Download Military history of ancient Rome

MILITARY HISTORY OF
ANCIENT ROME
THE FIGHTING MEN WHO MADE ROME LEGENDARY
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
• What role did Rome’s military play in its expansion from a
relatively small city-state to an empire?
RULED BY FOREIGN POWERS
• Rome’s military might was among the primary reasons the
Republic was able to conquer and control so much territory
• Initially, Rome was only a small city on the western banks of the
Tiber River. The Etruscans dominated central Italy at the time.
They ruled Rome and many other cities of Etruria and Latium
• Rome was ruled by foreign powers until 509 B.C when the last
Etruscan king, the tyrannical Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, also
known as Tarquin the Proud, was overthrown
THE LAST KING OF ROME
• In 509 B.C.E., the last Etruscan king, the tyrannical Lucius
Tarquinius Superbus, also known as Tarquin the Proud, was
overthrown
• Tarquin and his family was expelled peacefully but soon
returned seeking to reassert their power over Rome.
• Tarquin failed in his attempt to re-conquer the Romans, and
asked other Etruscan cities for help
REVOLUTION AGAINST
ETRUSCAN RULLE
• Only Lars Porsena, king of the Etruscan city
Clusium gave aid to Tarquin
• In 508 B.C.E. Porsena besieged Rome. The attack was
ostensibly made to restore Tarquin, but some
historians argue that Porsena’s campaign was
motivated by a desire to rule Rome himself
• This struggle lasted until Porsena and the
Etruscans made peace and withdrew in 506 B.C.
Accounts differ on why this occurred
• Etruscan sources claim that Porsena conquered
Rome, and had to be forcibly expelled
•
Roman sources claim that several shows of
great bravery by the Romans caused the
Etruscans to sue for peace
EARLY ROMAN ARMY
• At this time, the Romans and the
Etruscans fought primarily in the
phalanx style. Like Greek armies, the
phalanxes were supported by light
troops (skirmishers) and cavalry
• The king Servius Tullius, one of the few
Roman kings of Rome, re-organized the
army from a force of aristocrats into
a citizen-army
• Wealth and age determined military
duties
• Juniores (age 17 to 45) fought outside of
the city walls
• Seniores (46-60) were tasked with
defending the city
TREATIES WITH THE LATINS
• When the conflict ended, Rome was no longer under threat of Etruscan
rule
• Once Rome fended off the Etruscans, around 30 Italian city-states formed an
anti-Roman alliance know as the Latin League
• The Latin League suffered attacks from tribes in the Apennine Mountains, a
long mountain range that separates Italy into an eastern and western side.
• The attacks of the mountain tribes led Rome and the other Latin city-states to
sign a mutual defense treaty known as the Cassian Treaty
• In 486 BCE, the Romans, signed another treaty with the Apennine Mountain
tribe known as the Hernici, who were under threat from the Volsci tribe
• With help from the Latin-League and the Hernici, the Romans defeated the
Volsci. Romans and Latins settled in the Volsci’s former lands
EXPANDING CONTROL & POWER IN
CENTRAL ITALY
• Rome fought two wars
against Veii for control of
the region around the Tiber
River
• In 405 B.C.E., the Romans began
a war to annex the city of
Veii, which lay Northwest of
Rome
• After a 10 year siege that
included some severe defeats,
the Romans, led by the
consul Marcus Furius
Camillus, dug a tunnel
beneath the walls of Veii and
conquered the city
• Camillus’ conquests
expanded Rome’s territory by
70% and made Rome the most
powerful nation in Central
Italy
THE BATTLE OF ALLIA
• In 387 BCE, a warband of the Gallic Senones
tribes, led by the warchief Brennus, attacked
from Cisalpine Gaul (northern Italy)
• The Senones defeated the Romans at the Battle
of Allia
• The center of the Roman battle line was a
hoplite phalanx made up of many of rome’s
older citizens.
