Roman Legion of the Early Republic

At the end of the 6th century BC. e. after the fall of royal power and the establishment of a republic, the king was replaced by two military leaders - praetors (from Latin Prae -iri - “to go ahead”). All Roman citizens from 17 to 45 (46) years old were considered liable for military service and were part of the legion. Legion (from Latin Legere - to choose, to gather) originally designated the entire Roman army.

The early Republican legion consisted of 4,200 infantry and 300 horsemen. The army was not yet professional. A warrior was drafted into the army only when necessary. When hostilities ceased, the army was disbanded. The warrior was supposed to provide himself with equipment, which led to a wide variety of weapons and armor. Later, efforts were made to introduce uniform weapons and protection. A new gradation of the Roman legion into ranks was introduced not only on the basis of property qualifications, but also on the basis of different age categories. The youngest and poorest warriors were required to be armed with a sword, 6 darts, a bow with a supply of arrows and slings for throwing stones. Such light infantry were called “velites” (from the Latin Velites - canvas, i.e.) - “dressed in shirts.” These warriors had no armor at all, were protected only by a helmet and a light shield and were used as skirmishers. Initially, velites were recruited separately from the legion and were not included in its combat crew. The next group of warriors in terms of age and property status was called hastati (from the Latin hasta - spear), hastati - “spearmen”. They were armed with a sword, heavy (gasta) and light throwing (pilum) spears and full defensive weapons. The third group of the “most flourishing age” - the principles (principes), were armed in the same way as the hastati, but were already experienced fighters and in battle were located behind the ranks of the hastati in order to be able to come to their aid through gaps in the ranks. The oldest and most experienced veterans in battle were called triarii - (triarii) - they had a long spear instead of a pilum. In battle, they lined up according to principles and represented the last reserve of the legion. The expression “It has come to the triarii” has since become a household word.

The Romans paid great attention to the selection and training of command personnel. The senior command staff was represented by six military tribunes - tribe commanders. A tribe is an analogue of a Greek phylum, also a dual administrative-military unit, which includes four centuries. Tribunes were chosen by the people's assembly from both patricians and plebeians. The century was commanded by a centurion, who was appointed from among the most distinguished warriors. The centurion had disciplinary power in his century and enjoyed great authority.

Thus, we can conclude that in its initial period the legion was both an organizational and tactical unit, and, according to Hans Delbrück, also a military-administrative army unit. However, over time, thanks to successful conquests, Rome no longer lacks one legion to defend its possessions. The number of legions is growing inexorably. With the capture of more and more territories, the struggle between the old patrician families and the plebeians intensifies. In 367 BC. e. the laws of Licinius and Sextius were adopted on the abolition of the positions of military praetors; instead, two consuls were to be elected, including one of the plebeians (the position of praetor was assigned to masters of the second category, subordinate to the consuls and mainly in charge of city justice). Under normal conditions, each consul had two legions at his disposal.

Military organization of the army of Ancient Rome after Camillus' reform

In the second half of the 4th century BC. e. the political victories of the plebeians led to a significant expansion of the contingents from which the army was recruited. Military reform became inevitable. Such a reform was Camille's reform. The soldiers were given a salary, against which they were given uniforms, weapons and food. This equalized the position of the haves and have-nots, which served as an impetus for the introduction of uniform weapons. The monotonous weapons, in turn, made it possible to reorganize the legion, making it more uniform and functional. A new basic army organizational and tactical unit has appeared - the maniple (from the Latin manipulus - “handful”). Each legion was divided into 10 maniples; the maniple consisted of 120 heavily armed legionnaires and was divided into two centuries. The centurion of the first century was also the commander of the maniple. The tactical formation of ranks in maniples in three rows - hastati, principes, triarii - remained the same, but now the legion became more maneuverable in battle and could split up along the front, while maintaining formation. The legion was the highest, and the maniple the lowest tactical unit. Thus, the structure of the Roman army remained based on a joint organizational and tactical division.

The entire Roman army during this period consisted of the two aforementioned consular armies of two legions each. Sometimes the armies united. Then during one day one of the consuls commanded all four legions, and the next day - another.

The Roman army was strengthened by the so-called “allies” - the troops of the conquered Italics who did not have Roman citizenship. The Allies were obliged to provide auxiliary armed forces. Usually, for one Roman legion, the allies fielded 5,000 infantry and 900 horsemen, who were supported at their own expense. The allied troops lined up on the flanks of the Roman legions in units of 500 people, such units were called “cohort” (from the Latin cohors - “retinue, string”). The cohorts were subordinate to the Roman high command, the composition of the junior commanders was determined by the allies themselves.

Roman legion after transition to manipular phalanx

In the first half of the 3rd century. BC e. A new reorganization of the Roman army followed. First of all, monotonous equipment and armament of the manipule was introduced. If previously each maniple consisted of hastati, principles and triarii, now it was staffed with only one of these types of infantry. Maniples ceased to be mixed and became specialized. In addition, the number of maniples in the legion increased from 10 to 30. Now the legion consisted of 30 maniples (10 each for the hastati, principles and triarii, respectively). The first two groups had the same structure - 120 heavy infantry and 40 velites. Among the triarii, the number of infantry in the maniple was 60 heavy infantry and 40 velites. Each maniple consisted of two centuries, but they had no independent significance, since the maniple remained the smallest tactical unit.

Three hundred horsemen of the legion were divided into ten turmas, 30 people in each. The horsemen were armed according to the Greek model: armor, a round shield and a spear. Each cavalry tour had three decurions - “foremen” and three selected trailing ones - options (optiones). The first of the decurions commanded the tourma. Decurions, like centurions, were chosen by the tribunes.

In total, the legion thus numbered 4,500 people, including 1,200 velites and 300 horsemen.

Much attention began to be paid to issues of troop control and logistics organization. The army began to include one century of clerks and buglers, as well as two centuries of blacksmiths and carpenters, fleets of siege engines and centuries of engineers.

The recruitment of the Roman army looked like this: At the beginning of each year, two chief military magistrates - consuls - were elected. Elected consuls appointed 24 military tribunes. Ten of them were senior, their service life should have been at least ten years. The remaining 14 had to serve for at least five years. The first two of the elected senior tribunes were appointed to the first legion, the next three to the second, the next two to the third and the next three to the fourth. Junior tribunes were appointed according to the same principle: the first four to the first legion, the next three to the second, etc. As a result, there were six tribunes in each legion.

Like the Greeks, military service was considered honorable in Ancient Rome and was not available to low-income people. Every year on the appointed day, all citizens able to serve gathered in the Capitol. There they were divided according to property qualifications. The poorest were sent to serve in the navy. The next group was assigned to the infantry, while the richest were sent to the cavalry. The censors selected the 1,200 people needed for all four legions before the start of the main conscription campaign. Three hundred horsemen were assigned to each legion.

According to Polybius, those who were selected for service in the foot army were divided into tribes. From each tribe, four people of approximately the same age and build were selected, who were presented in front of the stands. The tribune of the first legion was chosen first, then the second and third, the fourth legion got the rest. In the next group of four recruits, the tribune soldier of the second legion chose first, and the first legion took the last. The procedure continued until 4,200 men were recruited for each legion (it is problematic to select all 16,800 men in this way, but we will leave it to Polybius).

The recruitment was completed and the newcomers took an oath. The tribunes chose one man who had to come forward and swear to obey his commanders and carry out their orders to the best of his ability. Then everyone else took a step forward and vowed to do the same as him (“Idem in me”). Then the tribunes indicated the place and date of assembly for each legion so that everyone was distributed to their units.

While recruits were being recruited, the consuls sent orders to the allies, indicating the number of troops required from them, as well as the day and place of the meeting. Local magistrates recruited recruits and took them to the oath - just like in Rome. Then they appointed a commander and a paymaster and gave the order to march.

Upon arrival at the appointed place, the recruits were again divided into groups according to their wealth and age. The youngest and poorest were sent to velites. From the remaining, younger ones, hastati were recruited. Those in full bloom became principles. Older veterans of past campaigns became triarii; they were also called saws. One legion could not have more than 600 triarii.

Then, from each type of army (with the exception of the velites), the tribunes selected ten centurions, who, in turn, selected ten more people, also called centurions. The centurion elected by the tribunes was the eldest. The very first coenurion of the legion (primus pilus) had the right to participate in the military council along with the tribunes. Centurions were chosen based on their stamina and courage. Each centurion appointed himself an assistant (optio).

