Roman Military Innovations - Have you ever wondered how the ancients fought their wars, or how different empires fought and organized their armies? Ancient wars were as diverse as the culture they fought.
February 7, 2021 • By Alexander Standjofski, BA in History & Political Theory w/ Pre- and Post-Christian Ideologies
Roman Military Innovations
Corinthian Hoplite helmet, with only the spear to the eye or mouth, ca. 500 BC; by Re-doing the Roman unit in the composition of the testudo
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From culture to culture, each kingdom of the ancient world fought in its own way. Ancient war tactics would be widely applied in conflicts against other world powers, and sometimes even within a kingdom or culture. Ancient civilizations often worshiped deities who oversaw the conduct of warfare - warfare was seen as a political and important means of survival during this period. Cunning strategies and tactics must be applied to ensure success. Which culture or kingdom proved to be militarily superior? Below is a comparison of the ancient war tactics of European civilizations during the classical Greco-Roman period.
Corinthian Hoplite helmet, with only the spear to the eye or mouth, ca. 500 BC, at the Staatliche Antikensammlungen, Berlin, via thehoplites.com
Despite having a common language and culture, ancient Greece was never united politically. The Greeks were united under only one regiment until the conquest of the region by Alexander the Great in 335 BC. Before Alexander, the politics of the region was divided among the various authorities of the city-states, or poleis (πόλεις) in Greek, which numbered in the thousands. With a large number of small but large centers of power, it is not uncommon for cities to fight each other.
The standard army of ancient Greece was called hoplites (όπλίτης); the word that the infantry in the modern Greek Army is called to this day. Ancient hoplites, in addition to their helmets and armour, were armed with spears, round shields and short swords.
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Ancient hoplite regiments were quasi-civilian militias composed of men living within the city-state who would bear arms. City states are not responsible for training professional soldiers. People are called upon to serve and protect their community. Nor was standard equipment available to the hoplites: they were left to purchase and maintain their own equipment. Those who do not have a large income must be managed with cheaper, weaker equipment.
In terms of battle tactics, Greek hoplites would focus on phalanx formation (φάλαγξ) on the battlefield. Almost unstoppable from the front, the phalanx was a cooperative effort of tightly packed hoplites, shields protecting some of themselves and some of their neighbors to the left in formation, spears pointing straight. The Union acts and acts as one.
Close-up of Alexander the Great from the Roman Alexander Mosaic, from Pompeii, c. 100 BC, via the National Archaeological Museum of Naples
Ancient Macedonia (also spelled Macedon) was a kingdom on the northwest coast of ancient Greece. Although they also spoke Greek, scholars argue that the ancient Macedonian language was probably a dialect of ancient Greek or a separate (and now extinct) Hellenic language related to Greece. Whether or not the ancient Macedonians were ethnic Greeks is still debated today.
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The profound Greek philosopher Aristotle was born on the border of Macedonia. The philosopher served as a private tutor to his young contemporary, the Prince of Macedonia, Alexander the Great. Alexander's father, Philip II, ruled from 359 to 336 B.C. He was the king of Macedonia.
Philip II himself proved to be a very capable ruler – a trait he apparently passed on to his son. Of his many achievements, some of the most important were Philip's military reforms.
Philip adapted the ancient battle tactics of the Greek phalanxes using long spears and smaller shields. Philip also increased the number of men in the unit. As a central statesman, Philip raised wealthy nobles as cavalry units to protect the positions of his phalanxes, as they were vulnerable from the flanks and rear.
Philip's military reforms and new war tactics proved almost unstoppable. Most importantly, this was the army that Alexander inherited: the army that would carry Alexander as far east as India, bringing Hellenic culture to most of the ancient world. The soldier who would give Alexander a vast empire before the young king was thirty-three years old, but he never was.
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A contemporary of Alexander and among the Greek city-states, Sparta was revered throughout the Greek world for its legendary military prowess. The Spartans militarized 100% of their male population, forcing them to undergo a brutally rigorous state-sponsored education, known as agoge (άγωγή), beginning at the age of seven.
Strict martial discipline gave the Spartan city-state a fearsome reputation as well as one of the deadliest and most accurate armies of the ancient world. The Spartan essence was cultivated from physical prowess, rigorous military training, and eloquent rhetoric.
Famously, the Spartans have a policy of keeping their genes small and as "Spartan" as possible - forcing marriage so that each generation has the same genetics as the last. Every new born baby was examined by the city-state and if any defects were found it was removed, it could die alone in the desert or the mountains of Laconia.
For the Spartan capital Laconia, with lambda (Λ) for the Spartan capital Laconia, by ancientmilitary.com, a Spartan soldier in military uniform, later imitated by the Roman army and also in the red coat of England .
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Although the Spartans fought with phalanx warfare tactics like their contemporaries, their warrior ethos created a high level of application. the ancient war ran directly through the government and their genetics; The Spartan army was feared throughout Greece.
Spartans act as a unit on the battlefield in phalanx formation. Their iconic red robes, long hair, and straight, steady feet in unison with the incessant beating of the drum were Spartan military tactics that distinguished them in the conduct of ancient warfare. This sight and sound alone always scares away opponents in its path.
The Roman imperial state was more like a modern centralized government than its Greek predecessor. Initially, Rome did not have a professional standing army, like the cities of ancient Greece, and would arm and then disband all fighting forces on an ad hoc basis.
In 107 BC, the Roman general Gaius Marius instituted what is known as the Marian Reform. Like Philip II of Macedon more than two hundred years earlier, Marius's reforms expanded the role of the state to include responsibility for education as well as the maintenance and provision of equipment for stationary fighting forces. The legion of the new Roman Empire consisted of 4800-5000 men, divided into ten groups of 480-500 men (called cohorts), further into five groups of 80-100 men (called centuries ) was divided.
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In terms of battle tactics, the Romans incorporated modern Greek phalanxes into their ranks. The ancient warfare practiced by the Romans was more adapted than the Greeks could have been due to Maria's role in the Roman state in military training and maintenance.
An example of Roman ingenuity on the battlefield is the formation of the testudo. Creating proverbial walls (or wormholes) with shields was an important aspect of ancient Roman warfare. The Testudo provides excellent protection from arrows and missiles and allows soldiers to safely approach the city walls during a siege. The units in the formation moved at the speed of insects. While safe, it is not an efficient way to deploy troops.
The Roman formation of the "crush" or "pig's head" is one of the oldest war tactics and has been used consistently by both republics and empires. Led by the most skilled soldiers in the unit, the desert formation will be used to split enemy units in two, dominate and isolate enemy combatants. This is essentially 'divide and conquer'.
The formation of the wenge was carried out by both Roman infantry and Roman cavalry. Military tactics are an effective tactic used consistently by Roman commanders even before the Marian Reformation.
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Pigs' heads famously halted the growth of the Macedonian army - at one time one of the most successful armies in the ancient world under Alexander. At the Battle of Pydna in 168 BC, the Roman consul Aemilius faced the humble Macedonian army under their king Perseus of Macedon, a descendant of one of Alexander's generals / diadochi (διάδοχοι).
The ancient warfare tactics used by the Romans at Pydna alienated the Macedonians and established the Roman Republic as the dominant political entity in the ancient world.
Starting with the Greeks, followed by the Macedonians, Spartans, Romans, and Egyptians, ancient war strategies are as ubiquitous as Greek or Latin in this era. Whether infantry or cavalry strategy, every culture of the ancient world found its own flair and style in ancient warfare.
This infantry formation was first used in ancient warfare that proved timeless: nearly two thousand years later, Napoleon
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