins - The Marian Reforms
Like most city-states, Rome used to have a militia army; a ragtag bunch of soldiers, temporarily recruited to serve during times of crisis and given basic instructions on how to use a spear and shield. This served them well against other city-states around Rome, but it was no match for battle-hardened invaders from the North - leading to the first sack of Rome in 387 BCE at the hands of Gallic tribesmen.
Despite some setbacks, by the year 100 BCE, Rome controlled most of the Italian peninsula. Its armies stretched to their breaking point. Rome's irregular militia proved incapable of securing such a large territory. A key reason for the lack of manpower was because all soldiers in early Roman armies were required to be landowners, making the vast majority of Romans ineligible for service.
Rome's answer to this was building a professional, permanent army with universal conscription. Along with standardised organisation, a military hierarchy and institutions to oversee operations.
Spearheaded by the Roman statesman Gaius Marius, the Marian reforms would turn out to be a seminal moment in Rome's history. These reforms had a significant impact on the military supremacy of Rome, the most important of which was the creation of the Roman Legionnaire.
The Roman Legionnaire
The Roman Legionnaire was an elite, heavy infantry unit that was used by the Romans as the core of their armies.
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The word legion comes from the Latin legio meaning "military levy”, “conscription", from legere "to choose"
Their ability to remember the lessons learnt on the battlefield
Unlike the Roman armies of the past, the Marian reforms created an army with institutional memory. Before, once a military campaign was over, the soldiers would return to their farms, taking the lessons learnt on the battlefield with them.
Rome's new standing army had a fixed term of service of 25 years, after which soldiers would get a generous pension and a plot of land to retire on.
This meant that Rome's soldiers now slept, ate, trained and fought together, often within the same unit (the Legion) for the entire duration of their service. This created a strong bond of camaraderie and meant that each unit carried with it the lessons they had learned while on campaign and could continue building upon these experiences over time.
This was a huge advantage when it came to tactics, discipline and strategy over the less militaristic or barbarian societies they usually fought against.
Rome could afford to maintain a standing army because of its ever-increasing wealth, which came by means of loot captured from cities and the bodies of dead enemies. But by far the largest source of income? Slaves.
Heavy investment into their equipment and weaponry
During most of their military campaigns, Roman armies were outnumbered. Sometimes by as much as 10 to 1.
As Rome expanded beyond Italy, they came into contact with their neighbours to the North and to the East. Gauls, Alemanis (Germans), Cimbris, and Teutons, to name a few. Despite the Marian reforms, Rome would never be able to achieve a numerical advantage against their enemies. As a consequence, they chose to invest heavily in each soldier to make up for this.
Some of the most important innovations in equipment and weaponry:
Plated armour that protected their upper body and allowed room for movement.
Standardised shields that interlocked to create a wall - this protected against arrows and cavalry charges. Enemy fighters often exhausted themselves hacking futilely at this shield.
Pilum: A spear that was thrown at an enemy from a distance. Its devious design was not meant to kill outright but instead get stuck in the enemy shield. Once stuck, its thin neck was designed to bend, dragging the heavy shaft on the ground and causing enemies to drop their shields and abandon formation.
Engagements between lighter infantry in loose formation and heavy infantry in good order tend to be shockingly one-sided.
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The Gladius: A short double-edged sword was the Legionary's primary weapon on the battlefield. It was designed for stabbing rather than swinging, which reduced the amount of energy required to wield it and allowed front line troops to outlast their enemies.
The Pugio: A stubby knife that was used in case a Legionary lost of their sword, only to be used a last resort. (Pugios were the knives used to kill Caesar).
Hard training and brutal discipline
Weapons and armour were definite advantages that the Romans carried with them on the battlefield, but more than that it was their discipline.
Contrary to popular belief, very few soldiers died during actual combat. As much as 90% of pre-gunpowder casualties came when one side routed and fled the battlefield. This was due to a number of reasons, but morale was the common element.
