Download THE EMPIRE OF ROME

THE EMPIRE OF ROME
 Infrastructure: Set of equipment, technology or installations that
allow a activity or service
 Legion; Unit of Roman army consisting of 6000 soldiers
Vocabulary
 Limes: Latin word meaning road or border the English word limit
comes from limes
 Rule of Law: a state under which once a law is known it cannot be
ignored by anyone including the authorities. This is the
foundation of all modern democracies.
 Pax Romana: the peace of Rome
 During the first and second centuries CE the Roman Empire
underwent a lengthy period of peace as it had defeated much of
the western world
 This Pax Romana allowed the State to develop its territory and
develop its infrastructure which was always expanding
The Height of
Rome
 Peace allowed the transportation of goods and services and
allowed the money to flow
 Major public works and improvements to infrastructure were
undertaken
 Rome was famed for its roads which allowed its army to move
quickly from one end of the empire to the other
 A famous saying is that all roads lead to Rome
 The Empire was built on the army, as the army maintained it and
expanded it
 One of Rome's big advantages is that it had the world’s first
professional army
The Roman
Army
 Most countries soldiers were farmers or had other jobs but in
Rome a soldier was only in the Army
 These soldier were paid to go into battle and trained at marching
and fighting all year even in times of peace
 The Army was made up of about 330 000 men including
auxiliaries(non Roman citizens)
 They could maintain this army by providing soldiers pay and
benefits. When a soldier retired he would receive money or land
 The standard force of the Roman Imperial army was the legions, a
heavy infantry, initially composed of Roman citizens
 The number of legions in existence at one time often varied, but a
rough average is 28. The make-up of each Legion was as follows:
 10 cohorts to one legion
Breakdown of
the Army
 six centuries to one cohort
 10 tents to one cohort
 eight soldiers to one tent
 120 cavalry - not really a fighting force, but messengers and
scouts.
 The Legions were later supplemented by the auxiliaries, who were
normally non-citizens, and combined cavalry and infantry, there were
four main forms of Auxiliary force
Auxiliaries
 1. Alae quingenariae; one ala of 16 turma; one turma of 30 men; 480
men
 2. Infantry cohort; one cohort of six centuries; one century of 80 men;
480 men
 3. Cohorts equitates; mixed infantry and cavalry. The Auxiliaries were
commanded by Prefects of the equestrian rank. However, as the
auxiliaries developed, a forth kind of troop was introduced, this
reflected the fact the auxiliaries had developed into a status very
similar to that of the legionaries.
 4. Numeri; from the 2nd century onwards, formed from local tribes,
around 500 men, they didn’t have to speak Latin, and often fought in
keeping with their local tradition.
 When a soldier of the Auxiliaries was discharged, he received a
military diploma, which granted him and his children Roman
citizenship and gave legal acceptance of any marriage; for many this
was a very attractive reward for joining (and surviving) service in the
Auxiliaries.
 The Praetorian Guard was in effect the Emperor’s personal body
guard and consisted of 9 cohorts.
Centurion
Legionaire
Auxiliary