Portal:Military of ancient Rome

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The Military of ancient Rome Portal

Animation of the growth and decline of Rome throughout its history.
Animation of the growth and decline of Rome throughout its history.

The Military of ancient Rome which was known to the Romans as the militia . The combined military forces of Ancient Rome from the founding of the city of Rome to the end of the Western Roman Empire. Originally consisting entirely of the land force, a small navy was added during the Second Samnite War.

The Roman military was an important part of the Roman state. Josephus describes the Roman people "as if born ready armed."[1]. Its Campaign History stretched over 1100 years and saw Roman armies campaigning as far east as Mesopotamia, as far south as Africa and as far north as the British Isles.

Rome's achieving military dominance relates far less to technology than it does to the social order and the discipline of Roman Legions. This discipline lessened with the emergence of the empire, and this decline in Roman discipline essentially led to catastrophic defeats such as the Battle of Adrianople and various pyrrhic victories such as the Battle of Chalons, the only thing that kept the empire alive for a few more years after the fatal winter of 406 AD.

References

  1. ^ Williamson, G. (tr.), Josephus, The Jewish War, 1959, p. 378


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Selected article

The Testudo formation, or the Tortoise formation, was a tactic used by the Roman Legions in ancient Roman warfare. In the testudo, the men would close up all gaps between each other and grab their shields at the sides. The front row of men would place their shields in front of them, from about their shins to the middle of their faces, so as to cover the formation's front. Everybody in the middle would place their shields over their head to protect from above, balancing the shields on their helmets and overlapping them. If necessary, the legionaries on the sides and rear of the formation could stand sideways or backwards with shields held as the front row's, so as to protect the formation's sides and rear. This tactic was very popular in siege warfare.

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Selected biography

Statue picturing Emperor Trajan.
Statue picturing Emperor Trajan.
Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus, commonly called Trajan, lived from September 18, 53 to August 9, 117. He was a Roman Emperor from 98–117. He was the second of the "Five Good Emperors of the Roman Empire". From 101-102, and then from 105-106 he launched the Dacian Wars, ending with Dacia being added to the Roman Empire as yet another province. From 113-116, he led the successful invasions of Armenia, Persia, and Mesopotamia, bringing the Empire to its greatest territorial extent. He died soon after the invasions in 117, and his adopted son Hadrian took the throne. Soon after Hadrian took the throne, he lost most of the eastern territory, yet Dacia remained a Roman province.
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Did you know...

Did you know...

  • that there was a Roman saying 'It has come to the triarii' which described a desperate situation?
  • that the Colosseum's construction was funded by treasure taken from the temple of Jerusalem after the Romans sacked the city in AD 70?
  • that Hannibal Barca swore as a young child that he would never be an ally to Rome,and he upheld that oath until he committed suicide in 183 BC?
  • that the word "palace" came from the Palatine Hill in Rome? On that hill was built the palace of the Roman Emperors.
  • that the year AD 69 was a year in which Rome had four emperors, ending with Vespasian who then ruled for ten years?
  • that on the night July 18 to July 19, 64, the city of Rome suffered from a great fire? The emperor Nero blamed Christians for the fire, but some suspect that it was he who was the arsonist.
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Categories

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Quotes

  • Roman, remember that you shall rule the nations by your authority, for this is to be your skill, to make peace the custom, to spare the conquered, and to wage war until the haughty are brought low., Virgil, Aeneid
  • Alea iacta est (The die is cast), Gaius Julius Caesar after crossing the Rubicon
  • Silent enim leges inter arma (Laws are silent in times of war), Cicero
  • War gives the right of the conquerors to impose any conditions they please upon the vanquished. , Gaius Julius Caesar
  • The outcome corresponds less to expectations in war than in any other case whatsoever, Livy
  • A bad peace is even worse than war. , Tacitus
  • Veni, Vidi, Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered), Gaius Julius Caesar
  • I found Rome brick, I left it marble., Caesar Augustus
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