The tribunes and centurions divided each type of army (hastati, principles and triarii) into ten detachments - maniples. The first maniple of the triarii was commanded by the primipile, the first centurion.

As mentioned above, the allies also formed detachments of 4-5 thousand people and 900 horsemen. Such allied “legions” were called ala (from La. Alae-wing), because during the battle they were located on the wings of the Roman army. One such ale was assigned to each of the legions. Thus, the word “legion” for this period should mean a combat unit of about 10,000 foot soldiers and about 1,200 horsemen.

A third of the Allies' best cavalry and a fifth of their best infantry were selected to form a special fighting unit - the extraordinarii. They were a striking force for special assignments and were supposed to cover the legion on the march. The internal organization of the Allied army for this period is not described in the sources, but most likely it was similar to the Roman one, especially among the Latin allies.

Since the long siege of Veii at the beginning of the 4th century. BC e. Legionnaires began to be paid. A Roman infantryman received two coins a day, a centurion received twice as much, and a horseman received six obols. The Roman infantryman received allowance in the form of 35 liters. grain per month, rider – 100 liters. wheat and 350 l. barley (taking into account feeding the horse and groom). A fixed fee for these products was deducted by the quaestor from the salary of both foot and horse soldiers. Deductions were also made for clothing and items of equipment requiring replacement.

Allied infantry also received 35 liters. grain per person, and the riders received only 70 liters. wheat and 250 l. barley. However, these products were free for the Allies.

Thus, the legion, with its heavy infantry, cavalry, additional allied cavalry, light infantry, siege weapons and sappers (engineers), included all branches of the ground forces, and was, although cumbersome, a self-sufficient army unit.

This is how the Roman legions entered the period of great wars. Italy, Sardinia, Sicily, Spain, and finally, Africa, Greece and Asia experienced the “Roman maniple of measured stomp.” The number of legions begins to grow rapidly.

Military reform of Maria and its influence on the organization of the Roman army

However, already during the 2nd Punic War it became obvious that the military system of Rome was far from ideal. Despite the fact that military service was paid, the salary was mainly spent on current expenses. The Roman citizen still saw peasant farming or trade as the main source of income for himself. Therefore, it is not surprising that the soldiers did not at all strive to serve longer. The further the theater of military operations advanced, the longer the campaigns lasted (and this happened more and more often), the more difficult it was to recruit recruits. Those who ended up in the army were looking forward to being discharged. By the end of the 2nd century BC. e. Rome found itself embroiled in a long war with the Numidians. This war was so unpopular that it became almost impossible to recruit reinforcements for the legions. In 107 BC. Marius was elected consul, who focused all his attention on strengthening the Roman army. He granted access to the legions to all volunteers with Roman citizenship, regardless of their financial status. Poor people poured into the legions. These people did not at all strive to get rid of service as quickly as possible - on the contrary, they were ready to serve all their lives. Quite a few people could have already made a career from a simple soldier to a centurion. Volunteers connected their lives with the fate of their commanders; the main source of income for them was not pay, but military booty. People who devoted their lives to the army did not have a farm to which they could return after service; they could only count on the fact that when they became veterans, after 16 years of service, upon discharge, the commander would provide them with a plot of land. Thus, the abolition of the property qualification laid the foundations for the creation of a professional Roman army, and the role of the commander increased enormously

Under the old system of recruitment, the legions were formed anew at each campaign and therefore lacked a sense of cohesion. Since the time of Mary this situation has changed. Each legion received its own banner. The famous Roman eagle, the aquila, has become a symbol of victory and power for many centuries.

Around the same time, the structure of the legion changed radically. Even in the second Punic War, when forming legions, due to a lack of manpower, they abandoned the age principle of division into hastati, principes and triarii. Now all soldiers began to arm themselves with a sword and a pilum and defend themselves with one type of armor. The names hastat, principle and triarius were preserved only to designate centurion positions and the order of introducing infantry into battle (the tactics of gradually introducing soldiers into battle were preserved, but the legion could be built in one, two, three, or even four rows). The maniples increasingly lost their former tactical importance; they were increased to 120 people and united into cohorts of three maniples each. The cohort became the tactical unit. Thus, the legion began to consist not of thirty maniples, but of ten cohorts. The division into centuries was preserved, as was the rank of centurion, and in camps and fortresses soldiers were still located in centuries.

After the war, all Italians living south of the Po River received Roman citizenship. For the military organization, this meant that all differences between the Roman and allied legions were eliminated. From now on, the legion becomes just a legion, and nothing else, and no longer includes an equal number of soldiers from the cities allied with Rome.

The trend towards the elimination of differences within the legion, and between the legion and the Ala (allied legion), was supported by the abolition of the lightly armed skirmishers (velites) and the legionary cavalry, which was now part of the legion. Now the legion, although it had become a more advanced fighting force, sometimes needed the support of other branches of the military.

“Auxilia” or “auxils” appeared - auxiliary troops that were neither Roman nor allied. Since the war with Hannibal, the Romans, imitating him, began to use military specialists from all over the Mediterranean: Cretan archers, Balearic slingers. Spain supplied both cavalry and infantry, mostly heavy. After the conquest of Numidia, auxiliaries of Numidian light cavalry appeared. The Romans now needed large detachments of cavalry to support the legions and professional light infantry to disrupt enemy formations and fight on rough terrain.

Before Marius, the old-style army was always accompanied by a long convoy. The convoys were easy prey for the enemy and greatly slowed down the advance of the troops. Mari forced the legionnaires to carry all the necessary supplies and equipment on themselves, for which the soldiers received the nickname “Mari’s mules.” The convoys were not eliminated, but were greatly reduced and became more organized.

Late Republican Roman legion from the era of Caesar

The final transformation of the Roman army into a professional one occurred in the middle of the 1st century BC. e. under Pompey and Caesar. Caesar organized the legions he recruited on new principles. The strength of the legion now ranged from 3,000 to 4,500 people. Each legion had to have its own cavalry. Each legion included 55 carballists who threw heavy arrows and 10 onagers and catapults for throwing stones. The legion’s “artillery park” has noticeably strengthened. The legion's convoy again grew to 500 mules and now carried siege equipment, camp supplies and utensils. Caesar used Gallic and German cavalry, using the tactics of combined cavalry and light infantry battles. In total, the allied cavalry of the Gauls and Germans in Caesar's army was 4000 - 5000 horsemen. Since the time of Caesar, the name “ala,” which previously denoted an allied legion, was assigned to cavalry detachments (later, only cavalry detachments of non-Italian allies numbering 500-1000 horsemen were so called).

The legion was still commanded by six tribunes, but this position lost its former importance. If earlier it was usually occupied by older people, such as former consuls, now, as a rule, the position of tribune was given to young people who expected to enter the Senate or simply wanted to try themselves in military life. Only twenty quaestors (Latin quaestor - “prospector”), from people at least thirty years of age, were elected to the Senate annually. The rest of the horsemen had to be content with positions as officers in the Roman army. The service life of officers was unlimited. Above the stands stood prefects (Latin praefectus - “chief, commander”) - the highest officials of the army and navy. In the legion, prefects could command the cavalry (praefectus equitus), sappers (praefectus fabrum), and the legion camp (praefectus castorum). What was common to the post of prefect was that they held their position individually (and not in pairs, like tribunes and consuls), their position was more or less permanent and they were appointed personally by the military leader. The highest position in the legion was occupied by a legate (Latin legatus - “chosen one”). Legates were usually appointed senators, which in the late republic meant that he had to have previously served at least as a quaestor. The legates of Pompey and Caesar were a close-knit group of experienced warriors, although sometimes, for political reasons, not quite suitable people were appointed as legates, as well as tribunes. The legates were the right hand of the commander-in-chief, his closest assistants. Caesar often instructed his legates to command either a legion, or several legions, or auxiliary cavalry, or a separate unit in a particularly responsible area. But usually legates were inextricably linked with one legion.

A commander's headquarters appeared, which became a kind of training school for future military leaders. The staff consisted of legates, tribunes and prefects. Young volunteers were assigned to the headquarters to act as adjutants. There was a personal guard for the commander. Since ancient times, the consul had twelve lictors who acted as his personal guard. Lictors carried bundles of rods with axes inside, as a sign that the consul had the power to punish Roman citizens, including the death penalty. However, it became obvious that such protection was not enough for a commander during military operations. This is how the extraordinarii (consular guards) appeared.

