Roman infantry types

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Contents 1 Types of infantry 1.1 Hastati 1.2 Principes 1.3 Triarii 1.4 Velites 1.5 Roman archers 1.6 Roman Equestrians 1.7 The Marian reforms 1.8 Legionary 1.9 Praetorian Guard

[edit] Types of infantry

[edit] Hastati

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The Hastati (sing. Hastatus, from hasta) were the youngest soldiers of the Roman legion in the 4th to 2nd centuries BC (together with principes and triarii operated roughly from 350 to 107 BC). Originally entered into the second line of centuries, from the 3rd century BC they began to make the first line of maniples, and after Second Punic war they were put in the second line. The hastati were armed with a hasta, a spear like the ones used by the triarii, a short sword called the gladius, and a smaller shield, the parma. After a republican reform, the hastatii were issued with 4 foot javelins with 9 inch tips, called pila (sing. pilum), along with a gladius. The soldiers armored themselves, buying what they could afford. Their armor consisted of the standard bronze helmet of the Roman Army at the time, decorated with additional large plumes. The Hastati also wore a bronze breastplate, or chain mail if the soldier could afford it.

The Hastati were organized into centuries of 60 men, which were arranged into maniples of 120, of which there were 10 in a battle formation. As the first battle line, the Hastati were immediately behind the velites and in front of the principes, which were in front of the triarii. The Hastati were sent into battle first, and commonly withdrew to the Principe line to allow for a counterattack.

[edit] Principes

Specifically, usually in the plural, in the military, the so-called Principes (singular, Princeps) formed the second line of battle in the Roman Republican Army. They were experienced soldiers, positioned behind the hastati and in front of the triarii. Like all soldiers of the Roman Republican Army, they wore what armor they could afford. Like the hastati, the Principes were also equipped with a pilum and a gladius.

[edit] Triarii

The Triarii (Latin singular triarius) was the third standard line of infantry of the Roman Republic's army, and its name comes from the Latin word tres ("three"). When suffering defeat, the Hastati and Principes fell back on the Triarii to attempt to reform the line and allow for a counter attack or withdrawal of the other lines. Because falling back on the Triarii was an act of desperation, to mention "falling on the Triarii" ("ad triarios rediisse") became a common Roman phrase indicating one to be in a desperate situation. To be the officer of the triarii was an honor. It made one one of the best men in the legion. One's pay would be superior to the other middle-class officers and one would be given a horse for the long marches, which was quite important.

Triarii were sometimes, not unlike the Principes, divided into ten maniples of 160 men. Each maniple consisted of two centuries consisting of 80 men each, commanded by a centurion. In other cases they were in fact divided into ten maniples of only 120 men, the size of a century of Hastati or Principes. Hence in many battles the Triarii numbered only half as many as the Hastati or the Principes. The Triarii were the veterans of the Roman army, making them perfectly suited for reinforcing the two front lines of the formation. They were armored much like the rest of the Roman Republican army, with whatever they could afford (typically more than the poorer Hastati and Principes).

When the Principes and Hastati of Republican army were rearmed with javelins, the Triarii retained their long spears and scuta and continued to fight as a phalanx. If the initial attacks of the javelin- and sword- armed troops could not break an enemy, the Triarii served as a strong point around which the army would regroup (in the same manner as in much later centuries squares of musketmen were to provide a defensive screen for reforming cavalrymen). They also were responsible for holding off cavalry charges with their spears.

[edit] Velites

The Velites (singular, Veles) were skirmishers, armed with a short sword (gladius) and several javelins. They wore light armor, which usually consisted of little more than greaves and a bronze helmet, and carried a basic round shield. Their armor and weaponry made them the most mobile of all the Roman infantry of the time. The Velites did not form their own line; maniples of Principes and Hastati had a certain number of velites assigned to them. During battle the Velites would engage the enemy with their javelins before retiring behind the Hastati and Principes. However, as with other irregular infantry, their effectiveness is often overlooked; the Velites were responsible for turning back war elephants on many different occasions.

The Velites of the Roman Republican army at its height in the 2nd century BC were remnants of the earlier rorarii and accensi classes, which were comprised of the unreliable and otherwise poor combatants of the original 5 class Phalanx. Though they still owned land, the Velites were usually the poorer of the Roman military accepted classes, until the time of Marius. During the time up until the establishment of the Roman Empire under Augustus, the Roman Army frequently accepted foreigners into its service in an effort to keep sufficient manpower. The Velites were disbanded when Augustus reorganized the army.

