Roman Army: Early Republic

In the long Roman history, the composition of the Roman army changed several times. In this blog, we discuss the army of the late Kingdom period and the early Roman Republic until the end of the 1st Punic War. 

Roman society was deeply imbued with traditions of Proto-Indo-European origin. This is clearly visible throughout the entire history of Rome in its martial culture. Here are some examples:

The system of patrons and clients was fundamental to Roman society. Patrons, often the heads of powerful families, shared their wealth with less affluent Romans (clients) in exchange for loyalty and political support. These Patron-client relationships were based on oath-bound reciprocity. The status of both patron and client depended on their wealth. Thus, during the republic, the poor of society were often bribed with bread and money by patrons so that they would vote for them in elections. 

The entire Roman society was built on this system of reciprocity; most Romans were clients, and most patrons were often themselves a client of an even wealthier patron.  In the early Roman armies, this relationship likely also had a strong influence on one's position. The relationship with the gods was also viewed in this way; hence, making the right offerings was so important within Roman religion.

This important component of Roman culture finds its origin with the Proto-Indo-European steppe nomads. For instance, cattle could be lent by a wealthy herder to poor herders in exchange for a return favor, often in the form of military support.

In pagan Rome, statesmen (kings, consuls, and later emperors) were also the highest priests of the Roman religion. The Romans saw the prosperity of their empire as directly linked to a good relationship between people and gods. The statesman was the greatest patron of society, who was therefore best suited to be the greatest client for the gods.

In Proto-Indo-European societies, the head of society also fulfilled both roles: in the Proto-Indo-European creation myth, the first priest was also the first king. In both cultures, the leader of society had the primary task of maintaining the cosmic order. 

Citizenship in Roman times should not be confused with our modern concept of it. Roman citizens were not merely people born within the borders of the Empire but a privileged class in society. Only citizens had legal personality and political rights. Citizenship was in most cases determined by one's birth, and to become a citizen, one had to meet certain obligations towards society. A certain level of wealth was often required for this. 

The Roman citizenship shows similarities with the Germanic and Celtic class system. This can be seen in the Proto-Indo-European concept of a dowry. This system arose from the tripartite class system, where citizenship corresponds to the warrior class. Initially, no distinction was made between the two. 

After major Roman military victories, the commander held a triumph through the city, during which he offered the promised spoils of war to the gods (notably Jupiter and Mars) but also to the people. He did this by organizing large festivities at his own expense and distributing coins with his face on them, which were minted from captured precious metals.

This tradition finds its origin in the Indo-European Koryos ritual, where young warriors of the community were sent out to steal cattle from other tribes. This served to maintain the tribe's economy. The one who brought back the spoils was seen as a hero who had distributed wealth to the people. This encouraged other warriors to also steal cattle, thus keeping the tradition alive.

Rome was known for its many alliances, which it used very tactically, often as a casus belli for wars of conquest. Initially, these were concluded with other peoples of the Italian peninsula and later throughout the entire empire. These alliances are an expression of oath-bound reciprocity and closely resembled the patron-client relationships that Roman families had with each other. 

This practice also finds its origin in the Proto-Indo-European culture. Allies who shared in the spoils participated in the cosmic order. Allies who did not fulfill their agreement or committed betrayal had to be destroyed according to this worldview, as they created chaos.

The Romans believed indirectly in reincarnation. According to Roman religion, the soul was immortal, but where it ended up after death depended on one's actions in life and the death they had died. Therefore, there was a strong culture of achievement, similar to the Old Norse culture, where there was a preference for dying on the battlefield. Someone who died in battle went to the beautiful Elysian Fields, while someone who died naturally went to the Asphodel Fields. That the Romans associated the afterlife with open fields indicates their origin as steppe herders. 

The spear had significant symbolic meaning for the Romans; it was the weapon of the war god Mars. Among other things, the fetiales would throw a blood-stained hasta into enemy territory to declare war. A spear without a point (hasta pura) was also awarded as a military distinction to experienced centurions (primipilus). 

Spears did not only have a meaning related to warfare; the celibaris-hasta was traditionally used to cut a bride's hair. In trade and legal proceedings, a spear often marked the beginning of transactions (subhastationes) or was present at the court (hasta centumviralis). 

Even the belt of a warrior or legionary had a ceremonial significance: it symbolized the unity of the warrior class. This practice was not unique to the Romans, as seen with the Celtic Hochdorf warrior from 600 BC. Both peoples trace the origin of this tradition to their steppe ancestors; Proto-Indo-European military belts were prominently depicted on the Kurgan stelae from 3,500 BC. 

Until around 550 BC, there was no organized Roman army. Instead, warbands, formed by different clans, went to battle together. These groups maintained relationships with each other based on oath-bound reciprocity. Thus, military force could be consolidated and joint raids could be organized.