Back in 133 BC. e. Scion Africanus recruited a personal guard of 500 selected fighters. They became known as the praetorian cohort, from the praetorium - the main square of the camp where the commander pitched his tent. By the end of the republic, all military leaders already had their own praetorian cohort.

The overwhelming majority of the command staff in the legion were, as before, centurions commanding centuries. The commander of the first century commanded the maniple. The cohort was commanded by a centurion of the centuria triarii (pil). Six centurions of the first cohort of each legion could take part in meetings of the military council.

Consuls, from the time of the kings, still inherited the positions of commanders-in-chief. The Roman Republic did not know the sole command of the army. Moreover, even during the Punic Wars, in the face of the invasion of Hannibal, Roman consuls continued to be replaced annually. However, in addition to the troops that were recruited by new consuls or received from their predecessors, there were other units under the command of former consuls or praetors who were given additional powers, raising them to the rank of proconsuls and propraetors. This expansion of the powers of the highest ranks of the army turned out to be the simplest way of appointing governors in the provinces, which Rome continued to acquire. As the theaters of war moved further and further from Rome itself, the proconsul often had to fight alone, without a colleague to hold him back. Caesar was originally one of these proconsuls. He and his legions held three Gallic provinces and newly conquered territories for ten years, and then turned the legions, which by that time had already finally become his “own”, and set off on a campaign against Rome. Thus, the Roman Republic fell under the attack of the veterans of the Gallic wars. The era of the Principate, the era of the Roman Empire, began.

During the era of the late Republic and Empire, legions began to play a serious political role. It is no coincidence that Augustus, after the severe defeat of the Romans in the Teutoburg Forest (9 AD), exclaimed, clutching his head, “Quintilius Varus, give me back my legions.” They could ensure the future emperor's seizure and retention of power in Rome - or, conversely, deprive him of all hopes.

Senior officers

Legate Augusti pro praetor

The official title of the governor of certain provinces of the Roman Empire during the era of the Principate.
Legates propraetors were appointed, as a rule, to the largest provinces, as well as to those where the legions were stationed. The provinces were divided into imperial, whose governors were appointed by the emperor personally, and senatorial, whose governors (the so-called proconsuls) were elected by the Roman Senate.
Senators of consular or praetor rank (that is, those who previously held the position of consul or praetor) were appointed to the post of legate propraetor. However, the emperors appointed to rule Egypt only representatives of the equestrian class - the prefect of Egypt, although there was an army there. Some small imperial provinces where there were no legions (for example, Mauretania, Thrace, Raetia, Noricum, and Judea) received a procurator as their governor, who commanded only auxiliary units. The Legate Propraetor headed the provincial administration, was the chief judicial officer and the commander-in-chief of all armed forces based in the province (both legions and auxiliaries). The only function outside the competence of the legate was finance (tax collection and administration), which was entrusted to an independent procurator who reported only to the emperor. The legate of Augustus, the propraetor, was also called “quinquefascalis”, for he had the right to 5 lictors.
In the military hierarchy, the legate's immediate subordinates were the legionary legates (commanders of the legions in the province), who in turn commanded the military tribunes (senior officers of the legion) and the prefects (commanders) of the auxiliary units attached to the legion.
In 68, 15 of a total of 36 Roman provinces were under the rule of the legate Augustus Propraetor: Tarraconian Spain, Lusitania, Aquitaine, Lugdunian Gaul, Belgica, Britannia, Germania Inferior, Germania Superior, Moesia, Dalmatia, Galatia, Cappadocia, Lycia and Pamphylia. Syria, Numidia.
The position of legate Augustus propraetor disappeared around the end of the 3rd century.

Legate of the Legion (Legatus Legionis)

Commander of the legion. The emperor usually appointed the former tribune to this post for three to four years, but the legate could hold his post for much longer. In the provinces where the legion was stationed, the legate was also the governor. Where there were several legions, each of them had its own legate, and they were all under the general command of the governor of the province.

Tribune Laticlavius ​​(Tribunus Laticlavius)

This tribune was appointed to the legion by the emperor or the senate. He was usually young and less experienced than the five military tribunes (Tribuni Angusticlavii), yet his position was the second most senior in the legion, just after legate. The name of the position comes from the word laticlava, which refers to the two wide purple stripes on the tunic worn by officials of senatorial rank.
The tribune laticlavius ​​was always under twenty-five years of age - this was the minimum age for the position of quaestor. He was appointed to the position of tribune by the governor of the province, who was either his relative, or did this at the request of the young man’s friends or patron - the Romans generally lived by the principle “well, how can you not please your loved one!” The tribune laticlavius ​​had no military experience and, after spending one or two (rarely more) years in the army, retired to begin his career in the Senate. Ten years later he could return to the army, already with the rank of legate.

Camp Prefect (Praefectus Castrorum)

The third most senior officer of the Roman legion.
The position first appeared under Emperor Octavian Augustus. They were usually appointed to it from among the old, experienced centurions. The prefect of the camp took command of the legion if the legate or tribune laticlavius ​​was absent. He was primarily the administrative head of the legion and ensured the proper functioning of the camp, infirmaries and convoys, as well as camp discipline. However, in battle he was deprived of command functions. He had custos armorum under his command. The prefect of the camp was also in the service of the legate as a planner and on the march he usually followed in the vanguard of the legion, and in the evening he and his assistant looked for a suitable place to set up a camp camp. In addition, he was in charge of purchasing food from the population and other equipment for soldiers.

Tribunes of Angustiklavii

Each legion had five military tribunes from the equestrian class. Most often, these were professional military men who occupied high administrative positions in the legion, and during hostilities they could, if necessary, command the legion. They were given tunics with narrow purple stripes (angusticlava), hence the name of the position.
By the middle of the 2nd century. AD It became a custom to appoint as angustiklavii people who had already served as prefects in auxiliary infantry units. Often they also managed to hold a civil position in their hometown (age limit from 25 to 30 years). Thus, the Angusticlavii were usually more mature people with military experience. In the middle of the 2nd century. There were only 131 posts for about 270 infantry and mixed auxiliary commanders of 500 soldiers, so the governors had plenty to choose from and could avoid appointing as tribunes people who showed incompetence. The emperor appointed the best of these two hundred and seventy, about 30-40 people, to command infantry and mixed cohorts, numbering a thousand soldiers.
The future career of the Angusticlavian tribunes was connected with the cavalry. In the legion they were entrusted with administrative and economic responsibilities. They had to take care of providing the troops with everything they needed and perform other daily duties of officers on duty.

Average officers

Primipil (Primus Pilus)

The highest-ranking centurion of the legion, who led the first double century. In the 1st-2nd centuries AD. e. upon dismissal from military service, the primipil was enrolled in the class of equestrians and could achieve a high equestrian position in the civil service. The name literally means “first rank.” Due to the similarity between the words pilus (line) and pilum (pilum, throwing spear), the term is sometimes incorrectly translated as "centurion of the first spear."
The first cohort was divided into five double centuries, commanded by five senior centurions, who were considered superior to the others and were called primi ordines (centurions of the first rank). Among the centurions of the first rank there was the following hierarchy (in ascending order): hastat 2nd, principle 2nd, hastat, principle and primipil. Primipilus was the senior centurion in the legion.
Every legionnaire dreamed of rising to the rank of primipile, but for most the dream remained unattainable, because this required not only courage, but also education and administrative abilities. A centurion held the position of primipile for a year, after which he retired or received a higher post. The post of primipil was usually given to people at least fifty years of age. Some served for forty years - first as a simple soldier, then as a centurion - but could never reach these dizzying heights. Upon retirement, the primipil received a large allowance and the honorary title of primipilaris (i.e., former primipil), just as a person who was a consul bore the title of consularis until the end of his life. The primipyles were the color of the army. The next position of the primipile could be the prefect of the camp, or the post of tribune in the cohorts stationed in Rome, where the most experienced and reliable soldiers served. Some were appointed governors of provinces, where only auxiliary troops were stationed, or commanders of the fleet, and, finally, a few reached the top - the post of commander of the Praetorian Guard.

