I N V I C T V S
 Romans ArrayedThis checkerboard deployment was used, when possible, as a kind of jumping-off point that provided Roman generals with flexibility in making final dispositions. Blocks of units could be moved around, past, or through each other to position them. When hand-to-hand combat was imminent, the front line would flatten out into a phalanx. |  First CitizenMost of the early emperors followed the example of Augustus in officially styling themselves as princeps ("first citizen"), and so until about the third century the empire is known as the Principate. However, respect for republican institutions was largely pro forma, and the imperium ("right to rule") of the emperors was largely unchallenged. Note the silver eagle (aquila) carried by the legionary standard-bearer (aquilifer). The eagle was sacred to Jupiter, and the standard of all the legions. |  Legionary LegateAlthough the nature of the Roman government meant that the emperors themselves were expected to command their armies personally for major campaigns, other leaders were appointed to command armies on fronts where the emperor was unable to command in person. Here we see a Roman governor or legionary legate with his signal corps. Note the image of the reigning emperor (imago) carried as a battle standard. Even when not physically present, his guiding spirit (genius) was considered ever-present. |
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 Princeps Optimus MaximusThe emperor Trajan (98-117 CE) is often considered Rome's greatest. As a general, he personally made two of the largest conquests in Roman history, destroying the powerful Dacian Kingdom in Romania and the Parthian Empire in Mesopotamia, and oversaw other gains that expanded the empire's borders to their greatest extent. Here we see him with the cavalry arm of the Praetorian Guard (note the quadruple scorpion motif on the Praetorians' shields). |  Praetorian InfantryAlthough the Praetorian Guard is sometimes portrayed as being a unit of soft palace guards in modern cinema, this is a false picture. They had fancy equipment, to be sure, but they were recruited from veteran legionaries and generally had a great combat record. They weren't just palace guards or bodyguards of the emperor either—they acted like the emperor's private army and enforcers of his will in Italy and the inner provinces. |  Praetorian CavalryThe Praetorian Guard was initially an all-infantry force, but Trajan is credited with creating the Praetorian cavalry wing, seen here with the quadruple scorpion shield motif associated with the Praetorians. As cavalry forces became more important toward the end of the Early Principate, the Praetorian cavalry wing was expanded with additional units. |
 Thin Red LineThe backbone of the Roman army was the legions. For most of the Principate, only Roman citizens could serve in the legions. Terms of service were long (minimum 25 years) and discipline was brutal—centurions carried a staff with which they beat those that failed to meet their expectations, and units that were believed to have shown cowardice in battle were decimated (every tenth man, chosen by lot, was clubbed or stoned to death by his comrades). |  Legionary CloseupThis closeup allows you to see the Eagle Wings and Thunderbolts of Jupiter shield pattern, variations of which were very popular with the legions (Jupiter was a sky god and a god of storms). Also note the red tunic, cloak, and transverse crest of the centurions (commanders of one hundred men), as well as the double-feathered helmets of the optios (the centurion's second-in-command). |  Inferiority ComplexThe citizen legions were supplemented by units of infantry (pedes) called auxilia ("helpers"). Although the auxiliary infantry was mainly recruited from provincials (peregrini) who did not enjoy full Roman citizenship, and they were treated as social inferiors to the legionaries, the preponderance of evidence points to the fact that auxiliary infantry was often as well equipped and trained as legionaries, and had as good a service record. They fought in an identical fashion to the legionaries. |