It is likely that the Romans also had a strong warrior culture, as the Italic peoples in the Iron Age had an Indo-European origin. War and raids between tribes were a fixed part of society and were periodically organized between clans. For warriors, this was a way to accumulate wealth and gain social status. In these small wars, individual heroic deeds were strongly emphasized, similar to the warrior culture described in Homer's Iliad & Odyssey. 

The Etruscans and Romans were strongly influenced by the Greek trading colonies established on the Italian peninsula. The aristocracy loved Greek luxury goods and the reciprocal flow of money. Through this connection, Rome also began to model itself after the form of a Greek city-state. 

Around 550 BC, during the period traditionally attributed to the reign of King Servius Tullius, a conscription appears to have been introduced whereby men with citizenship were required to participate as hoplites in the phalanx. This must have been a major social transition from individually achievement-oriented warriors to a cooperative whole in a phalanx formation. In this army, besides citizen-soldiers, there were likely no professional military personnel. In addition to hoplites, this army consisted of javelin throwers, rorarii (later velites) who mainly consisted of the younger citizens who still needed to build wealth. Finally, there was a small contingent of cavalry, composed of the city's wealthiest elite. 

After the kings were replaced around 500 BC by two annually elected consuls, the obligation for citizens to participate in the army remained. The army was divided between the consuls, with each consul commanding one legion. This king was likely deposed in a coup by the aristocracy, who wanted to give the governance of the city of Rome a more Greek political character. These aristocrats wanted to keep the city-state's power in their own hands and not share it with the people, so it should not be thought that the beginning of the Roman Republic ushered in a period of democracy.

The Roman democracy was different from today. The lower classes in society had little influence with their vote. They were dependent on their patron for political matters, with whom they maintained a client-patron relationship. These relationships were based on cosmic reciprocity and came with obligations. The more clients a patron had, the more prestige and political influence he could exert. At the same time, it was a disgrace for a patron to let his clients live in poverty. He protected them in the event of a legal dispute and functioned as a bank. This client-patron relationship was non-binding and both parties could dissolve the cooperation.

On basic of Etruscan depictions, it is assumed that the early Roman infantry formed the Greek model and mainly consisted of heavily armed hoplites. These hoplites wore bronze helmets, a linothorax or breastplate and greaves, used a large circular shield (hoplon or aspis) and were armed with a spear (dory) and secondarily a sword (xiphos). They fought in a phalanx formation eight or more rows deep, which could break through the enemy line with a concentrated attack. The early Romans fought in a tight formation that required extensive training, as maintaining the phalanx was crucial for success.

During major conflicts, the Romans fought in their basic unit, the centuria of 100 men. Additionally, the forces remained organized according to the Roman clans until at least 450 BC, although they operated under the authority of the consuls.

The heavy infantry was the strongest part of the Roman army but was probably rarely used. Open warfare and battles were only a small part of warfare in the early Roman period. Instead, there were annual raids, probably by the rorarii (velites) who gained a position in Roman society by looting surrounding communities. 

In 493 BC, shortly after the establishment of the Roman Republic, Rome entered into a perpetual military alliance with the other Latin city-states. This treaty was likely necessary for the Latins to organize a defense against incursions by neighboring mountain tribes. It was decided that each party would provide an equal number of troops for campaigns under a unified command. It remained in force until 358 BC.

In 341–338 BC, the Latin War broke out. The Latin city-states, acting collectively as the Latin League, attempted to withdraw from their military alliance with Rome. They feared the growing political dominance of Rome. However, the Romans achieved a decisive victory. After this, many city-states were annexed into Roman territory or made into satellite states. 

The Servian Constitution is usually associated with the sixth king of Rome, Servius Tullius (578-534 BC). However, today researchers believe that it is not entirely accurate to attribute all changes to him. It is likely that the constitution is the result of a long process, in which his predecessors, such as the kings Ancus Marcius and Tarquinius Priscus, also played a role. This process continued into the period of the Middle and Late Republic. Some historians suggest that these major changes coincided with the Roman defeats of the fourth century BC. This seems most likely to be the case, as this adaptation contributed to the change in combat formations. 

Citizens were required to perform military service based on basic of their wealth. This wealth was originally expressed in asses (a unit of bronze) and was calculated based on land ownership and livestock. From the 2nd century BC, this system was replaced by a monetary system.

The Servian reform ensured that the military defense of the state was entrusted to all citizens. According to the Roman historian Livy, the military service of plebeians was a form of public service, equal to the duties of the patricians in the Senate. However, the rank of a citizen was determined by the value of his possessions. The citizens were divided into seven classes. According to the Servian Constitution, no citizen with less than 11,000 asses could be part of the regular army. 

This classification was made through a census. Men were divided into groups called centuriae (centuries), which were originally supposed to consist of 100 men (hence the name, derived from the Latin centum = 100), but in practice, the number varied. Each group was further split into Seniores (men aged 46 to 60) and Iuniores (men aged 17 to 45) with the Iuniores participating as frontline troops. 

The comitia centuriata (the people's assembly) functioned as a political representation of the citizen-soldiers. In this assembly, the wealthiest had the most influence, as they had more clients as voting groups (centuriae). They were allowed to vote first. Citizens of the lowest status rarely voted and were largely exempt from military service.

