Chris Quinn & Desmond Hall <>

 Legions or “levy” was the basic military unit  Legions were always made of Roman citizens  Solders were armed according to their wealth & status  Campaigning Season was a series of wars that led to Roman conquest Senatus Populusque Romanus! (senate)

Roman soldiers in legions would be equipped with what is shown During the Late Roman Empire, soldiers begun wearing chain- mail and “Lorica Segmentata” or laminated-strip armor Cavalry would be equipped with bronze cuirasses and then chain-mail

Three periods of Rome’s Army Early Roman Army (700B.C.-300B.C.) Army of the Roman Republic (300B.C.- 107B.C.) Imperial Roman Army (107B.C.- 284A.D.) Late Roman Army (284A.D.-641A.D.)

 Known as Regal Era  Altogether had 9,000 men in legion  2,400 light armed men, 600 cavalry, and 6,000 heavy armed men  Main fighting formation was Phalanx; adopted from the Greeks  There were two praetors and each one controlled 4,500 men  Smaller formations were called Centurias and consisted of 100 men

Early Roman Army Formation

 Many Plebeians were not happy with early government rule  Less important citizens had little rights  Built up tension led to a revolt by the citizens  Ultimately the monarchy was overthrown beginning the Roman Republic  This would lead to many changes in the structure of Rome’s army especially by Marius Gracchus

 Made Legion more efficient by splitting up into smaller groups of troops  Create Auxiliaries or “Alae” which are non- citizens that make up half of the Roman Army  By this time the Romans had 4 legions and 4 auxiliaries (Two legions per council)  *Romans abandoned the phalanx and create Tortoise formation*  The Roman Army would reach 250,000 men by the end of this period

Cavalry- 150 men Cohorts- 480 men Ferentarii- 160 men Triarii- 80 men

 Rome’s navy was founded in 311 B.C.  It consisted of Roman Galleons, Biremes, and Triremes  Was at one time the biggest Navy in the world  Its biggest use to the Romans was during the Punic Wars  Each ship had a Corvus which allowed Roman warriors to board other ships  After conquest of Carthage Rome’s navy was down-sized because the Roman Empire was mainly accustom to land  The use of Rome’s navy turned to trade and transportation in the Mediterranean Sea

 The Roman Republic would be turned into an empire by one man  This man was Julius Caesar and he would become so powerful that he became sole ruler of Rome  When Caesar was in power the Roman Army reached record numbers and it would never reach that size again  Under Caesar the council was useless and this would ultimately lead to his death  When Caesar was killed by members of the council, his son Augustus took control of Rome and ruled as dictator

 The Roman Empire was lead by Julius Caesar and then Augustus Caesar  “Pax Romana” or golden age of Rome occurred during this time  The Roman Army was said to have reached 450,000 men  Incorporated “Praefecti” (Auxiliary commander) and “Legatus Augusti Pro Praetore” (overall commander of Auxililaries) into Roman Empire  *Around 280 A.D. the decline of Rome began*

 The main importance of the Imperial Navy was to protect trade ships from barbarians  Misenum, built in 31 B.C., was the main Roman naval base of the Mediterranean Sea followed by Ravenna  During this time Rome maintained two large fleets, the Classis Praetoria Misenensis (“Fleet of Misenum”) and Classis Praetoria Ravennatis (“Fleet of Ravenna”) based in the Mediterranean  Last, the Roman Empire would soon collapse and not be able to maintain its navy and in 429 A.D. the Roman navy would be destroyed by vandals from Gaul

 Emperor of this time was Diocletian  The Roman Army would be split into two (East and the West)  The West Roman Army would fall apart because of the collapse of the West entirely  Yet the East Army remained and would eventually become the last part of the Roman civilization  They were named the Byzantine Army and it would be known for its heavy armor-mint

  history-world.org/roman_army.htm  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_army  library.thinkquest.org/26602/war.htm  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_navy    hp?f=64&t=5240  ng_blog/