 What's Your Sign?Auxiliary infantry were also recruited to fill a tactical niche otherwise understated in the Roman military system. Here we see auxiliary bowmen (sagittarii). These were recruited primarily from the empire's eastern provinces, Syria in particular being so closely associated with combat archers that Roman bow-armed infantry units, like this one, utilized clothing and equipment styled to look like the Romans' homogenized picture of what a Syrian archer should look like. |  We've got your back.The Roman army did have bowmen, although these were descended from the velites of the republican Roman army. They generally did not form separate units—rather, legionaries and auxiliary infantrymen with skill at archery were detailed to be separately deployed as bowmen. They served as scouts, to screen the deployment of the army, and to provide direct-fire support of other infantry by arching over their heads. |  A Menagerie of Scorpions...Roman legionary and auxiliary infantry units were liberally supplied with field artillery—machines that used tension and torsion devices to launch bolts, stones, metal shot, and/or flaming naptha pots. The most common type of light artillery was the ballista (an oversized crossbow) called a "scorpion." A two-man crew operated the scorpion. They were used like sharpshooters, picking out high-value targets like enemy commanders, elephants, or enemy warriors that were fighting a little too well. |
 ... and Wild AssesThe other widespread artillery piece used by the Roman army was the catapulta. Roman soldiers colorfully referred to it as the onager ("wild ass") because of its violent kick when the arm was released. Here we see a crew loading metal shot, but stones and flaming pots of naptha were also used. |  Roman FlakpanzerThe cart-mounted ballistae (carroballistae) was basically just a ballista mounted on a mule-drawn cart, but it allowed its crew to remain in a protected position behind friendly infantry and to fire over their heads at the enemy. The cart mounting also allowed the crew to better maneuver along with their compatriots. At least one Roman image of a carroballistae shows it being operated with a hand-crank, which seems to indicate it was a rapid-fire polybolos ("multi-thrower"). |  Earthbound WingsThe imperial Roman army was built around citizen legions and provincial auxiliary infantry, but there were also units of auxiliary cavalry organized into units called alae ("wings"). As the name implies, these units were normally deployed on the flanks of the infantry to try to prevent an enemy from enveloping the infantry formations. The prime recruiting grounds for Roman cavalrymen were Hispania (Spain), Illyria (the Balkans), Syria, and Palestine. |
 Roman LancersBeginning in the first century CE, the Romans established a strong presence in the Balkans, where they came into contact with the Sarmatians—an Aryan nomad group whose heavily armored cavalry lancers impressed the Romans. Among the many military experiments Trajan is said to have initiated are cavalry lancers (equites contariorum) like these. Sarmatian mercenaries and federate allies, however, usually filled this role until the end of the Principate. |  Roman Horse ArchersAs mentioned above in reference to Roman infantry bowmen (sagittarii), as the Roman Empire spread into the eastern Mediterranean, the Romans encountered military systems that placed a much heavier emphasis on archery (both mounted and afoot). Due to the fact that the bulk of the Roman army was composed of infantry, bow-armed infantry were adopted first and in larger numbers, but some Roman armies (particularly those in the east) did utilize their own horse archers (equites sagittarii). |  Out of North AfricaSome of the most effective mercenaries in Roman service were units of Numidian light cavalry skirmishers. The Numidians were ethnic Berbers whose homeland lay along Rome's north African frontier, in modern-day Algeria and Tunisia. These light cavalry units were armed primarily with javelins, wore little armor, and carried only small round hide shields, but they were often cited in Roman sources for valor in battle. |
 Morituri te Salutant"Those who are about to die salute you!" Gladiators were not often used in Roman armies because the Romans feared the disloyalty of slaves (e.g., the Spartacus Rebellion), but by the Early Principate gladiators had become public celebrities (like a cross between pro athletes and rock stars). There were times, however, when emperors needed to use gladiators to supplement their forces, and Roman fears proved largely unfounded—they served well, and many were granted freedom in return. |  Home away from HomeThe standard period of service for both legionary and auxiliary soldiers was 25 years, which meant that most spent most or all of their adult lives living in forts and camps. Soldiers were technically forbidden to marry, but unofficially it was commonly accepted that soldiers could maintain families in the towns that grew up around most forts. Indeed, male children that resulted from such arrangements often grew up in the camps and eventually entered service alongside their fathers. |  With friends like these...The Romans often employed units of mercenaries (numeri) recruited from among foreign or subject peoples in order to provide greater tactical dimension to their armies. These units fought in native style, with native equipment, under their own unit leaders. Here we see Gallic or British Celts. Celtic warriors were often headhunters, and their warriors were sometimes difficult to control, eschewing obedience for personal glory by seeking out worthy opponents on a battlefield. |