Centurion

Centurions represented the basis and backbone of the professional Roman army. These were professional warriors who lived the daily lives of their subordinate soldiers and commanded them during battle. Typically, this post was given to veteran soldiers, but one could become a centurion by direct decree of the emperor or other high-ranking official.
The legionnaire's service life was 25 years. During this time he could rise to the rank of centurion. Centurions were the only officers who permanently commanded legionnaires under the command of the legion commander. Higher ranks served at the headquarters. Since centurions were recruited from ordinary soldiers, they are often thought of as something like sergeants. But in fact, their duties were roughly equivalent to those of a modern captain.
During the period of the Republic, centurions were apparently initially appointed by tribunes, but each appointment was approved by the commander of the army. The centurions were the backbone of the army. These were the only officers whose term of service was not limited, and they often served longer than the required 25 years. The position of centurion attracted not only legionnaires. Soldiers of the Praetorian Guard, after serving their 16 years, could receive the position of centurion in the legion. In addition, many young people from the equestrian class wanted to get this position. During the imperial era, the posts of centurions were distributed by provincial governors, although, of course, legion commanders and tribunes could nominate their own people. In addition, friends of people seeking appointment to this position could write a letter of recommendation to the emperor, who would be able to intervene and assist them personally.

Each legion had 59 centuries. The centuries were still named after the old maniples, although the name “triarius” was now preferred to “pilus”. Thus, in cohorts II to X there were hastate 2nd, hastate 1st, principle 2nd, principle 1st, drank 2nd and drank 1st. The name of the century was preceded by the number of the cohort, for example: “decimus hastatus posterior” (2nd hastat of the tenth cohort), preserving in the traditional name the long-ago division of the legion into maniples. Rome in general is very characterized by such adherence to traditions. The number of the century each centurion commanded directly reflected his position in the legion, that is, the highest position was occupied by the centurion of the first century of the first cohort, and the lowest by the centurion of the sixth century of the tenth cohort. The five centurions of the first cohort were called "Primi Ordines". In each cohort, the centurion of the first century was called "Pilus Prior".
A centurion could spend his entire service life in one legion, or he could move from one legion to another, for example, when transferring an entire unit to a new location. Such a transfer was carried out to make up for losses, as, for example, after the uprising of Boadicea in 61: then two thousand soldiers were transferred to the ninth legion.
The centurion was easily recognized by his silver armor. In addition, the centurion wore greaves, which ordinary legionnaires no longer used; the crest on his helmet was turned across. The centurion wore a sword on his left side and a dagger on his right, unlike ordinary legionnaires. This has led some researchers to suggest that the centurions did not wear a scutum, because otherwise it would have been difficult for them to draw the sword from the left. However, in the time of Caesar this was not the case: at the siege of Dyrrhachium, a centurion named Sceva, defending the redoubt, received 120 holes in his shield (Caesar uses the word scutum) and was transferred from the eighth cohort to the primipiles for his courage.
Centurions were often cruel people: many legionnaires bore scars on their backs from the centurion's vine staff (vitis). This was due to the fact that the duties of a centurion included maintaining discipline. The centurion was required to be tough and stern. Therefore, during riots, they usually became the first victims of soldier’s revenge. On the other hand, it should be noted that during the defeats, losses among the centurions were especially great, because they were the ones assigned to cover the retreat.
The centurions did not hesitate to accept bribes from legionnaires who wanted to evade any duties. Bribes for granting leave were so common that even the emperor did not dare to put an end to it, fearing to cause a riot among the centurions. As a result, in order to spare soldiers from extortion, emperors had to pay centurions directly to ensure the loyalty of the army.

Junior officers

Option

Assistant to the centurion, replaced the centurion in battle if he was wounded. The centurion chose an option from among experienced soldiers as his assistants. Like an ordinary legionnaire, the option wore a short tunic and caligas, but his belt was more richly decorated than the soldier's. Option wore chain mail - the oldest Roman armor, which by the era of the Empire had become a symbol of officer status. To make the option visible in the thick of battle, he wore a bright longitudinal crest on his helmet. The option always had a rod, with which he equalized the ranks and punished careless soldiers.

Tesserarius

Assistant option. Tesserary was the principal of one and a half salaries and was responsible in the century for organizing guard duty and transmitting passwords, which at that time were issued in the form of tesserae. In service, the tesserary was not directly subordinate to the centurion, but to the option; he enjoyed disciplinary rights in relation to legionnaires and deans of his century. In the camp, the tesseraria came under the operational subordination of the camp prefect; in turn, in the camp and on the march, the teams of preventers (sentinels) were subordinated to them; on the march, the place of the tesseraria was near the signifer; in battle, it was supposed to help the option maintain discipline. In peacetime, the tesseraria were also involved in organizing combat training and training of recruits, and were also responsible for recruiting and receiving reinforcements.
They tried to produce mainly smart and competent soldiers for this rank; it was considered a preparatory step before the rank of option; the right to be promoted to it was enjoyed by a centurion. A distinctive feature of the tesseraria was a staff with a metal pommel, which he wore instead of a spear, and when performing his service duties, there was also a linen bag for tesserae, worn over the shoulder or attached to the belt.

Decurio

He commanded a cavalry detachment of 10 to 30 horsemen as part of the legion. Initially, in the era of the militia army, elected foremen of horsemen also became commanders of their dozens in the event of war; later this position became appointed, but retained the same name. Three decuria of horsemen (numbering at least 10 mounted warriors, usually 30 horses each) made up a turma, the commander of which was the decurion of the first decuria. Gradually, a kind of “non-commissioned officers” and “chief officers” were introduced into the staff of the Turma - the deputy commander of the Turma was an option, appointed from among the combat cavalrymen and being a duplicative principal, who was in the same status of the Turma’s bill of exchange, as well as two cavalrymen on double and one-and-a-half salaries, did not hold command positions, but performed certain organizational and administrative functions in the tour, and were not part of specific decurities. In this case, the candidate for the place of the first decurion was usually not the second decurion, and not the option, but the promissory note. Subsequently, the turmas, numbering from 10 to 16 (and later 24), began to be united into als, which were commanded by temporarily appointed (for the period of existence of these associations) cavalry prefects, usually from among the senior decurions.

Dean (Decanus)

(on the right in a gilded helmet)
Commander of 10 soldiers (contubernia), with whom he lived in the same tent. The dean exercised disciplinary rights against the soldiers of his contubernium. Over time, the size of Roman camps and the tents (barracks) in them increased, as a result the number of contubernium soldiers subordinate to the dean more than doubled. This led to the appointment of uragos to help the dean, above which in status the rank of dean became (before that it was almost the only “non-commissioned officer” rank in the Roman army). The superior title for a dean in service was the rank of tesserary, although Cornizen was considered superior to any dean in the century, since he enjoyed disciplinary rights in relation to all soldiers of the entire century, and not a separate contubernium.

Special honorary posts

Aquilifer (aquilifer - “eagle carrier”)

An honorary position in the army of Ancient Rome, a standard bearer who carried the legionary eagle.
Until 104 BC. e. in the form of a “flag” (symbol of the legion) they could use the image of a wolf, boar, bull, horse, etc., and after that a single standard was introduced (reform of Gaius Marius) - aquila - in the form of a gold or silver eagle. There was only one Aquilifer for the entire legion, he was considered one of the highest non-commissioned officers (rank below centurion) and received double pay. Outside of battle, the aquilifer served as the legion's treasurer and accountant (he was in charge of the legionnaires' savings, placed under the protection of the banner).
Most known images of the aquilifers (Trajan's Column) show them with their heads uncovered (unlike the signifers and other smaller standard-bearers who wore animal skins). However, judging by the few surviving tombstones, in battle the aquilifers wore a lion skin over their helmets with their paws tied around their necks. The armament consisted of a sword (gladius), a dagger (pugio) and a small round shield (parma), which was worn on the side or behind the back on a belt over the shoulder. Aquilifers used chain mail or scale armor as protective equipment. Under the armor was worn a leather "sleeveless vest" with pterigs (rectangular scallops with figured fringe at the ends) on the shoulders and hips. This element of officer's equipment, as well as the lion skin worn exclusively by Praetorian signifers, emphasized the special status of the aquilifer.
The eagle of the legion was supposed to be next to the centurion of the first century of the first maniple of the first cohort, that is, the aquilifer actually accompanied the centurion-primipile.

