The Military of ancient Rome Portal

The Military of ancient Rome relates to the combined military forces of Ancient Rome from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. Originally The Roman military consisted entirely of the Roman army, but a small navy was first added during the Samnite Wars and later significantly expanded to include specialised ranged Navy and Land Attillery. The Roman military was intertwined with the Roman state much more closely than in a modern Western nation. Josephus describes the Roman people as "as if 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, as far south as Africa and as far north as Britannia.

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.

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The Battle of Gythium was fought in 195 BC between Sparta and the coalition of Rome, Rhodes, the Achaean League and Pergamum. As the port of Gythium was an important Spartan base the allies decided to capture it before they advanced inland to Sparta. The Romans and the Acheans were joined outside the city by the Pergamese and Rhodian fleets. The Spartans held out but one of the joint commanders, Dexagoridas, decided to surrender the city to the Roman legate. When Gorgopas, the other commander, found out he killed Dexagoridas and took solo command of the city. After Dexagoridas' murder the Spartans held out more vigorously. However, Flaminius of the allied forces arrived with 4,000 more men and the Spartans decided to surrender the city on the condition that the garrison could leave unharmed. The result of this battle forced Nabis, the tyrant of Sparta, to abandon the surrounding land and withdraw to the city of Sparta. Later that year, Sparta capitulated to the allies. The Macedonians had been defeated in the Second Macedonian War in 197 BC which left the Spartans in control of Argos. This Spartan gain was a setback for the Achaean League who had been trying to incorporate Sparta into their league for many years.

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Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus, commonly called Trajan, lived from September 18, 53 to August 9, 117. He was a Roman Emperor from 98–117. He was the second of the "Five Good Emperors of the Roman Empire". From 101-102, and then from 105-106 he launched the Dacian Wars, ending with Dacia being added to the Roman Empire as yet another province. From 113-116, he led the successful invasions of Armenia, Persia, and Mesopotamia, bringing the Empire to its greatest territorial extent. He died soon after the invasions in 117, and his adopted son Hadrian took the throne. Soon after Hadrian took the throne, he lost most of the eastern territory, yet Dacia remained a Roman province.

Did you know...

Did you know...

• that there was a Roman saying 'It has come to the triarii' which described a desperate situation?
• that the Colosseum's construction was funded by treasure taken from the temple of Jerusalem after the Romans sacked the city in AD 70?
• that Hannibal Barca swore as a young child that he would never be an ally to Rome,and he upheld that oath until he committed suicide in 183 BC?
• that the word "palace" came from the Palatine Hill in Rome? On that hill was built the palace of the Roman Emperors.
• that the year AD 69 was a year in which Rome had four emperors, ending with Vespasian who then ruled for ten years?
• that on the night July 18 to July 19, 64, the city of Rome suffered from a great fire? The emperor Nero blamed Christians for the fire, but some suspect that it was he who was the arsonist.

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Quotes

• Roman, remember that you shall rule the nations by your authority, for this is to be your skill, to make peace the custom, to spare the conquered, and to wage war until the haughty are brought low., Virgil, Aeneid
• Alea iacta est (The die is cast), reportedly said by Gaius Julius Caesar before crossing the Rubicon
• Silent enim leges inter arma (Laws are silent in times of war), Cicero
• War gives the right of the conquerors to impose any conditions they please upon the vanquished. , Gaius Julius Caesar
• The outcome corresponds less to expectations in war than in any other case whatsoever, Livy
• A bad peace is even worse than war. , Tacitus
• Veni, Vidi, Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered), Gaius Julius Caesar
• I found Rome brick, I left it marble., Caesar Augustus

Military of ancient Rome topics

Roman army (velites, hastati, principes, triarii, equites, legionaries, auxiliae, comitatenses, limitanei, foederati, praetorians), Roman navy, Roman military history ( Structural history of the Roman military, Campaign history of the Roman military, Technological history of the Roman military, Political history of the Roman military), Roman infantry tactics, List of Roman battles, List of Roman legions, Military Engineering (castra, Roman siege engines) , Roman personal weapons (pugio, gladius, hasta, pilum, scutum, spatha)

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