Roman Military Characteristics

Zella Thomas 6-3 5/16/17

Ancient Roman Army

The Ancient Roman military was the most successful and most powerful military in

ancient history. The Romans believed that they were the sons of the war gods. Soldiers who

were not Roman citizens had to serve in the military for 25 years before becoming citizens of

Rome ( “soldiers”). All Romans that were in the military were trained in the art of warfare. They

were proud of their skill, and their abilities made them hard to negotiate with, since their army-

especially their foot soldiers—were superior. They conquered the western world. The Roman

military started as farmers fighting and evolved into a professional army, the first in the ancient

world (“Romans”).The Roman military was effective because of their size and organization,
The

large army was organized into many smaller units, which provided some advantages. For

example, working in smaller units allowed them to invade other areas quickly and without

being seen. The units ranged in size from the small 8-man Contubernium to the largest units

known as Legions, which contained 6,000 soldiers. The Roman citizens made up a part of the

army called the Legionary. In addition to the Roman citizens, the army also included non-

citizens as well. The non-Roman citizens were called Auxiliary, which had archers, slingers and

horsemen (500 horsemen equals one Alea). With nearly 45,000 total soldiers in the military, the

army was made up of several legions. This meant that even if an entire legion died in battle, the

Roman army still had plenty of soldiers left to fight (“Roman”).

Advanced weapons also increased the Roman military’s effectiveness. The Legionary’s

personal weapons were a sword, a throwing spear and a shield. The throwing spear was also

known as the pilum. The throwing spear was heavy. The soldiers held two throwing spears to

throw at the enemy. The spear was just over two meters long. They were designed to
The shield was good to protect them from their enemies. The soldiers held

the shield on their left. Some had a dagger, also known as a pugio (Barrow).

Their training was also an important part of their success. Their training included

marching, battling and practicing battle formations. Marching was a big part of their training.

They had to walk 18.4 miles in five hours, while they were carrying a full pack of weapons. They

also had to carry a shield, food, rations, a cooking pot and a short spade, along with their

personal kit. Another part of their training was attending weapon practice every morning. They

practiced the best way to use weapons and the most effective ways. After they had weapon

training they practiced hand to hand combat. They practiced hand to hand combat with

wooden swords, spears and shields. The dummy wooden swords, spears and shields were much

heavier than those they used in battle. Another thing that they did to train for battle was

learning specific drills and formations. They practiced how to line up for battle and different

marches. All of their training was very difficult but very effective