The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (753 BC-509 BC) to the Roman Republic (509 BC-27 BC) and the Roman Empire (27 BC–476 AD), and its medieval continuation, the Eastern Roman Empire. It is thus a term that may span approximately 2,205 years (753 BC–1453 AD), during which the Roman armed forces underwent numerous permutations in size, composition, organisation, equipment and tactics, while conserving a core of lasting traditions. Historical overview Early Roman army (c. 500 BC to c. 300 BC) The early Roman army was the armed forces of the Roman Kingdom and of the early Roman Republic. During this period, when warfare chiefly consisted of small-scale plundering raids, it has been suggested that the army followed Etruscan or Greek models of organization and equipment. The early Roman army was based on an annual levy. The army consisted of 3,000 infantrymen and 300 cavalrymen, all of which were Equites. The Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans under the Roman state would each provide an extra 1,000 soldiers and 100 cavalrymen. King Servius of Rome would institute the Servian reforms. These would divide the population into five classes. Each of which would have different roles in the military. The first class could afford to have a cuirass, greaves, a shield, a sword, and a spear. The second class had greaves, a shield, a sword, and a spear. The third class could only afford to have a shield, a sword, and a spear. The fourth class had a shield and a spear. The fifth class would only be a screening force. Any poorer citizen called capite censi would have no weapons. They would not serve in the army unless it were an emergency. The infantry ranks were filled with the lower classes while the cavalry was left to the patricians because the wealthier could afford horses. Moreover, the commanding authority during the regal period was the king. When the army of Rome would be brought together on the Campus Martius it was called the Comitia Curiata. Until the establishment of the Roman Republic and the office of consul, the king assumed the role of commander-in-chief. However, from about 508 BC Rome no longer had a king. The commanding position of the army was given to the consuls, "who were charged singly and jointly to take care to