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Roman Military
The Roman military was intertwined with the Roman state much more
closely than in a modern European nation. Josephus describes the
Roman people being as if they were "born ready armed." and the
Romans were for long periods prepared to engage in almost
continuous warfare, absorbing massive losses. For a large part of
Rome's history, the Roman state existed as an entity almost solely to
support and finance the Roman military.
The military's campaign history stretched over 1300 years and saw
Roman armies campaigning as far East as Parthia (modern-day Iran),
as far south as Africa (modern-day Tunisia) and Aegyptus (modernday Egypt) and as far north as Britannia (modern-day England,
Scotland, and Northeast Wales).
The makeup of the Roman military changed substantially over its
history, from its early history as an unsalaried citizen militia to a later
professional force. The equipment used by the military altered greatly
in type over time, though there were very few technological
improvements in weapons manufacture, in common with the rest of
the classical world. For much of its history, the vast majority of Rome's
forces were maintained at or beyond the limits of its territory, in order
to either expand Rome's domain, or protect its existing borders.
At its territorial height, the Roman Empire may have contained
between 45 million and 120 million people. Historian Edward Gibbon
estimated that the size of the Roman army "most probably formed a
standing force of 3,750,000" men at the Empire's territorial peak in
the time of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. This estimate probably
included only legionary and auxiliary troops of the Roman army.
There is no archaeological evidence that suggests that women
constituted a significant proportion of troops even amongst the
federated troops of the late empire. For the majority of its history, the
Roman army was open to male recruits only, and for a greater part of
that history only those classified as Roman citizens (as opposed to
allies, provincials, freedmen and slaves) were eligible for military
service.
Military Culture
In the legions of the Republic, discipline was fierce and training harsh,
all intended to instill a group cohesion or esprit de corps that could
bind the men together into effective fighting units. Unlike opponents
such as the Gauls, who were fierce individual warriors, Roman military
training concentrated on instilling teamwork and maintaining a level
head over individual bravery - troops were to maintain exact
formations in battle and "despise wild swinging blows" in favor of
sheltering behind one's shield and delivering efficient stabs when an
opponent made himself vulnerable.
Loyalty was to the Roman state but pride was based in the soldier's
unit, to which was attached a military standard - in the case of the
legions a legionary eagle. Successful units were awarded with
accolades that became part of their official name, such as the 20th
legion, which became the XX Valeria Victrix (the "Valiant and
Victorious 20th").
Power Projection
The Roman military was keen on the doctrine of power projection - it
frequently removed foreign rulers by force or intimidation and replaced
them with puppets. This was facilitated by the maintenance, for at
least part of its history, of a series of client states and other subjugate
and buffer entities beyond its official borders, although over which
Rome extended massive political and military control. On the other
hand, this also could mean the payment of immense subsidies to
foreign powers and opened the possibility of extortion in case military
means were insufficient.