Roman army: late Republic

In this blog, we delve into the Roman armies from the late Republican period. We focus on the period from the 2nd Punic War in the 3rd century BC to the assassination of Gaius Julius Caesar.

In our previous blog (Roman Army: Early Republic (500-217 BC)), we ended after the First Punic War. The Roman army was weakened, but Roman dominance over Central and Southern Italy was a fact. Additionally, Carthage was forced to pay enormous compensations to Rome to maintain peace. 

From the (late) fourth century BC, the Romans replaced the phalanx formation with a series of small tactical units, the manipuli (maniples), which were arranged in three lines (triplex acies); the Hastati, Principes and Triarii. These lines were arranged according to basic of wealth class, but also combat experience. The front line consisted of the least experienced (and poorest) soldiers, while the rear line consisted of the heavily armed veterans. This allowed the Roman army to keep the strongest troops out of the fight until the end of a battle, so they could easily overcome an exhausted opponent.

The lines were divided according to a checkerboard pattern (quincunx). The maniples were in fact the old centuriae, but were reconfigured: the units in the first two lines of the triplex acies were increased to 120 men, while those in the rear line were reduced to 60 men. 

The quincunx formation offered much more flexibility and maneuverability than the large, dense mass of a phalanx. Presumably, the Romans copied this formation from their opponents, the Samnites.

In this period, a Roman legion consisted of approximately 5,000 men. Unlike later legions, which were composed solely of heavy infantry, these early legions consisted of a combination of light and heavy infantry. To distinguish them from the later legions of the Empire, which were organized into cohorts, the term manipular legion is used for these early formations.

The manipular legion was organized based on basic of social class, age, and war experience. In practice, this system was sometimes stretched: for example, slaves were forced to enlist when there was a shortage of soldiers. Normally, one legion was raised each year, but in 366 BC, two legions were formed in one year for the first time.

Polybius states that only the soldiers who were worth more than 10,000 drachmae (possibly 40,000 asses) could wear a lorica hamata wore, while the rest wore a pectoral, or a small, square breastplate designed to protect the heart. The First Class primarily served in the cavalry at that time, which would imply that only a small minority of the heavy infantrymen wore chainmail. This would also result in different types of shields within the same ranks.

The basic of the manipular legion was the maniple, a unit of 120 men, composed of soldiers of the same infantry class. Thanks to their relatively small size, maniples could make flexible tactical movements within the larger army, which was a significant improvement over the cumbersome phalanx formation.

During battles, the maniples were usually arranged in three lines, based on the three types of heavy infantry: the hastati, principes, and triarii. This system allowed for effective use of the different experience levels and skills of the soldiers. A manipular legion typically consisted of 1,200 hastati, 1,200 principes, and 600 triarii. The three classes of units had a further parallel with the social divisions within Roman society, but officially the three lines were based on age and experience, rather than their wealth class. Young, inexperienced men served as hastati, older men with some military experience as principes, and veterans of advanced age and experience as triarii.

The first type, the hastati, usually formed the first line in the battle formation. They wore a Celtic type Montefortino helmet and usually no chest protection, but sometimes had a simple bronze breastplate (cardiophylax). They also sometimes wore greaves, only on the left leg because it protruded from under the shield.

They were armed with a Celtic sword (La Tène type B), a Samnite / Celtic oval shield (the early scutum) and two javelins (pilum) of which one was possibly heavier than the other and therefore suitable to be used as a thrusting spear. 

The second type, the principes, were wealthier and more experienced than the hastati; thus, they had less interest in gaining personal glory. These soldiers wore a Celtic chainmail shirt (lorica hamata) and a Celtic type Montefortino helmet. Like the hastati, they sometimes wore greaves, usually only on the left leg because it protruded under the shield. They used the same weapons as the hastati.

Some historians believe that until 250 BC both the hastati and principes were armed with the hasta (thrusting spear) instead of the pilum (javelin) and that it was replaced during the First Punic War, as it may have been adopted from the gladius from the Iberians. However, this remains speculative.

The third type were the Triarii , the wealthiest and most experienced infantrymen. They fought in the old-fashioned way in a phalanx formation. They wore greaves, a lorica hamata and a Montefortino helmet. They were armed with a thrusting spear (hasta) as their primary weapon and fought with oval scutum in a shield wall. Additionally, like the Hastati and principes, they had a Celtic sword (La Tène type B) as their secondary weapon. 

