Early Roman Military Velites Hastati

Principes Triarii

The First Punic War BC Hamilcar Barca VS. Gaius Dullius and Gaius Catulus First appearance of the corvus in naval combat Key to Roman naval success Photo courtesy of large/first-punic-war-battle-granger.jpg

The Second Punic War BC Hannibal Barca VS. Publius Scipio The Romans lost battles at Trebia, Lake Trasimine, and Cannae Finally achieved victory at Zama under Scipio Photo Courtesy of phants.jpg

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The Third Punic War BC Haasdrubal Boetharch VS. Scipio the Younger Cato the Elder roused Rome to destroy Carthage After a 2 year siege, the Romans destroyed Carthage and sold the survivors into slavery Photo Courtesy ofhttp:// content/uploads/2012/10/27348tr oubleInParadise.jpg

Photo courtesy of ac/Testudo_formation.jpg The Roman Military After Marius- 107 BC The Roman military was broken down into units, much like modern militaries Legions Cohorts Centuries Each level was run by a commanding officer A Legatus legionis commanded a Legion of roughly 5,400 men Equivalent to a modern General, and served as a regional Governor Similar to the current structure of the American military, the Roman legions were broken down into smaller units, and some officers served as both military and civilian leaders similar to our state Governors.

The military relied on heavy infantry, but was supported by archers, cavalry, chariots and light auxiliary troops. The versatility and excellent training of the Roman military created one of the most effective fighting forces in history, and was crucial to the expansion of the Republic and the Empire. Photo courtesy of _cavalry_reenactment_Carnuntum_2008_06.jpg

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Why it matters The strict discipline and versatile structure of the Roman Legion allowed the Romans to create the largest continuous Empire the world had ever seen This led to a booming market economy with international trade possible on a scale comparable to modern markets