Title: Roman Army - World History Encyclopedia
Headings: Roman Army
Roman Army
Definition
Overview
Sources
Centurion
Luc Viatour / www.Lucnix.be (CC BY-NC-SA)
Recruitment
Organisation
Ranks
Equipment, Arms, Armour & Siege Weapons
Army Camps
Tactics & Formations
Glorious Victories
Lake Regillus, c. 496 BCE
Infamous Defeats
Advertisement
Bibliography
Translations
About the Author
Support Our
Non-Profit Organization
Recommended Books
Cite This Work
APA Style
Chicago Style
MLA Style
License
Advertisement

Content: Polybius 18.29-30 describes the merits of the Roman maniples in being able to outmanoeuvre their enemy. As the nature of Rome's army changed from limited, seasonal campaigns, and a provincial empire began to come into existence, the legions began to develop more permanent bases. Livy dates this progression by saying that from 362 BCE Rome had two legions and four legions from 311 BCE. The manipular army was purely citizen at this time, and it would have been the force that saw off Hannibal in the Second Punic War (218- 202 BCE); however, there were more than four legions by then. As the nature of Rome's army changed from limited, seasonal campaigns, and a provincial empire began to come into existence due to the success of such battles as Cynoscephalae (197 BCE) and Pydna (168 BCE), the legions began to develop more permanent bases, in turn creating a manpower shortage. Remove Ads
Advertisement
When Gaius Marius was elected consul in 107 BCE he began to enlist volunteers from citizens without property and equipped them with arms and armour at the expense of the state. The development from the maniple to the cohort is also credited to Marius, though this change may have been finalised by Marius, rather than wholly implemented by him. The Social War of 91- 87 BCE (from the Latin socii allies) highlights that manpower was still a problem for the Roman army, as citizenship was granted to the allied Italians at the end of the war, granting a greater pool of men for the army. Come the turn of the Republic, and the beginning of Imperial Rome, Augustus reorganised the Roman army, increasing the length of service and creating a military treasury, amongst other things.