During the Battle of Allia against the Celts and the subsequent sack of Rome, the Roman army was defeated. Also, in the subsequent Samnite Wars (343–341 BC), the structure of the Roman army proved unsuitable against more maneuverable troops than the phalanx. This resulted in a major military reform, after which Roman warriors began to resemble the Gauls and Samnites closely. 

The next major moment in Roman military history came a century later and was the First Punic War. Rome's power expanded to the southern part of the Italian peninsula. This brought them into conflict with a well-known major trading power, the city of Carthage in present-day Tunisia. 

The war began with the Romans setting foot on Sicily in 264 BC. They forced the Greek city-state of Syracuse, the only significant independent power on the island, into an alliance with them and besieged the main Carthaginian basic in Akragas on the southern coast. A large Carthaginian army, mainly consisting of mercenaries, war elephants, and a formidable navy, crossed the Mediterranean Sea.

In the 23-year-long war, most battles were at sea. Warfare on land was limited to a few battles, many small skirmishes, and sieges. Ultimately, the Romans managed to build their own navy, defeated the Carthaginians, and won the war but suffered enormous losses themselves. 

Both states were financially and demographically exhausted. Evidence of Carthage's financial situation includes their request for a loan of 2,000 talents from Ptolemaic Egypt, which was refused. Rome was also on the brink of bankruptcy, and the number of adult male citizens, who provided the manpower for the fleet and the legions, had decreased by 17 percent since the beginning of the war. The Treaty of Lutatius was agreed upon, whereby Carthage paid 3,200 talents silver as reparations and Sicily was annexed as a Roman province.

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 organized 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 comprised the heavily armed veterans. This allowed the Roman army to keep its strongest troops out of battle until the end of a fight, so they could easily overcome an exhausted opponent.

The lines were arranged in a checkerboard pattern (quincunx). The maniples were essentially 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.

During this period, a Roman legion consisted of approximately 5,000 men. Unlike later legions, which were composed exclusively 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 on basic of social class, age, and military 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 established each year, but in 366 BC, for the first time, two legions were formed in one year.

Polybius states that only soldiers worth more than 10,000 drachmae (possibly 40,000 asses) wore a lorica hamata, while the rest wore a pectorale, or a small, square breastplate designed to protect the heart. The First Class served mainly in the cavalry at that time, which would imply that only a small minority of heavy infantrymen wore mail armor. 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, consisting of soldiers of the same infantry class. Thanks to their relatively small size, maniples could execute 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 also had a parallel with the social divisions within Roman society, but officially the three lines were based on age and experience, rather than on 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 order. They wore a Celtic type Montefortino helmet and typically no chest protection, but sometimes had a simple bronze breastplate (cardiophylax). They also sometimes wore greaves, only on the left leg because it protruded 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; they therefore 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 from under the shield. They used the same weapons as the hastati.

Some historians think 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, possibly adopted like the gladius from the Iberians. 

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 the 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 a 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, underrated role. They pelted and shot at the enemy with short javelins and lead sling bullets, which 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 wore no body armor and possibly sporadically a helmet. 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 task was mainly to fill gaps in the maniples, but they also seemed to have occasionally worked as orderlies for the officers.

Rorarii possibly fought in the last line as a reserve unit. They were armed similarly to the Velites and probably evolved into them later. They possibly fought simultaneously with the triarii as the last in the battle, 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 understand exactly what role the rorarii played. 

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

The Leves were light infantrymen who were also armed with javelins and had a role comparable 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 attached to units of hastati. Their primary task on the battlefield was to harass the enemy with javelins, protected by the heavy infantry.

The Roman leves of 403 BC were the first to campaign 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 this themselves. Although the equites played an important military role, they were subordinate to the infantry in voting rights

First class :
Property: 100,000 asses.
Self-provided with: helmet, breastplate, greaves, shield, spear, and sword.
Consisted of 40 centuriae seniores and 40 centuriae iuniores.

Second class:
Property: 75,000 asses.
Self-provided with: helmet, greaves, shield, spear, and sword.
Consisted of 10 centuriae seniores and 10 centuriae iuniores.

Third class:
Property: 50,000 asses.
Self-provided with: helmet, shield, spear, and sword.
Consisted of 10 centuriae seniores and 10 centuriae iuniores.

Fourth class:
Property: 25,000 asses.
Self-provided with: shield, spear, javelin, and sword.
Consisted of 10 centuriae seniores and 10 centuriae iuniores.

Fifth class:
Property: 11,000 asses.
Self-provided with: sling and sling stones (and possibly javelins).
Consisted of 15 centuriae seniores and 15 centuriae iuniores.

Other groups:

• Proletarii: poor citizens without property, 1 centuria.
• Specialists:
  • Equites (cavalry): 18 centuriae (6 seniores, 12 iuniores).
  • Engineers: 2 centuriae.
  • Musicians: 2 centuriae.