The light infantry of 1,200 velites consisted of lightly armed reconnaissance troops who came from lower social classes, or were young men yet to make a name for themselves. They were ideal for quick ambushes or raiding enemy territory. On the battlefield, they played an important, undervalued role. They pelted and shot at the enemy with short javelins and lead sling bullets that had an impact comparable to a modern pistol.

These groups are particularly interesting because they echo the Proto-Indo-European war bands, the koryos. 

The Velites did not wear body armor and possibly wore helmets sporadically. They are known for wearing a wolf pelt, which points to the Proto-Indo-European koryos tradition. They were armed with short swords (daggers) and carried a short round shield (the Parma). Speed and maneuverability were their main skills. 

Accensi (also adscripticii and later supernumerarii) were soldiers who followed the army without specific military tasks. They were lightly armed and placed behind the triarii. Their main task was to fill gaps in the maniples, but they also occasionally seemed to have worked as orderlies for the officers.

Rorarii possibly fought in the last line as a reserve unit. They were armed in the same way as the Velites and likely evolved into them later. They possibly fought simultaneously with the triarii as the last in battle, thus disrupting the enemy line while the triarii could execute its phalanx technique. Another possibility is that they were light scouts, similar to the velites, as mentioned by Livy in Book VIII.8. Unfortunately, the evidence is so limited that it is difficult to precisely understand the role the rorarii played.

They might also have been the light equivalent of the triarii, just as the accensi might have been the light equivalent of the principes, with both rorarii and accensi reinforcing the triarii. However, this could also point to different names for the same type of warrior. 

The Leves were light infantrymen who were also armed with javelins and had a role similar to the velites and the rorarii. In a legion, there were 300 leves, who unlike other infantry classes did not form separate units but were added to units of hastati. Their primary task on the battlefield was to harass the enemy with throwing spears, protected by the heavy infantry.

The Roman leves of 403 BC were the first to campaign for longer than a single season, and from this point, this practice gradually became more common.

Equites, or cavalrymen, were usually a total of 300 riders per legion. The cavalry was primarily recruited from the wealthiest class of society, but sometimes additional cavalry was recruited from the Socii and Latini, allies from the Italian mainland. 

The equites were a special class within the system. They served in the cavalry. Some received their horses and equipment provided by the state, while most were wealthy enough to afford these themselves. Although the equites played an important military role, they were subordinate to the infantry in voting rights

During the First Punic War (264–241 BC), the Romans first came into contact with Spanish warriors, who fought as mercenaries for Carthage. These Iberians were known for their high-quality weapon development and production, particularly the gladius Hispaniensis, the 'Spanish sword'. Although Polybius mentions that the gladius was adopted by the Romans during the Second Punic War, his own account indicates that the weapon was already in use during the Gallic invasion of 225 BC. The gladius replaced the longer La Tène sword that the Romans had adopted from the Celts in the 4th century. The pilum might also have been adopted from the Iberians around this time, but it may have been taken earlier from the Etruscans or Samnites. The pilum was used by the hastati and the principes. This shows how adaptive the Romans were regarding their military equipment, tactics, and organization.

The Second Punic War began in 218 BC and was characterized by the crossing of the Alps and the invasion of the Italian mainland by the Carthaginian general Hannibal. This expedition initially achieved great successes, and Hannibal campaigned in Italy for 14 years before he had to retreat due to a lack of support from Carthage. Extensive fighting also took place in Iberia (modern-day Spain and Portugal), Sicily, Sardinia, and North Africa.

In 204 BC, a successful Roman invasion of the Carthaginian homeland in Africa led to the recall of Hannibal. In 202 BC, he was defeated for the first time in his life by the Roman general Scipio Africanus at the Battle of Zama, after which Carthage sued for peace. In 201 BC, a treaty was concluded that deprived Carthage of its overseas territories and a portion of its African territories. Additionally, a high indemnity was imposed, the size of the Carthaginian army was severely limited, and Carthage was forbidden to wage war without the express permission of Rome. As a result, Carthage no longer posed a military threat to Rome; although this did not prevent the Romans from razing the city to the ground in the following century.