Signifer (signum - sign, ferre - to carry)

A junior officer in the ancient Roman army who bore the emblem of the cohort, maniple and century - the signum. Each century in the legion had its own signifer, so there were 59 of them in the legion. The signifer of the cohort was the signifer of its first century.
The signum was a long wooden pole topped with a gilded spear or the figure of an open human palm in a round wreath - manus, meaning the oath of allegiance taken by the soldiers. There is a version that signums with a human palm as a pommel belonged to maniples, and those with a spear-shaped pommel - to cohorts and centuries. Below was a plate with the name and number of the unit, as well as the awards with which it was awarded - silver and gold discs (faleras) and wreaths. The signum of the praetorian cohorts contained portraits of the emperor and members of his family.
Signifer of the century was also the treasurer, who was responsible for paying the soldiers' salaries, safeguarding their savings and managing the financial management of the unit.
The external difference of the signifer was a bear or wolf skin, worn over a helmet with paws tied around the neck. The Praetorian signifers had a lion's skin. The weapons consisted of a sword (gladius) and a dagger (pugio). As protective equipment, the signifers used chain mail or scale armor and a small round shield (parma), which was worn on the side of a belt.

Imaginifer

The standard bearer of the Roman legion carried a standard with the image of the emperor, which served as a constant reminder of the army's loyalty to the emperor. The rank of imaginifera appeared in the legions after the cult of the emperor was founded during the reign of Octavian Augustus. “Imago” was a three-dimensional portrait made of metal, which was carried only by the first cohort.
Imaginifera, like all standard-bearers (signiferi) of the Roman army, were distinguished by animal skins worn on a helmet, with paws tied on the chest. The legions wore bear and wolf skins. The weapons consisted of a sword (gladius) and a dagger (pugio). Protective equipment included a helmet, chain mail or scale armor, and a small round shield (parma).

Vexillary (vexillarius, from vexillum - banner, standard)

The name of a standard bearer in the Roman army. Vexillary wore a standard in the form of a slatted rectangle with the emblem and number of a military unit, attached to a crossbar on a long shaft. As a rule, vexillums were the standards of individual military units (foot and cavalry) operating outside the legion. The vixilum also had praetorian cohorts.
Vexillaria, like all standard bearers (signifers) of the Roman army, were distinguished by animal skins worn on a helmet, with paws tied on the chest. The legions wore bear and wolf skins, while the Praetorian Guard wore lion skins. The weapons consisted of a sword (gladius) and a dagger (pugio). Protective equipment included a helmet, chain mail or scale armor, and a small round shield (parma).
During the late Empire (3rd - 5th centuries AD), the vexillum gradually replaced the traditional standards of the Roman army (signum), becoming the main type of Roman banner (in the modern sense of the term). Cornicen In the time of Trajan, the Roman legion had 35 bucinators on staff, usually one on ships. The ship's bucinator was with the captain and gave basic commands to the crew: “alarm”, “to fight”, “to drop anchor”, etc.

Evocatus (pl. evocati)

A soldier of the Roman army who served his term and retired, but returned to service voluntarily at the invitation (evocatio) of the consul or other commander. Such volunteers enjoyed a particularly honorable position in the army, as experienced, seasoned soldiers. They were assigned to special detachments, most often attached to the commander as his personal guard and especially trusted guard.
In terms of their position, evocates approach centurions. They receive high salaries. They are usually attracted to the ranks of the army, in addition to loyalty to the leader, by the promise of a special reward upon completion of the task for which they were called. They were, however, subjected to the usual hardships of soldier labor. With the advent of the regular army and with the consolidation as a principle of recruiting mainly those willing in the era of the Empire, detachments of evocates become more and more rare, but a special corps of evocati Augusti appears, in contrast to which soldiers on extended service are usually called revocati. Evocati Augusti - creation of Emperor Augustus. The imperial evocates constitute a corps of former praetorians (ordinary legionnaires are relatively rare), distributed in Rome and in other garrisons; The evocates are part of both the praetorian cohorts and the legions. Here they occupy a relatively high position: an evocate can expect to become a centurion. They do not receive a soldier's salary (stipendium), but a special (more significant) reward (sularium). In any case, each tactical unit consists of more than one evocate.
Where the inscriptions indicate the special functions of evocates, these are not military, but military-civilian functions, relating mainly to the economic life of the detachments: here there is an agrimensor (land surveyor) for the needs of legionary land ownership (territorium legionis), and an imperial architect (architectus armamentarii imperatoris ), and a prison registrar (acommentariis custodiarum), etc. The main business of the evocates was, judging by one inscription, the management of the provisions of the legions, with which, perhaps, it is necessary to compare the title maioriarius mensorum (senior measurer, perhaps head mensores frumentarii of military units). Evocates played an important role in the grain supply of the praetorians and urban soldiers (urbani) in Rome. Judging by the appearance of their names on lead stamps of grain distributions, they were intermediaries between soldiers and officials in charge of grain distributions since under Nero the Praetorians were included in the plebs frumentaria, that is, the urban population, which enjoyed the right to receive state grain free of charge.

Duplicarius

The general name for junior commanders and commanders in the armies of the Roman system (principals), who received double pay, and also, in addition to this, an independent military rank. It was worn by a kind of “senior soldiers” who were not formally principals and did not hold command or staff positions, but at the same time received a double salary like the principals (in different eras and depending on the type of troops this ranged from 200 to 400 denarii). In the cavalry, one duplicator was regularly assigned to the turma; in the infantry, their number could depend on specific circumstances: if there was a shortage of funds, it was reduced, if there was a shortage of principals, it increased. Duplicators did not exercise disciplinary rights against the soldiers of their unit. They were considered as candidates for filling the positions of principals in centuries, for command positions in turms and als; the interpretation of this rank as an analogue of the modern sergeant is fundamentally erroneous. Also, a simple soldier could be promoted to duplicacy for any specific merits. During the period of the late empire, consolidated teams were formed from duplicators in the infantry - a kind of “army special forces”.

The old trading city of Rome, together with its small district - 983 sq. km. (the border was 17 km from the city) had about 60 thousand inhabitants during the founding of the republic. The state system was characterized by the closest connection between the city and the countryside. All free men, aged from 12 to 48 years old, numbering about 9 thousand, were obliged to serve in military service. Wealthier citizens - horsemen - filled the cavalry (about 600 people). Relatively wealthy people came with hoplite weapons. The poor came upon call with a spear or sling and performed mostly non-combatant service.

Throughout the entire period of the existence of the police in Rome, special attention was paid to its recruitment. The state authorities, the Senate, based on carefully verified census lists, each year compiled a new layout of military duties between communities. The obligation of citizens to report for conscription was not only declared, but also carefully controlled.

Thus, an essential feature of the Roman, as well as the Athenian, militia was the attraction of citizen-owners to arms. The basis of the Roman militia was originally made up of the propertied classes. And the transition subsequently to a professional soldier was associated in Rome, as in Greece, with the transfer of army recruitment to the poor. Such a professional army was capable of achieving the highest level of military art, but was much less connected with the republic and lacked the same political stability that the Roman militia, staffed by the ruling classes and peasants, had.

The Roman Republic was not rich, raising its treasury through taxes on citizens rather than contributions from its allies, like Athens; nevertheless, the soldier was entitled to a ration in Rome, which was valued at 75 denarii per year, and an annual salary of 45 denarii.

Since, instead of one ruler, the army was subordinate to two elected burgomasters of the city - consuls, then it was all divided into 2 parts, 4500 people in each (3000 foot, 300 horse, 1200 non-combatant and lightly armed), which received the name legion. As the population increased, so did the number of legions. The legion was thus an administrative division, while in battle order the entire army represented a closed mass - a phalanx.

At the end of the 4th century BC. the division of police officers depending on their property status was lost; the state was already rich enough to provide the insufficient militiamen with the weapons they needed. The non-combatant composition of the legion (29% versus 50% among the Greeks) was composed of less reliable elements, mainly from the population of recently conquered lands.

The formation began to be divided by age into the youngest - hastati (1200 people), middle - principles (the same number) and the oldest - triarii (600 people), with units of hastati - maniples - forming the front ranks of the phalanx, maniples of principles - middle, and triarii - rear. Professional soldiers cannot be organized like this; each mercenary receives equal pay, and the danger must be divided equally or at random. When Rome, after Cannes, began to move towards the professional soldier, this division by age was lost. But in the organized militia, such a division corresponded to the situation: the more zealous and physically strong youth took on the full brunt of hand-to-hand combat, and the fathers of families, as in the German Landwehr, were in danger only in extreme cases, when it was necessary to fill the gap formed in the phalanx.

