Title: Types of Elite Warriors in Ancient History – Hostile
Headings: Types of Elite Warriors in Ancient History
Types of Elite Warriors in Ancient History
Hoplites
Epilektoi Hoplitai
Sacred Band of Thebes
Spartiates
Hoplite Weaponry
Roman Centurions
Centurion Weaponry
Japanese Samurais
Samurai Weaponry
Teutonic Knights

Content: A centurion commanded a century of legionaries, the professional heavy infantry used by the Roman empire to conquer new territories. Legionaries were heralded as the most feared fighting force in the Roman world, and centurions were the greatest soldiers among them. The Roman army began employing the professional officers in 107 BC following a complete overhaul of their armies by Gaius Marius. Marius was a statesman who could see that the current army used by the Romans was inadequate to defend uprisings throughout the vast empire that had been amassed over centuries of conquests. Known as the Marian reforms, the Romans transformed their army from a temporary militia into a professional and dynamic force. Before the reforms, the Roman army operated as a temporary force. When soldiers were needed, they would be recruited from the eligible citizens in the Republic. When the war was over, the citizens would return to their homes. The new Roman army viewed their military service as a fulltime job. The century commanded by the centurions could be made up of as little as 200 men to as many as 1,000 legionaries.