Hannibal's victories exposed the shortcomings of the Roman army, which had been developed to fight against similarly equipped armies of competing Italian city-states. The infantry lacked specialist artillerymen, such as archers and slingers. From around 218 BC, Roman armies began to regularly employ mercenaries, including Cretan archers and Balearic slingers. The inhabitants of the Balearic Islands were so renowned for their slinging skills that "Baleares" in classical Latin became synonymous with "slingers."

At the same time, the Roman cavalry evolved into a heavily armored unit, specialized in frontal assault. Despite their impact, they lacked the agility and tactical flexibility of the light Numidian cavalry (equites Numidae), which Hannibal had effectively used alongside his own heavy cavalry (Iberian and Gallic riders).

From 206 BC, when the Numidian king Massinissa sided with Rome and betrayed Carthage, Numidian light cavalry fought almost continuously with the Roman armies.

After the Second Punic War, the Romans also combined the excellent design of the gladius with the best steel available in Western Europe at the time: Noric steel, originating from the kingdom of Noricum in the Alps (present-day Austria and Slovenia).

The First and Second Punic Wars took a tremendous toll on human lives, forcing Rome to adapt its military regulations. Until then, soldiers had to be both citizens and landowners, but to compensate for the manpower shortage, this requirement was relaxed. People without legal status were admitted to the navy, and around 213 BC, the property requirement for soldiers was lowered from 11,000 to 4,000 asses. At that time, even the poorest citizens, the proletarians, despite their lack of property and legal qualifications, were admitted to the army. By 123 BC, this threshold was further lowered, from 4,000 to just 1,500 asses, allowing more and more propertyless citizens to officially serve as soldiers.

The enormous number of casualties during the wars caused significant social problems, including the decline of the middle class, which increasingly fell into the lower classes. The surviving veterans of the Second Punic War had a hard time. The long struggle had also also ensured that the farms of small landowners fell into disrepair, or were even bought up by wealthy patricians in their absence. This was because the farmers to whom this land belonged had been away from home for long periods as citizen soldiers, fighting and therefore unable to cultivate their land. As a result, many veterans became landless proletarians after the war. Both the army and Roman society became increasingly dependent on poor groups. Because many of these soldiers could not afford their own equipment, the state had to bear the costs of their armament.

During the Samnite Wars, the military burden on Roman society was enormous. Recruitment was increased from two to four legions, and military campaigns took place every year. This meant that approximately 16% of adult Roman men were under the weapons each campaign season, rising to 25% during emergencies. However, this was still minor compared to the demands during the Second Punic War.

In 225 BC, on the eve of the war, Polybius estimated the number of Roman citizen-iuniores at about 231,000, excluding Italian allies. About 50,000 of them died between 218 and 206 BC. During the period 214-203 BC, at least 100,000 of the remaining 180,000 men were continually under the weapons, both in Italy and abroad (120,000 in the peak year). Additionally, about 15,000 men served in the Roman fleet. This means that two-thirds of the Roman iuniores were continuously in service, which was barely enough to work the fields and ensure food supply.

This changed the composition and equipment of the army. The distinction between the three types of heavy infantry – the hastati, principes, and triarii – began to blur, as the state provided all troops with standard equipment. Only the wealthiest soldiers of the first class could still afford their own weapons and armor. By the time of the historian Polybius (ca. 200–118 BC), the triarii still had a unique role with their specific equipment, but the hastati and principes were no longer distinguishable.

From 200 BC, Roman armies fought exclusively outside Italy during their conquests of a Mediterranean empire. This meant that soldiers had to serve abroad much longer, which was unpopular among the farmer-soldiers, who feared that their land would deteriorate during their absence. Under political pressure, a law was passed stipulating that conscripts could not serve longer than six consecutive years.

To circumvent this limitation, the army increasingly began to recruit volunteers for long-term service. The most suitable volunteers came from the proletarii, the lowest social class without land ownership. Since they did not have to maintain farms, they were attracted by the prospect of loot and wealth. Although the proletarii formed the largest social class, they were formally excluded from service in the legions because they did not meet the minimum property requirements. From this period, however, the property requirement seems to have been lifted for volunteers.

A good example of this is Spurius Ligustinus, as described by the historian Livy. This semi-professional soldier volunteered in 200 BC and served for a total of 22 years, rising to the rank of senior centurion. However, Ligustinus owned only a small piece of land of one iugum (0.25 hectare), half of the required two iugera, which was previously considered the minimum property qualification.