The hastati, principles and triarii formed 10 maniples each, with a force of 120 hoplites (the triarii had 60 hoplites). The maniples were built 6 ranks deep and, therefore, the hastati and principles had 20 people in a rank, and the triarii had 10 people each. The maniples were each divided into two centuries, which were built side by side. The front of the legion was formed by 10 maniples of hastati, 200 people along the front. There were small intervals between the maniples - gaps. The meaning of these gaps in the common phalanx was very deep.

When the Roman army, sometimes over ten legions, occupying a front of 1-2 kilometers with its phalanx, advanced, maintaining direction, especially on rough terrain, was very difficult for the entire front. It is known how difficult it is to lead even a deployed company across a smooth field, on a ceremonial march, in a direction marked by linear lines - often only 50 people in one rank, without breaking the alignment and breaks. And in combat conditions, when 2000-3000 people were moving in the first rank, gaps, and quite significant ones, were a common occurrence. Fighting them by stopping and trimming is detrimental to the speed of maneuver and is a palliative. Meanwhile, each gap in the phalanx, exposing two uncovered flanks, represents a ready breakthrough in the battle formation and can lead to defeat.

Therefore, the Romans gave not tactical, but combat independence to each maniple. A line of 20 people, even inexperienced policemen, can easily be trained to move without breaks. Each maniple had its own badge (they were aligned during the general advance), and each policeman was obliged under no circumstances to break away from it and not lose his place in the manipule. The intervals between the maniples, very small, softened the shocks during movement; when the maniples came close together, they diverged somewhat. Normally, at the moment of hand-to-hand combat, they disappeared due to the more free placement of people at the time of attack and use of weapons.

But if, as was repeated many times, a collision with the enemy occurred at the moment a gap formed between two maniples of hastati, then this gap was automatically filled by the maniple of principles standing behind or its century, if the gap could not fit a whole maniple. For this purpose, the maniples of the hastati, principles and trierii did not stand at the back of each other’s heads, but, like in brickwork, the center of subsequent maniples behind the seam of the previous ones.

The intervals between the maniples also had the advantage that they made it possible to use throwing weapons to a much wider extent. With a continuous phalanx, the lightly armed ones operating in front had to retreat behind the flanks in advance so as not to be crushed between two fronts advancing on each other, which, given the short-range weapons of that time, made it possible for the lightly armed to act exclusively in front of the flanks. The gaps between the maniples allowed the lightly armed to hide through them at the time of the decisive battle and, thus, remain in front of the front for a relatively long time.

No matter how obvious the benefits of manipulative construction of the phalanx are, to accept such a formation, it is not enough to guess about it, to know it. We need a prerequisite for the highest level of trust in comrades, for the highest achievements in terms of discipline. For the insufficiently disciplined Greek, only a powerful sense of elbow, only the tangible evidence of the absence of cracks in the phalanx gave him confidence that at the moment of the fight he would not be left to his own devices. The Roman policeman, who grew up under conditions of iron discipline, advanced with a ready gap in a solid phalanx, confidently believing that at the moment of collision this gap would be filled, and two stern conductors of Roman discipline - two centurions - sergeants-major, standing behind in the manipula of principles, obliged to command and necessarily to break their principles, had a sufficiently authoritative appearance to maintain this trust.

In the second half of the 4th century BC. The installation of the final type of weapon of the Roman legionnaire also falls out. The spear, which was not suitable for hand-to-hand combat, was retained only by the triarii, who almost did not participate in the battle. The legionnaire's main weapon was the sword; instead of a spear, hastati and principles had a pilum - a short spear, a dart; approaching a close distance, the first two ranks of hastati, according to a common sign, threw their pilums, and, after this volley, the Roman phalanx quickly rushed into hand-to-hand combat, drawing their swords.

1,200 non-combatant and lightly armed soldiers were distributed administratively, 40 people per maniple. Thus, there were 2 non-combatants for 6 hastati or principles and 3 triarii. About 200 lightly armed men took part in the battle in front of the legion's front. If the latter had an open flank, then a small number of lightly armed soldiers could take part in the battle. A small part followed the triarii to collect the wounded, while the main mass remained to guard the camp.

The superiority of the Romans in tactics was achieved not by creativity in relation to the art of war on the battlefield, but by the superiority of discipline, weapons and the developed method of rapidly attacking dense masses of infantry (standard - 15 ranks). The Roman cavalry, which continued to be recruited from the richest citizens and was built on the flanks, was not distinguished by any particular skill or valor. Like the Greek phalanx, the Roman phalanx was capable of striking only in one direction, and no matter how many legionaries were included in it, it was almost defenseless in the event of an enemy attack from several sides. The maniples did not represent tactical units capable of independent maneuvering, and there was no command staff who could assemble and carry out a tactical maneuver with part of the entire infantry.

The command staff of the Roman police deserves special attention. The senior command staff represented the highest civilian officials. Civilian commanders - consuls (Roman burgomasters) and almost equally civilian generals - legates - and staff officers - tribunes, commanding individual legions, were, in most cases, young men of aristocratic origin, with insignificant combat experience. Such senior command staff could carry out a certain battle plan, but were incapable of creativity and initiative on the battlefield. Even when Rome switched to professional, soldier-based armies, this retention of command in the hands of a civilian magistracy proved possible.

Roman governors and governors - proconsuls and praetors - commanded all the troops of the provinces entrusted to them. The highest Roman commander was not a leader, did not set an example for soldiers in battle, but was an authority giving orders. This is unthinkable with sufficiently disciplined troops; this was unthinkable in Greece, and especially unthinkable in the Middle Ages, when a king or duke in battle was the first knight of his army. The Roman militia was an ideal regular army, over which the law reigned, an amazingly disciplined, unusually obedient instrument, as if created to be ordered.

The conductor of Roman discipline was a junior officer who came from the ranks of the most reliable, experienced and serviceable legionnaires, with an insignificant social position, and approximately performed the functions of a modern sergeant (centurion). However, his type was finally developed when the campaigns became more frequent and lengthened, and when Rome switched to a professional soldier. Strong, energetic, authoritative, although coming from the people, the Roman centurions monitored all the details of the service; Having a grapevine in their hands, they on the spot, in the order of management, punished it for every offense, every omission of the legionnaire. The Roman cavalry, due to the conditions of its recruitment, differed sharply in discipline from the infantry and therefore always yielded to it the glory of victories.

The consul was vested with the power to impose the death penalty in a disciplinary manner. He was preceded by lictors with axes and bundles of rods, which were not only the emblem of the power represented to him by the law, but also the weapon for exercising it on the spot. The consul had the right to decimate, i.e. the death penalty imposed on a tenth of entire combat formations, and such a mass death penalty as a disciplinary punishment for malfunction of the service was not an empty word, but was applied in practice.

The staff officer, the tribune, had the right to impose the strictest corporal punishment, up to and including stoning, which was tantamount to a death sentence; whoever accidentally survived this punishment had to, under pain of death, forever leave the borders of the republic. A sentry found asleep by a centurion making his rounds, and the centurion himself, if he concealed and did not report this offense to his superiors, were necessarily sentenced to the punishment of stoning.

The touchstone of discipline is fortification work. The Greek hoplite had to be persuaded for a long time to take up the shovel; the Roman legionary, after the most tedious march, did not settle down to rest without fortifying the camp with a ditch with a parapet, reinforced with a palisade. A heavily armed Roman legionnaire carried an entrenching tool, and sometimes palisades for a camp if he had to set it up in a treeless place.

Roman military art is remarkable for this iron discipline, thanks to which it was possible to create an empire. The republican form of government not only did not allow the undermining of discipline and the authority of the law, but elevated them to the level of a sacred thing.

Not only the severity and inexorability of disciplinary punishments and the continuous supervision of centurions contributed to raising discipline to such a height, but also drill exercises. Maniples were trained to maintain order in all cases. Several maniples were trained to move in a deployed front, maintaining the intervals taken.

Based on a successful template and excellent discipline, Roman military art made it possible to successfully cope with weak opponents and conquer all of Italy, but put the republic on the brink of destruction when its enemy turned out to be the great commander Hannibal, who had in his hands a tightly knit professional army, with a superbly selected and tactically educated command staff.

Roman Empire 1st century AD The provinces and distribution of the legions are indicated for 67. Three legions under the command of Vespasian (two Syrian and one Egyptian) fight in Judea, suppressing the revolt

By the end of the 2nd century. BC. Rome found itself embroiled in a long war with the Numidians. This war was so unpopular that it became almost impossible to recruit reinforcements for the legions. Marius was the consul tasked with conducting military operations. In these difficult circumstances, he granted access to the legions to all volunteers with Roman citizenship, regardless of their financial status. Poor people poured into the legions. These people did not strive to get rid of service as quickly as possible - on the contrary, they were ready to serve all their lives. Thus the foundations of a professional army were laid.

