Check out the most amazing facts about the roman military. The roman army consisted of four legions, each with the strength of roughly 4200. It reflects on the gradual evolution of the roman army as it developed from a semiprofessional civilian army of the senate to a permanent professional forces under the. The most famous roman generals include gaius julius caesar, gnaeus pompeius magnus and marcus antonius.
This led to legionaries loyal to their generals rather than rome. The roman army was the largest and meanest fighting force in the ancient world one of the main reasons rome became so powerful was because of the strength of its army. The roman army was one of the most successful fighting forc. Life in the roman army was not all about fighting battles. Roman soldiers used rigorous formations and clever tactics to defeat their opponents on the battlefield. From ancient roman civilization to the coolest roman tactics, this top 10 list of facts about the roman army structure will amaze you. The size of the army in the late roman empire was about 128,000 179,200 men. Before marius, recruitment was limited to citizens enrolled in the top 5 roman classes.
Here you will find an interesting list of information presented in an easy to read factual format. To keep such a large number of men in order, it was divided up into groups called legions. This book goes beyond the stereotypes found in popular culture to examine the. The roman army information books history facts of life. What are 5 great facts about the roman army answers. The first is the civilian militia army from the period of kings to the early roman republic from around the seventh century to the first century bce, that helped take rome from being a small city state to the most powerful force in italy.
Roman soldiers were the very disciplined, welltrained soldiers of the roman army. I will do battles in my own novels, but much prefer civilian intrigue. In many ways, life was quite different for the average swordwielding soldier when compared to todays modern troop. About the author 2007 pat southern has published nine books on the roman army and on roman history, including the roman cavalry with karen r. This book covers the complete history of the roman army from 753 bc to ad 476, including its successes and failures against romes enemies such as gauls, carthaginians, goths and persians. They joined for 25 years and were awarded roman citizenship at the end of the 25 years. Roman weapons legionaries carried the same weapons, so they could fight together in formation. This book broke its analysis down into a of a number of convenient and accessible sections which ranged from the life of a roman soldier to the roman army at war.
The history of the roman army can be loosely divided into three eras. The orchard book of roman myths contains a selection of fifteen stories from roman mythology retold for younger readers. This was the average day for an ancient roman soldier. The term legion is derived from the latin word legio, which means draft or levy. This book is an excellent overview of the roman army, particularly the principate professional army of around 0 ad 200 ad. Its infantry for much of its history, was the roman legion.
Without sneering at it, i have no taste for military historical fiction. The early roman manipular legion, used from the fourth century b. This way the army was made up of trained and experienced soldiers. This was a really informative and concise overview of how the roman army functioned. Each legion was made up of between 4000 to 6000 soldiers. The roman army is the military of ancient rome, the forces used by the roman kingdom, roman republic and later roman empire. The consuls had the power to recruit troops, but in the last years of the republic, provincial governors were replacing troops without the approval of the consuls. She has also written biographies of mark antony, pompey the great, julius caesar, augustus, and cleopatra. The image of the roman legionary is as familiar today as it was to the citizens and. It was welltrained, wellequipped, and wellorganized. The imperial roman army was the terrestrial armed forces deployed by the roman empire from. Roman army throughout the history of both the republic and empire. In other ways, however, things were very much the same.
The text in this collection is accompanied by bright illustrations and is excellent for linking storytelling and literacy with your history topic. Buy the complete roman army reprint by adrian goldsworthy isbn. Focusing on the organisational changes in the roman army during the civil wars, nic fields examines the role played by caius marius and his farreaching reforms. Five recommended roman historical novels richard blake. The first book to examine in detail not just the early imperial roman army, but the citizens militia of the republic and the army of the later. It was also the source of the empires economic and political strength, ensuring domestic peace so that trade could flourish. From forming legions to the roman empire, here is why the roman army was so shockingly powerful throughout history. In order to guard such a large empire, the army took advantage of well built roman roads to move about the empire quickly. Thanks to their famous discipline, they could take up and hold positions even in the heat of battle. Ancient roman army facts for centuries the roman army was the mightiest military force on earth. At its peak, there may well have been half a million soldiers in the roman army. Facts about the roman army that will blow your mind. It arrived very quickly and in very good condition. Catilines war, the jugurthine war, histories by sallust, the history of rome, books 15.
The roman army was divided up into about 30 legions. Meticulous financial records were kept by units cornicularii bookkeepers. A legion was divided into cohorts of around 500 men. The complete roman army the complete series goldsworthy, adrian on. Romes allconquering military machine holds a special place in our minds. It grew into a rich and powerful city during the next few hundred years. Roman army simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The senior arm of the roman navy was known as the classis misenensis and except for internal civil wars, achieved total marine dominance for rome after the punic wars. This is deduced from the fact that the first known roman military diplomas date from the time of claudius. The legion evolved from around 3,000 men in the roman republic to over 5,200 men in the roman empire. The roman empire is thriving and youre an infantryman serving in the imperial roman army under emperor tiberius. Its efficiency and discipline made a small city on the italian peninsula rule over most of the western world, from the british isles to the near east and from the rhine to north africa. The roman legions were the most highly organized troops of the ancient world, but the process of turning the legions into the professional force that built an empire, was no small feat.
The complete roman army by adrian goldsworthy goodreads. Other interesting facts about the roman soldiers include that they were forbidden by law to marry while in military service. This list offers some interesting facts about the roman army, some of which can. Check out the most surprising facts about the roman army.
The roman army had as many as 28,000 179,200 soldiers and most of those were legionaries. See the fact file below for more information and facts about roman soldiers. Dixon and the roman empire from severus to constantine. There were also noncitizen soldiers called auxiliaries. Adrian goldworthys the complete roman army gives a pretty complete coverage of the roman legions during their heydays during the late republican and early imperial periods. Pat southern has published nine books on the roman army and on roman history, including the roman cavalry with karen r.
This is a really engaging nonfiction text about the. The image of the roman legionary is as familiar today as it was to the citizens and enemies of the vast roman empire two thousand years ago. Learn about life in the roman army and how roman soldiers fought in this bbc bitesize ks2 history guide. I liked this book as it answered many basic questions about the roman army. Our facts about the roman army begins with how they fought.
The book does cover the earlier republican army, as well as the later armies 3rd and 4th century ad, but in less detail about a chapter each, compared to the 8 on the principate army. The roman army was the backbone of the roman empire and one of the most successful armies in world history. This book goes beyond the stereotypes found in popular culture to examine the roman army from the first armed citizens of the early republic through the glorious heights of the imperial legions to the shameful defeats inflicted upon the. In this dazzling portrait of romes first imperial dynasty, tom holland traces the astonishing centurylong story of the rise and fall of the julioclaudiansaugustus, tiberius, caligula, claudius, and nero. Roman citizenship was a big deal and came with lots of privileges. The roman army was the backbone of the empires power, and the romans managed to conquer so many tribes, clans, confederations, and empires because of their military superiority. What i like above all, however, in historical fiction is a sense of moving in a different moral environment from our own. Campaign history of the roman military structural history of the roman military. Organization of the roman army the success of the roman. Know more about the training, uniform, rank, armor, weapons and shieldsof the ancient roman soldiers through these 10. The roman army information books history facts of life connolly, peter on. Only men were allowed to be roman soldiers and they had to be roman citizens and at least twenty years old. I love books just about as much as i love my roman coins and thought i would post my own personal top ten list of roman historical fiction and nonfiction books ive read.
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