Rome also began to demand more troops from its allies (the socii) in the second century BC. Livy mentions that they were already organized into cohorts during the Second Punic War. Some historians suggest that the Roman general Scipio Africanus introduced this unit into the legions nearly a century before the consulship of Marius. Archaeological data from successive Roman military camps at Numantia (Spain) indicate that cohorts were gradually introduced from around 140 BC, and that this process was likely completed around the time Marius became consul.

The consulship of Gaius Marius in 107 BC is often seen as the beginning of the so-called Marian reforms of the Roman army. Earlier historians have attributed many of the changes that would eventually characterize the republican army to Marius. These changes were notably visible in the detailed description of the army in Julius Caesar's De Bello Gallico (‘On the Gallic War’) in 51 BC.

In reality, only one reform by Marius is historically documented: in 104 BC, he introduced the eagle (aquila) as the sole official symbol on a legion's standard. Before this reform, there were five different animal symbols, including the eagle, that served as standards. By the time of Marius, the property requirement for soldiers had already practically vanished; he simply acknowledged this pre-existing reality.

It is uncertain whether Marius abolished the cavalry from the legions. During the Battle of Vercellae (101 BC), Roman cavalry still served under his command. Historian Jeremiah McCall suggests this only occurred during the Social War (91–88 BC), but there is no consensus on this.

In Caesar's legions during the Gallic War (58–50 BC), it is assumed there was no longer any native cavalry, partly due to an incident in 58 BC where soldiers of the 10th Legion received horses from Gallic allies. Yet, Plutarch's account suggests there might still have been Roman cavalry, as during the Battle of Pharsalus (48 BC), where 7,000 horsemen served in Pompey's army.

Until 200 BC, the Roman army consisted mainly of conscripted soldiers who were enlisted each campaign season and then discharged. After the Punic Wars, armies were permanently stationed in important provinces, although conscripts were legally not allowed to serve for more than six consecutive years. The legions were often divided between the two consuls, with additional troops led by praetors. After the wars, proconsuls and propraetors served as governors of overseas provinces and were the supreme military commanders in these regions for their term of office.

Roman citizens were recruited for the legions, while Latin and Italian allies served in the alae, separate cavalry units. The legions were positioned in the center of the battle line, with the allies on the flanks. The Roman force was normally divided between two consuls, each with two legions and two alae, amounting to approximately 20,000 men. In times of war, the consuls could raise an army of double strength.

Each legion consisted of 10 maniples with two centurions per maniple. Centurions led their units and received double the pay of ordinary soldiers. The structure of the maniple was designed to form the smallest tactical unit of the army, with a flexible and efficient formation during battles. Each legion had six tribunes, who, like the other senior officers, were chosen from the equites. A systematic rotation of commanders was common. 

After the Second Punic War, Rome expanded its empire, with significant territories in Africa, Spain, Illyria, and Greece. The Roman army remained largely the same, with a citizen army and recruits from the allies. These socii fulfilled their role in this expansion without much resistance, as they benefited from spoils and became increasingly integrated with the Romans. The Latin language became the lingua franca of the peninsula, and in the Roman provinces, there was no distinction between Romans and Italians.

However, there was a significant inequality between Romans and their allies from the surrounding areas: the socii had no opportunity to obtain Roman citizenship. Certainly, in the second century BC, much resentment and tension arose because they could not benefit from the land redistribution by the Gracchi brothers due to their second-class status. The agrarian reforms led in the following decades to a massive movement among the socii to demand full citizenship. The Roman Senate characteristically blocked these demands for a more equal society: with violence.

In 91 BC, the socii revolted, leading to the Social War (91–88 BC). This was the greatest challenge for Rome since the Second Punic War: although the Romans won militarily, they were forced to concede to the demands of the insurgents. In 89 BC, the loyal socii were granted Roman citizenship, and shortly thereafter, this was extended to all inhabitants of the Italian peninsula. This ended the old method of alliance formation, and the former socii became full-fledged legionaries in the Roman army of the late Republic. This applied only to inhabitants of the Italian peninsula: Gallic and Numidian cavalry continued to fight as irregular units under their own leaders.