This was only the last step: the property qualification was significantly reduced even before Marius. But Mari placed greater importance on volunteers. Quite a few people have already made a career in the army from a simple soldier to a centurion. Now the only condition for joining the army was the presence of Roman citizenship. Volunteers served under generals and usually linked their fate with that of their commander. The main source of income for them was not wages, but military booty. People who devoted their lives to the army did not have a household to which they could return after service. Veteran of the 1st century BC could only count on the fact that upon his dismissal, the military commander would provide him with a land plot.

1 - officer, most likely a tribune. Bas-relief from the altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus. He wears a short armor, greaves and a helmet. Weapons: spear, sword and round shield. The sash around the waist is a symbol of rank. For these young officers, coming from the aristocracy, military post was mainly a stepping stone to a political career. The military leaders of Caesar's era were greatly hampered by the inexperience of the tribunes, and therefore command of the legion was transferred to the hands of legates, older and more experienced commanders.
2-4 - image of trophies from a frieze found on the Capitoline Hill in Rome. The armor (2) and helmet (4) belong to the military leader. The armor (3) apparently belongs to a centurion. First half of the 1st century BC.

Legion of the end of the 1st century. AD at the parade. By this time the legion numbered approximately 5,500 men, divided into ten cohorts. The first cohort consists of five Centuries, approximately 160 people each. Other cohorts consist of six centuries, approximately 80 people each. Each legion consists of about 120 horsemen.
CT - centurion, 3 - standard bearer, P - assistant centurion, G - bugler, T - trumpeter.

Under the old system, legions were re-formed before each campaign and therefore lacked a sense of cohesion. Under Mary the situation changed. Each legion received its own banner, an eagle. In the 1st century BC. the legions became permanent. The loss of personnel was replenished by new recruits. The legions did not yet have names, but under Caesar they at least had numbers.

The salary continued to be mainly spent on current expenses: it was used to purchase food and equipment. It was probably only under Caesar, who doubled soldiers' pay at the beginning of the civil war, that this payment began to be considered as a source of income.

Around the same time, the structure of the legion changed radically. The maniples of the triarii were increased to the same size as the maniples of the hastati and principi, and combined with them into cohorts. Thus, the legion now consisted not of thirty maniples, but of ten cohorts. Despite the fact that the gradual introduction of soldiers into battle was preserved from the previous tactics based on division into maniples, the legion acquired greater flexibility of action. The legion could now form in one, two, three or four ranks. This became possible due to the fact that the division into hastati, principles and triarii was eliminated. All the soldiers were now armed with a sword and a pilum. The maniple, apparently, has lost its former combat significance. However, the division into centuries was preserved, as was the rank of centurion, and in camps and fortresses soldiers were still stationed in centuries.

After the Civil Rights War, all Italians living south of the Po River received Roman citizenship. This meant that all differences between the Roman and allied legions were eliminated. From now on, the legion becomes just a legion, and nothing else, and no longer includes an equal number of soldiers from the cities allied with Rome.

The trend towards the elimination of differences within the legion, as well as between the legion and the alai (allied legion), was supported by the abolition of lightly armed skirmishers (velites) and legionary cavalry. This is a very important change. The former legion, with its cavalry, additional allied cavalry, light infantry, siege engines and sappers, included all branches of the army. Now, although the legion in many ways became a more advanced fighting unit, especially in the hands of such a brilliant commander as Caesar, in some cases it required external support.

Since the war with Hannibal, the Romans used military specialists from all over the Mediterranean: Cretan archers, Balearic slingers, Numidian light cavalry. But now the Romans needed large cavalry detachments. Caesar used Gallic and Germanic cavalry, while also employing Germanic (as well as Numidian) tactics: cavalry fighting alongside light infantry. Spain supplied both cavalry and infantry, both heavy and light. These units were called "auxilia", auxiliary troops that were neither Roman nor allied.

On the march, the old army was always accompanied by a long train. The convoys not only represented easy prey for the enemy, but also greatly slowed down the advance of the army. Mari forced the legionnaires to carry all the necessary supplies on themselves, which is why his soldiers were nicknamed “Mari’s Mules.” The convoys were not eliminated, but were greatly reduced and became more organized.

The legion was still commanded by six tribunes. However, this position has lost its former significance. In the days of the Republic, such a post was usually held by older people, such as former consuls, but now it was usually given to young men who expected to enter the Senate or simply wanted a taste of military life. Only twenty quaestors (from people at least thirty years of age) were elected to the Senate annually. Since there were many more tribunes, the rest, all the equestrians (the second estate of the Roman aristocracy), may simply have enjoyed serving in the army. The service life of officers was unlimited. Above the stands were prefects who could command the cavalry (praefectus equitum), the fleet (praefectus classis) or the sappers (praefectus fabrum). What the prefects had in common was that they held their position singly (and not in pairs, like tribunes), their position was usually less permanent, and they were appointed personally by the military leader. Service as tribune and prefect represented natural steps to the higher office of legate.

Legates were usually appointed senators, which in the last century of the republic meant that he had to serve at least as a quaestor. Like most positions in the Roman army, the position of legate has existed for a long time. The right to appoint people who could be entrusted with the power and responsibility of a legate usually belonged to the general. The legates of Pompey and Caesar were a close-knit group of experienced warriors, although sometimes, for political reasons, not quite suitable people were appointed as legates, as well as tribunes. Caesar often instructed his legates to command either a legion, or several legions, or auxiliary cavalry, or some other unit. So the legates were not inextricably linked to any particular legion. However, such people were clearly more suitable for commanding a legion during hostilities than the tribunes of Caesar's time.

The consuls inherited the position of commanders-in-chief from the king. Please note the plural: the republic did not know the sole command of the army, except in cases of extreme need. Even in the face of Hannibal's invasion, consuls continued to be replaced annually; but in addition to the troops which they recruited or received from their predecessors, there were other units under the command of former consuls or praetors, who were given additional powers, with the result that they rose to the rank of proconsuls and propraetors.

This expansion of the powers of senior officials turned out to be the simplest way to appoint governors in the provinces that Rome began to acquire after the war with Hannibal. As the theaters of war moved further and further from Rome itself, the proconsul had to fight alone, without a colleague to hold him back. So Caesar was originally such a proconsul. He, with his ten legions, held the three Gallic provinces and newly conquered territories for ten years, and then turned the legions, which by that time had finally become his own, and set off on a campaign against Rome.

The legion of the early Empire was not very different from the legion of Caesar's time. Cohorts one through ten still included five hundred people each and were divided into six centuries. However, starting approximately from the second half of the 1st century. AD the first cohort was increased to eight hundred men and divided into five centuries instead of six. One hundred and twenty horsemen were added to the legion to serve as scouts and messengers. Thus, the total strength of the legion was brought to approximately 5,500 people.

The legions continued to be recruited exclusively from among Roman citizens. At the end of the Republic, Roman citizenship was granted to all Italians and gradually spread to the west. Spain, southern Gaul, the old "province" (later Provence) provided significant reinforcements for the western legions. But in the east it was more difficult to recruit recruits, because citizens of the eastern provinces were granted citizenship less often. Here people who did not have Roman citizenship were often accepted into the legions. Citizenship was granted to them upon enrollment in the army.

There were about thirty legions. They formed the basis of the army. These were offensive units. They were used for further conquests, to suppress uprisings and repel invasions.

These thirty-odd legions, left over from numerous legions during the civil wars, have now become permanent military units, in which soldiers were required to serve a certain period of time. Preference was given to volunteers. The Italians increasingly wanted not to serve or to serve in units located in Rome, which will be discussed below. But the number of Roman citizens in the provinces grew: the sons of legionaries, the sons of auxiliary soldiers whose fathers had secured citizenship for their sons, people from communities who had received citizenship. And many of these people were ready to join the army. So Italy, one might say, managed to get away with it. True, new legions could be formed there, but in practice this rarely happened.