• The Roman flanks were comprised of poorer
and poorly armed troops (they had to supply
their own equipment) and were quickly
routed by the Senones, who then surrounded
and destroyed the phalanx center
• The battle of allia was one of the worst
military disasters in the history of the roman
republic
THE SACK OF ROME
• After the battle, the senones
entered and sacked rome doing
great damage to the city
• The invaders demanded 1,000 lbs. of
gold as ransom for leaving the city
• The defeat at allia and the
humiliation of the gauls’ conquest
of the city, created changes in the
roman army
AFTERMATH OF ALLIA
• The Gallic invaders taught Rome much
about weaponry. Their successful incursion
showed the romans the need to modify their
legions to combat the sword-wielding gauls
• The Senones were much better equipped than
the Romans, wearing chainmail and
wielding longswords
• Before the senones invasion, rome fought
against similarly armed and equipped armies
CAMILLIAN REFORMS
• Following the disaster of Allia,
Marcus Camillus overhauled the
Roman Legions
• The hoplite phalanx style spear
was replaced by the shorter
“hasta” spear Legions still fought
in the Phalanx formation
• Hasta was 6 Ft. Long and made
primarily of ash
• Early legionaries were equipped
with short stabbing swords, but
The spear remained the primary
weapon
• The reach of the spear allowed
soldiers to strike from a further
distance than the sword
AFTERMATH OF
BRENNUS’ INVASION
• Many of the Italian city-states and
mountain tribes Rome had subjugated
were emboldened by Rome’s catastrophic
defeat at the hands of the senones
• The etruscans, along with the Aequi and
Volsci tribes all waged war against the
romans between 390 BCE and 380 BCE
• In 360 bce, rome’s former allies, the
hernici, allied with the cities of
praeneste and tibur in an attempt to
halt the spread of roman influence
• All of these enemies were defeated and
their territories were annexed by rome
• Rome’s victory gave them dominance of
central Italy
FIRST SAMNITE WAR
(343 BCE-341 BCE)
•
In 343 BCE, the Samnites raided the lands of the Sidicini
tribe
•
The Campani tribe sent aid to the Sidicini. When this
occurred, the Samnites retaliated by attacking Capua, a
wealthy city-state in the Campania region of central italy
•
The Capuans asked Rome for help. Rome decided to switch
sides and support the Capuans against the Samnites.
•
Rome sought to prevent the samnites from gaining capua’s
wealth and manpower and to secure it for themselves
•
With the help of the Romans, Capua expelled the Samnites,
and swore allegiance to rome. Their wealth and
manpower would be vital to later war efforts
•
The Romans faced troop mutiny following the victory,
but the Samnites faced attacks from the greeks of
Tarentum (in south Italy) so both sides agreed to renew
the treaty of 354 BCE, ending the war
SECOND SAMNITE WAR
• Fought between 326 BCE and 304 BCE
• Also called the Great Samnite War
• The romans and the samnites fought
together during the latin war (340-338 BCE).
Samnite aid was crucial to roman victory,
which gave the romans dominion over the
latin tribes and the latium region of
central italy
• After subduing the latin tribes, the romans
sought to extend their territory
southwards
• Rome intentionally provoked the war by building colonies in Samnium
• The Samnites reacted by declaring war on the Romans
• Samnites were busy with the city Neapolis on Italy’s western coast
• Neapolis and the Samnites formed an alliance to help the Neapolitans expand from the
coast but the city’s aristocracy felt threatened by the Samnites’ military presence and wa
broke out
• Unable to resist the Samnites, the Neapolitans asked Rome for help, which Rome gave
EARLY STAGES OF THE
GREAT SAMNITE WAR
•
The first 5 years of the war saw the Roman legions have
great success
•
However, the tide turned in the Samnites’ favor at the Battle
of Caudine Forks
•
Two Roman armies attempted an invasion of Samnium in 321
BCE
•
They were tricked by Samnite soldiers dressed as shepherds
and went through the narrow mountain pass known as the
Caudine Forks, which had only one entrance and one exit
•
The Samnites barricaded one side and occupied the other,
leaving Roman armies trapped in the Caudine Forks
•
After several days, the Romans began to run low on food
and water and surrendered. The Romans were forced to go
“under the yoke”, a humiliating ritual for defeated and
disgraced warriors. The insult was heightened by the yoke
being made of captured Roman spears.