The Social War was of greater importance for the development of the Roman army than the reforms of Marius. After this war, all inhabitants of the Italian peninsula received Roman citizenship. This ensured that the Italian satellite states could fully participate and integrate into the Roman Republic. As a result, all inhabitants of the Italian peninsula could henceforth serve in the Roman legions. The division between citizens and non-citizens thus shifted from Italians and Socii to Italians and non-Italians, and the Socii as a separate group ceased to exist.

After the Social War, a major transition took place. The army of the mid-Republic was a temporary army based on the conscription of Roman citizens, while the army of the late Republican and Principate periods became a permanent, professional army composed of volunteers. This change was caused by social, political, and economic developments, as well as by the ongoing expansion and conflicts that forced Rome to further professionalize its military.

During the late Republic, many wars were not only against external enemies but also internal conflicts between rival Roman commanders. Power politics thus played an increasingly significant role in the army. 

The cohort offered clear advantages over the manipular organization. It simplified command, as orders only needed to be given to ten units instead of thirty. Moreover, the cohort offered more flexibility, as it could conduct operations independently and swiftly. The size of the cohort varied depending on time and location; for example, the cohorts of Pompey during the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC consisted of 409 men, while Caesar's cohorts numbered only 275 legionaries.

The consuls were the supreme commanders of the entire army. In the provinces, the governor was given command over the military units within his area. Under him were the legion legates, a laticlavian tribune (a senatorial officer who worked 1–2 years to become a senator around the age of 25), five angusticlavian tribunes, and finally equestrians who supported the legatus and formed a class below the senators.

Under Julius Caesar, officers came from aristocratic families that included senators of the highest rank. However, ordinary soldiers, Roman or not, could rise through the ranks if they demonstrated exceptional skill and loyalty. Caesar also increased the salary of each legionary to 900 sestertii per year and granted Roman citizenship to soldiers recruited in Gaul for their efforts in his war against Pompey.

After the Social War, soldiers in the Roman army began to develop specialized expertise alongside their regular legionary duties. These roles included engineers, doctors, and artillerymen who operated the ballistae  and catapults. During the Republic, the required service time for these kinds of roles was six consecutive years, followed by another ten years. Under Augustus, this was increased to a total of twenty years.

At the end of the civil wars, there were a total of 28 Roman legions. Some assigned numbers were repeated because the loyalty of legionaries became divided between generals, with military dominance prevailing in the political arena. Repetitions were therefore also given a name, such as Legio III Augusta and Legio III Gallica.

Training focused on agility, technique, endurance, and especially courage and formation retention. Discipline was strictly enforced with punishments such as beatings, crucifixion, or execution for cowardice or desertion.

In extreme cases, the group of legionaries who had misbehaved was punished with decimation: they were divided into groups of 10 and had to draw lots. Subsequently, these legionaries were forced to beat to death with sticks those among them who had drawn the shortest lots. In this random manner, a tenth of the group was executed by their own comrades.

The armor of the legionary was provided by the Roman government. It produced the armor in special fabricae, workshops. Weaponry was produced on a large scale and reused: this ensured the equipment of the legions was consistent. However, the equipment of all legionaries in the Roman army was not entirely uniform, as different fabricae produced their own batches.

The distinction between the hastati, principes, and triarii was abolished. Instead, the army was composed of Legionaries, auxiliary cavalry, and auxiliary archers. The advantage of this was that the focus was on a consistent type of infantry with consistent armament, training, and organization. 

The Legionnaire of the late Roman Republic wore, like his predecessors (the hastatus, principes, and triarius), a Montefortino helmet of the Celtic type. This type of helmet was adopted from the Celts in the 4th century BC after the Celtic sack of Rome and was used the longest among all Roman helmets. The helmet was equipped with cheek plates and a removable plume of horse hair, which made the wearer appear taller to intimidate the enemy. After armor was mass-produced by the Roman state, the quality of these helmets declined.

The Montefortino helmet was only replaced in the 1st century BC by another (Celtic-inspired) variant: the Coolus helmet, named after archaeological finds at Coole in France. This type of helmet, like the Montefortino helmet, was based on Celtic models but also had an extra plate that protected the neck and back of the wearer. The earliest models (type A and B) were of simple construction, but over time the neck plate would become larger and wider. This design had a significant influence on the iconic silhouette of Roman 'imperial' helmets in the following centuries, which most people are familiar with.