Many legions arose from rival armies spawned by the twenty years of civil war that raged from 50 to 30 BC. Because of this, some legion numbers were duplicated (for example, there were three Third Legions). If a legion was defeated, a legion with that number was no longer created. For example, the three legions of Augustus, XVII, XVIII and XIX, which died in the Teutoburg Forest, were never restored. The legions were assigned numbers from I to XXII. Trajan added XXX, but after Vespasian the emperors preferred to give new legions numbers I to III. At one time there were five Third Legions. In addition to numbers, the legions also had names. Titles may have been given from the very beginning, or given for valor in battle or loyalty to the emperor.

For many decades, the army of Rome had no equal. The external enemies of the republic, and then the empire, one after another collapsed under the ramming blow of the cohorts, overshadowed by the shadow of the golden eagle. The Romans thought through everything to the smallest detail and created an organizational masterpiece of their time, deservedly called the “war machine.”

During the years of the empire, the army of Rome consisted of praetorian cohorts, legions, auxiliaries (auxiliary troops), numeri and several other types of armed units.

To begin with, a few words about the praetorians, in fact, the emperor’s personal guard. Their cohorts were called aquitatae and were approximately 80% foot soldiers. Each consisted of 10 centuries, commanded by a tribune. The number of cohorts and their numbers could vary, but on average the Roman Empire had 9–10 cohorts of 500 people each. Overall command of the praetorians was exercised by two praetorian prefects. The identifying mark of the cohorts was a scorpion. Their main location was a military camp in the vicinity of Rome. Three cohorts urbanae were also located there. As the name suggests, these units were responsible for security and order within Rome.

Praetorians. Column of Marcus Aurelius

Also present in the capital of the empire were the emperor's personal cavalry - eqiuites singulars Augusti (from 500 to 1000 people) and his personal bodyguards - Germans from the Batavian tribe. The latter were called corporis custodes and numbered up to 500 soldiers.

The most numerous and at the same time the most famous part of the Roman army are the legions (legio). During the period of reforms of Emperor Octavian Augustus (31 BC - 14 AD), there were 25 legions. Each had its own number and name, originating from the place of formation or from the name of the one who formed the legion. The common emblem of the largest military formations in Rome were golden eagles, which the soldiers treated as sacred relics.

Each legion consisted of approximately 5,000 men (mostly infantry) and included 10 cohorts. The cohort was divided into six centuries, approximately 80 people each. The only exception was the first cohort. It consisted of five centuries of double strength, that is, of approximately 800 people.

Centuria - cohort - legion

Each legion consisted of 120 horsemen. This has been the standard amount for a very long time. It was not until the time of Emperor Gallienus (253–268 AD) that the legion's cavalry numbers grew to 726 men.

Among the 59 centurions of the legion, the highest in rank was the primipile, who commanded the first century of the first cohort. The legion also included five tribunes angusticlavia from among the equestrian class of Rome and one or more six-month tribunes who commanded the cavalry. One person served as camp prefect. The Senate aristocracy, or even the emperor himself, was represented in the legion by one tribune laticlavius. The commander of the legion until the time of Emperor Gallienus was the legate.

For about 200 years, from 28 BC. and until the end of the 2nd century AD, Rome lost eight legions for various reasons, but formed twice as many instead. This brought the total number of legions to 33.

List of destroyed or disbanded legions of the Roman Empire

List of newly formed legions of the Roman Empire

The second component of the Roman army, comparable in size to legions, were auxiliary troops - auxiliaries. As a rule, equal numbers of auxiliary troops marched with the legions on a military campaign. Each auxiliary unit consisted of 500 to 1,000 infantry or cavalry. The units into which the auxiliary troops were divided were in turn divided into cohorts, als and numeri (units).

The most privileged among the auxiliaries were the mounted units - aly. Each of them consisted of 16–24 turmas with 30–32 horsemen each. Scarlet was commanded by a prefect or tribune. The unit could include both heavily armed horsemen, like cataphracts, and light cavalry, unprotected and armed only with a shield and javelins. Among other things, there were exotic ala dromedarii - camel riders for war in the deserts.

Ala auxiliaries. Trajan's Column

The infantry cohorts of the auxiliary troops were divided into six or ten centuries, depending on whether they were five hundred or thousand strong. They, like the cavalry alai, were commanded by tribunes or prefects. The status of auxiliary cohorts depended on who recruited them. For example, some of the cohorts were recruited on a voluntary basis from citizens of Rome and were equated in status to legionnaires. In the cohorts whose status was less honorable, free residents of the Roman Empire who did not have the rank of citizen served. Citizenship, along with the benefits due to him, was a reward for 25 years of service in the auxiliaries.

The infantry cohorts of the auxiliary troops varied greatly in both armament and functional tasks. They could be heavy, as close as possible to legions. They could be “medium” in terms of the severity of their weapons - as a rule, such units were recruited in different regions of the empire. The light infantry of the auxiliaries were armed with various throwing devices (Balearic slingers, Cretan and Syrian archers).

There could even be mixed cohorts of auxiliaries - they included both infantry and cavalry. If this was a cohort of five hundred, then it included six centuries of foot and three cavalry. If the thousandth, then 10 centuries of infantry and six turmoil of horsemen.

An auxiliary with a severed head in his teeth. Trajan's Column

Auxiliary units were called by the name of the people from which their original composition was recruited (cohorts Afrorum, Thracum, Dalmatorum, ala Hispanorum, Pannoniorum), or by the name of the unit commander (the most famous example is ala Siliana). Often the name of the emperor by whose will the cohort was created (cohorts Augusta, Flavia, Ulpia), honorary titles (Faithful, Pious, Victorious) and clarifications (sagittariorum - archers, veteran - veteran) were added to the name. Cohorts often moved around the Roman Empire fighting, and could completely lose their original ethnic composition, as losses were replenished right where the unit was located at that moment.

A separate phenomenon in the Roman army were numeri. This unit name was used in two meanings. The first is any detachment that was not a legion, scarlet or cohort. An example would be the legate's personal bodyguards. The second meaning referred to a group of warriors who were not Romans and retained their ethnic characteristics. This category appeared during the reign of Emperor Domitian (81–96 AD).

Horse ala and numeri. Trajan's Column

Numeri could be mounted, on foot, mixed and varied in number. Researchers explain the appearance of this kind of units by the fact that in the 2nd century a stream of Roman citizens and Romanized stateless residents of the empire poured into the ranks of the auxilaries. It was considered undesirable to combine barbarians and Romans in one unit, so something new had to be created.

Essentially, in the 2nd century, numeri became what auxiliaries had been before. These varied units not only gave Roman tactics flexibility and variety. They performed a social function, contributing to the process of Romanization of the provinces.

If you evaluate the total number of troops that the Roman Empire had in the 1st–2nd centuries AD, you will see that it was constantly growing. At the beginning of the reign of Octavian Augustus, the army consisted of approximately 125 thousand legionaries, approximately the same number of auxiliaries, a ten thousand Roman garrison and a fleet (most likely up to 40 thousand people). Total - approximately 300 thousand soldiers. By the end of the reign of Emperor Septimius Severus (193–211 AD), researchers estimate that the number of troops had grown to approximately 450 thousand people.

Legion diagram. From P. Connolly’s encyclopedia “Greece and Rome”

The legions were stationed in different provinces of the Roman Empire. Troops based in the interior ensured security in the region. And if the legion stood on the border, then the territory of war invariably stretched around it, where wars and skirmishes did not stop. When the peace of the Pax Romana was once again violated, the time came for a new military campaign.

To be continued

Sources and literature:

1. Vegetius Flavius ​​Renat. Brief summary of military affairs/Trans. from lat. S. P. Kondratyeva. - VDI, 1940, No. 1.
2. Tacitus Cornelius. Annals. Small works. History/Edition prepared by A. S. Bobovich, Y. M. Borovsky, G. S. Knabe and others. M., 2003.
3. Flavius ​​Joseph. Jewish War/Trans. from Greek Ya. L. Chertka. St. Petersburg, 1900.
4. Le Boek Ya. The Roman army of the era of the early empire / Transl. from fr. M., 2001.
5. Makhlayuk A.V. Army of the Roman Empire. Essays on traditions and mentality. N. Novgorod., 2000.
6. Makhlayuk A.V. Roman legions in battle. Moscow., 2009.
7. Connolly P. Greece and Rome. The evolution of military art over 12 centuries: Encyclopedia of military history: Trans. from English M., 2001.
8. Boltinskaya L.V. On the question of the principles of recruiting the Roman army under the Julius-Claudians (according to military diplomas) // Questions of General History. Vol. 3. Krasnoyarsk, 1973. p. 18–23.

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