•
600 Equites were handed over as hostages and a pro-samnite
peace was established
•
This defeat would serve as motivation for the Romans for
the remainder of the war
SECOND STAGE OF
THE WAR
PRODUCTS OF THE GREAT SAMNITE WAR
TROOPS AND
FORMATIONS OF THE
EARLY REPUBLICAN
LEGIONS
MOVING FROM GREEK-STYLE PHALANX TO ITALIANSTYLE MANIPLE
QUINCUNX FORMATION
• Once the manipular system became universal, The standard Roman legion
went to battle in the “quincunx” formation
• This formation was revoluntionary at the time
• Each line of the army could retreat through gaps in the line behind it to
regroup. This also gave the legion flexibility
• In other armies, front line troops or skirmishers would create great
chaos in the lines behind them by running through solid walls of
infantry
MANIPULAR FORMATION (PRE-BATTLE)
MANIPULAR FORMATION (POST-SKIRMISHING)
ADDITIONAL FORMATIONS
VELITES
• Velites were The youngest and poorest
men in republican legions who couldn’t
afford much equipment—if any at all
• Velites carried javelins, a gladius, and at
times, a small round shield
• Primary role was as skirmishers. They
flung their javelins at the enemy to
scatter other skirmishers or to break
up the enemy’s battle line
• Once their javelins were gone or melee
became imminent, velites retreated
through the gaps in the hastati and
helped defend the flanks
HASTATI
• The Frontline was made up of
troops called Hastati
• Hastati were young poor soldiers
who had to supply their own
armor (the roman senate only
gave spear and shield)
• Most could only afford the small
“Heart Protector”
• They took their name from the
hasta spear they often carried in
the early roman era
• In the republican era, the senate
equipped hastati with gladii and
scutum. Two pilum (for throwing)
replaced the hasta
PRINCIPES
• The second line in an early
republican legion was made
up of principes (individually
called princeps)
• These were older wealthier
citizens in the prime of their
lives
• They could afford good
armor and equipment
• Principes were deployed
when the hastati and velites
failed to break the enemy
• Principes armor was called
‘lorica hamata’ in latin
• Like hastati they carried the
large scutum shield, a
gladius, two pilum, and the
pugio dagger
TRIARII
•
Triarii were the last part of republican legions
to carry the hasta
•
Unlike other legionaries, triarii fought in the
phalanx formation
•
Triarii were wealthy and experienced citizens,
able to afford the best equipment
•
Triarii formed the third and final line of the
legions
•
These soldiers kneeled behind the principes to
preserve their energy
•
Triarii were the last resort when the hastati
and principes failed to break the enemy
•
Their duty was to hold the enemy so the army
could retreat or regroup
•
If the triarii saw battle, the legion was In a
desperate situation and likely facing defeat
•
“res ad triarios venit” (latin for ‘going to the
triarii’) became a roman idiom for a desperate
situation
EQUITES
• Drawn from the wealthy eques
(or equestrian) class
• Played an underrated but
important role in the Legions
• Primary function was to chase
off skirmishers and run down
fleeing enemies
• Roman cavalry was a respectable
force, often triumphing over
the heavier cavalry of their
enemies
• The roman cavalry was only
soundly beaten by the cavalry of
the Carthaginian general
Hannibal Barca, who made use of
light Numidian cavalry
POLYBIAN/MID-REPUBLIC LEGION
• Older “important” romans (from the patrician
class) were removed from the frontline
• Younger, stronger troops were placed on the
frontlines, instead of the most wealthy
• The new structure reinforced the roman social
order by having poor in most danger and the
rich in relative safety
• Conflict with the samnites during the samnite
war (343 BCE-290 BCE transformed the legions
from a phalanx force to a manipular force
THIRD SAMNITE WAR
OUTBREAK OF WAR
• This conflict was the first attempt by the
aggregate people of Italy to stop the
spread of Roman power in the peninsula
• In 298 BCE, the Samnites sought to forcibly
make the Lucanians of South Italy their
allies.
• The Lucanians asked Rome for help, which
Rome gave, launching the Third Samnite
War
• Rome feared the strength the Samnites
would gain if they absorbed the
Lucanians
• After their defeat at the Battle of
Tifernum (295 BCE), the Samnites realized
they couldn’t defeat Rome alone and
formed a coalition of Etruscans, Senones
Gauls, and Umbrians to stop the growth
of Roman dominance
BATTLE OF SENTINUM
(295 BCE)
• The crucial battle for control of
Italy
• Featured more troops than any
other battle in history to that
point
• Rome sent a small army to
threaten the Etruscans and
Umbrians, forcing them to return
to their home territories to
defend them.
• The coalition lost some 30,000 men
to this ruse, reducing their
strength from 80,000 to 50,000. The
Romans brought 40,000 men to the
battle
• Only the Senones and Samnites
fought in this pivotal battle
BATTLE OF
SENTINUM
•
Publius Decimus Mus commanded
the Roman flank opposed by the
Gauls. Q. Fabius Maximus Rullianus
commanded the flank opposing
the Samnites
•
Mus’ army was nearly routed by
the Gallic chariots but rallied
after Mus committed devotio a
form of ritual self-sacrifice, by
riding alone into the Gallic army
•
Fabius Rullianus was able to defeat
the Samnites on his flank, then
ordered his forces to attack the
Gallic flanks with the full weight
of his army, driving them and
Samnites from the battlefield
END OF THE THIRD
SAMNITE WAR
THE PYRRHIC WAR
PYRRHIC WARS