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The Lorica hamata was a Roman chainmail shirt worn by Roman legionnaires from the third century BC to the fourth century AD. This form of protection was possibly directly adopted from the Celts, as the La Tène culture invented mail around 400 BC. In the 4th-2nd century BC, the lorica hamata was very expensive and only the wealthiest could afford a lorica hamata: hence, it was almost exclusively worn by the Triarii and Equites. It seems that around 120 BC, the Lorica hamata had become a standard part of the legionnaires' equipment. During the late Republic and the Imperial period, the lorica hamata, like other parts of the armament, was provided by the state. 

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During the late republic, the gladius Hispaniensis was used, which was adopted from Iberian swords during the Punic wars. The Roman variant had a leaf-shaped blade and was in terms of length similar to its predecessors, the La Tène type B swords. It was the primary weapon of the Republican legionnaire. 

The Pugio was likely adopted by the Romans from the Iberian tribes, just like the Gladius, during the Punic Wars. The first Roman depiction of the Pugio dates from 122 BC, and the first archaeological finds date from the Gallic War, at Alesia in 52 BC. For the legionary, the Pugio was a secondary weapon, which could be drawn quickly and was ideal when there was little time or space to draw the Gladius. 

From the 4th century BC, the Romans used the scutum, probably adopted from the Celts just like the Montefortino helmet and the Lorica Hamata. This elongated shield in the late republic was approximately 130 cm long and had an oval shape. At the front, it had a wooden rib along the length of the shield with a shield boss on it. This allowed the scutum to also be used as a thrusting weapon. 

Legionaries in the late republic had a pilum or two pila as part of their equipment. This was a heavy javelin, which was thrown at the enemy before the legionaries executed a charge. The weapon could also be used as a regular spear. Carrying two heavy javelins in one hand would have been very awkward on the battlefield. Possibly, the writers of our sources used the same term for two different variants (a light and a heavy one), but that is unclear. 

After the development of the cohort, the general, once in formation, delivered an encouraging speech and gave the signal to attack. In antiquity, the aim of a battle was not to kill the entire enemy army, but to break the morale of the soldiers and ensure that the enemy abandoned the fight and retreated. The goal of Roman strategy was therefore to make battles as short and decisive as possible: this was achieved by a rain of pila preceding a unified attack, with the cavalry protecting the flanks and rear. Intimidation was also part of this tactic, with the Romans pre-seeding the battlefield with body parts to instill fear in the enemy.

Julius Caesar was known in his time as a military commander for his rapid and risky strategies, such as marches during the winter period and the quick construction of siege weapons. His success is attributed to his exceptional cunning and the experience of his soldiers.

During the history of the late Roman Republic, the legions also played an important political role. Due to the professionalization of the army, campaigns lasted longer and legionaries became dependent on their pay and war booty, which they received from their general, for their livelihood. As a result, they became loyal to individual military leaders with military prowess (especially to governors, who had a long term of office) and not so much to the Roman senate. Legionaries also saw themselves as superior to ordinary Romans due to their professional status, which led to fear and hostility when they came into contact with the general population.

In the late republic, there had been a series of political conflicts between two political groups, the populist populares who were in favor of land reform, and the aristocratic optimates who were against it. The civil wars ended with the reign of terror of the optimates general Sulla between 82-80 BC. Through his military power, he was able to have himself appointed as dictator, and for two years, he would massacre his political opponents en masse with his bloody proscriptions and seize their possessions for himself and his allies.

As a result, after his death, there was great fear that a legion under another demagogue like Sulla could pose a threat to Rome. In the coming years, this was acknowledged by the senate, and Roman governors were not allowed to leave their provinces with their legions. It was also strictly forbidden for Roman military leaders to enter Italy with a mobilized force: for triumphal processions within the city, the army first had to be officially discharged.

When Julius Caesar broke this rule in 49 BC by leaving his province of Gaul and crossing the stream of the Rubicon (the Roman boundary between Gaul and Italy) towards Rome, he caused a constitutional crisis. This crisis and the subsequent civil wars brought a thundering end to the Republican period and led to the establishment of an empire under Augustus in 27 BC, although he would still have the Romans call their empire a republic.