[edit] Roman archers

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Classical civilizations, notably the Macedonians/Greeks, Parthians, Indians and Chinese, fielded large numbers of archers in their armies. The Roman armies focused on heavy infantry, therefore archers mainly played an assisting role within the army. Nevertheless were they present in the Roman armies as they could provide accurate fire beyond the range of Roman skirmishers or the pila of the legionaries. The Roman archers wore little to no armour as they were required to be mobile and fast moving. They were particularly effective against lightly armoured infantry or light cavalry, inflicting not only damage to the army's size, but also its morale.

[edit] Roman Equestrians

Due to the hilly terrain in central Italy, training horses for battle was difficult and so the armies were largely composed of infantry. Still, ancient armies needed cavalry, and the horsemen usually belonged to the highest classes, because no one else could afford a horse. Consequently, it was prestigious to own and ride a horse: you could show that you were rich and did not have to perform manual labor (or hand to hand combat). Horsemen were used as advance scouts, small fast raiding parties, troop escorts, and to break infantry lines.

The horsemen received financial compensation for buying a horse (the equus publicus, horse bought by the commonwealth). Originally, the Equestrians were indeed a military as well as a political group. It is said that king Servius Tullius divided the Roman nation into centuries, which were not only units of soldiers on the battlefield but also voting units in the so-called Centuriate Assembly. The Roman historian Livy offers a description of a complex system with 18 centuries of cavalry, 170 centuries of infantry, and 2 centuries of engineers. When the centuries came together to vote, the cavalry centuries cast their 18 votes first, followed by the 172 remaining centuries, and one additional vote for those who were too poor to serve in the army but still had a political vote.

[edit] The Marian reforms

The Marian reforms of 107 BC were a group of reforms proposed by a Roman republic statesman and army general named Gaius Marius.

Before the Marian reforms, many men who wanted to join the Roman army were unable to do so due to land ownership prerequisites, which in turn limited the size of the Roman army. All of the soldiers of the pre-Marian Roman army also had to supply their own equipment, which limited the cavalry to noblemen only because of the price of horses and gear. In turn the poorer Romans were limited to becoming units which carried inexpensive equipment.

Gaius Marius also standardized training and equipment throughout the Roman Legions, which also aided in the conquest of surrounding territories. All generals and Roman Emperors who came into power after him followed his example of military excellence.

After the Marian reforms were passed, anyone from any subjugated region, regardless of land ownership or income, was eligible to enlist in the Roman legions if he was a citizen. Most professional soldiers served for 25 years, at the end of which they were given a pension, at first by their general and later by the emperor, in the form of land in the province in which they had served. This program of land grants was instrumental to the process of taming foreign lands and civilizing border provinces. Foreign auxiliaries who served next to the legionaries of Rome were granted with Roman citizenship for themselves and their families.

These reforms were instrumental in the growth and success of the Roman military machine and in consequence, the continued success of the Roman Empire, but plebs grew in importance and demanded representation in the Senate, so it was an important step to the Roman Republican civil wars.

[edit] Legionary

Called miles ("soldier") or legionarius in Latin, the Roman legionary was (usually) a Roman citizen under 45 years of age. The soldier enlisted in a legion for twenty-five years of service, a change from the early practice of enlisting only for the duration of a campaign. The last five years were on veteran lighter duties.

On the march in unfriendly terrain the legionary would be loaded down with about fourteen days worth of food, armour (lorica segmentata) and shield (scutum), helmet, two javelins (one heavy pilum and one light), short sword (gladius), dagger (pugio), a waterskin and building and engineering tools.

The Roman soldier underwent especially rigorous training; discipline was the base of the army's success and the soldiers were relentlessly and constantly trained with weapons and especially with drill — forced marches with full load and in tight formation were frequent. Discipline was important and infractions were heavily punished by the centurions.

[edit] Praetorian Guard

The Praetorian Guard (sometimes Prætorian Guard) (in Latin: praetoriani) comprised a special force of bodyguards used by Roman Emperors. Before the Emperors, the guard was employed under warlords, dating at least to the Scipio family — around 275 BC. The members of the Praetorian Guard were among the most skilled and celebrated warriors in ancient history.

Although its name has become synonymous with intrigue, conspiracy, disloyalty and assassination, it could be argued that for the first two centuries of its existence the Praetorian Guard was, on the whole, a positive force in the Roman state. During this time it mostly removed (or allowed to be removed) cruel, weak and unpopular emperors while generally supporting just, strong and popular ones. By protecting these monarchs, thus extending their reigns, and also by keeping the disorders of the mobs of Rome and the intrigues of the Senate in line, the Guard helped give the empire a much needed stability that led to the period known as the Pax Romana. It was not until after the reign of Marcus Aurelius, when this period is generally considered to have ended, that the guard began to deteriorate into the ruthless, mercenary and meddling force for which it has become infamous. However, during the Severan dynasty and afterwards during the Crisis of the Third Century, the legions, the Senate and the emperorship along with the rest of Roman government were falling into decadence as well.