The Roman army trained and drilled relentlessly. On top of their gruelling training, they also faced extremely strict disciplinary action if they disobeyed commands or deserted:
For desertion or dereliction of duty that put his comrades in danger: A Legionnaire would be stoned or beaten to death in front of assembled soldiers by those soldiers whom he had put at risk.
If an entire unit deserted, or showed a lack of discipline, one of out of every 10 men would be selected by lots and beaten to death by hand by the other nine. This is where the term "to decimate" comes from.
The Romans believed that the battlefield was governed by Phobos - the Roman god of Fear. It is also where we get the term 'Phobia' from.
Equally important was the pride and prestige with having a strong military track record. Military service and command were prerequisites to a political career in the Roman Senate. And conspicuous acts of bravery were rewarded with higher pay, speeches in one's honour and in extreme cases, a Triumph.
When a general returned in glory to ancient Rome, he was accompanied in his procession through the streets by a slave whose job it was to remind him that his triumph would not last forever. “Memento mori” the slave whispered into the general's ear: “remember you will die”
The ability to remain flexible during combat
The Roman Legionnaires, akin to the Spartan hoplites, did not engage in 1-1 combat with the enemy. They fought as "cohorts" - collections of 450 men organised into strict formations - 6 ranks deep, 75 ranks wide. The standard military unit was the Legion, comprising of ~4,500 men divided into 9 cohorts.
They would deploy in a standard formation and did something that was unique for their time; they had reserve troops, deployed by commanders to battle where and when it was needed most. Time and time again, from the Punic Wars to Caesar's conquest of Gaul (France), the use of reserves would be the decisive factor in Roman victories.
This is a simplistic view of Roman battlefield tactics. In fact, this allowed them to be highly flexible fighting units that often borrowed tactics and strategies from their enemies.
Montesquieu, the French political philosopher, wrote that "the main reason for the Romans becoming masters of the world was that, having fought successively against all peoples, they always gave up their own practices as soon as they found better ones."
Half Soldier / Half Construction Worker
Roman engineering skills were second to none in ancient Europe, and their mastery of both offensive and defensive siege warfare, specifically the construction of fortifications, was another major advantage for the Roman Legions.
While on campaign in hostile territory, Roman Legions would build a fort complete with palisades, watchtowers, artillery, moats and housing. Every. Single. Night.
This was extremely disconcerting for enemies who were hoping to catch the Romans by surprise.
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A 3D rendering of what a standard legionary fort would have looked like.
Rome's resilience
Despite these advantages, Roman Legions weren't invincible. They were often outmanoeuvred, outfought and defeated on the battlefield.
During the Second Punic War when Hannibal of Carthage, outnumbered 2-1 against a Roman army of 80,000 Legionnaires had them surrounded and annihilated. Sources say there were fewer than 3,000 Romans who survived. Despite this shattering loss, Rome would continue to fight for 14 years, until the Carthaginians were defeated.
What made Rome such a devastating opponent was their ability and willingness to absorb losses and refusal to give up. Whether it was the Carthaginians under Hannibal or Pyrrhus of Epirus, there were several powers who could beat Rome in a single battle, but they were inevitably beaten down over the course of the war. In the example above, Rome lost 20% of its fighting-age population as a result of defeats against Hannibal but still came out victorious in the end.
Caesar's Legions and the end of the Republic
Created by Marius' reforms, the Roman legions ended up revolutionising ancient warfare. Rome's legions were numerous, well trained, disciplined heavy infantry that enemies were unable to find a response to.
But, one of the unforeseen consequences of the Marian reforms was that the salary, discipline and management of legions were no longer in the hands of the Roman Senate, but instead in the hands of the generals who commanded them.
One such general was Julius Caesar, who after his conquest of Gaul was left with 40,000 battle-hardened veteran legionnaires. All who owed their newfound wealth and prestige to Caesar.
When Pompeii, one of Caesar's rivals tried to strip him of his military command, Caesar's legions steadfastly continued being loyal to their commander instead of the Senate. The same legions that Caesar would use to march on Rome.
Thus, the same reforms that got Rome started on its quest for world conquest would be the same reforms that would bring about the end of the Roman Republic. S.P.Q.R. no more.