EARLY IMPERIAL ROME
THE EARLY PRINCIPATE (25 BCE - 197 CE)
Imperium Romanum (Latin, "Empire of the Romans")
Princeps Civitatis (Latin, "First Citizen")
This gallery is devoted to the army of Imperial Rome (45 BCE - 476 CE) during the Early Principate (25 BCE - 197 CE). Specifically, the figures seen here best represent the army of the emperor Marcus Ulpius Traianus, called Trajan (98 - 117 CE), during his Dacian campaigns (101 - 102 & 105 - 106 CE). Although Rome had an empire during the Republic (509 - 45 BCE), the name "Roman Empire" is often used only in association with the period of the Roman autocracy established by Gaius Octavius Augustus, called Octavian or Augustus (27 BCE - 14 CE), and ending with the reign of the child emperor Flavius Momyllus Romulus Augustulus (475 - 476 CE). The eastern half of the empire endured even longer (474 - 1453 CE), although modern historians usually use the term "Byzantine Empire" to distinguish between this Medieval successor state and the classical Roman state. When Gaius Julius Caesar (100 - 44 BCE) crossed the Rubicon River into Italy in defiance of the Roman Senate (ca. 49 BCE), he set off a chain of events that would lead to the destruction of the Republic. When he came to power as dictator for life (Latin, dictator perpetuo) in 48 BCE, he began a reorganization of the Roman state and military that would be cut short by his assassination in 44 BCE. But in the civil wars that followed (44 - 27 BCE), the army of his adopted son and heir, Octavian, began to implement his military reforms. When Octavian emerged victorious and became Rome's first emperor as Augustus ("Majesty"), he used Caesar's template and the lessons learned during the civil wars to form a new model Roman army that differed greatly from the army of the Republic. This martial system and its basic doctrines endured virtually unchanged until the reign of Lucius Septimius Severus, called Septimius Severus (222 - 235 CE), whose military reforms formalized and expanded many of the ad hoc adaptations that had been implemented during the Early Principate. This initial period of the Roman autocracy is called the Principate, after the term princeps civitatis ("first citizen"), the innocuous-sounding euphemism that Augustus and his heirs adopted to mask the fact that Rome was no longer a republic. Republican sentiments remained strong, even after Augustus' victory, particularly amongst Roman aristocrats, and rather than abolish the Senate and create the potential for future civil wars, Octavian Augustus sought to maintain the fiction of republican rule as a sop for the ambitions of any would-be restorers of the republic.
The necessity of keeping troops under arms for long periods of time during the wars of conquest during the Late Republic and during the civil wars that brought Octavian Augustus to power led to the transformation of the citizen levies (Latin, legiones) of the Republic into standing professional battalions of heavy infantry (still called legiones, "legions"). The new legions had standardized training, discipline, and terms of service (minimum enlistment was 25 years). Each legion had a paper strength of about 5,000 fighting men, officers, dispatch riders, scouts, and artillerists (each legion was liberally provided with tension and torsion artillery). One of the inheritances from the republican system was that each legion was designed to be mostly self-contained, with a minimum of support units—in particular, legionaries were expected to carry most of their own kit to reduce the baggage train, they were trained in basic engineering techniques (building roads, bridges, and forts), and as sappers (for siege operations). As part of his reorganization and consolidation of the empire, Augustus also regularized and systematized the recruitment and training of provincial troops (Latin, auxilia, "supporters") to supplement the legions. While the citizen legions were almost entirely infantry, the auxiliary troops provided both infantry (Latin, pedes, "feet") and cavalry (Latin, equites, "horsemen"). The primary unit of organization for auxiliary infantry was the cohors (Latin, "group") of roughly 500 men, and the primary unit of organization for the auxiliary cavalry was the ala (Latin, "wing") of between 500 and 1,000 men plus mounts. The basic tactical stance of both the legionaries and the auxiliary infantry was as close order main battle infantry—emphasis was placed on regimented formations with drilled maneuvers. The favored tactic was to "soften up" enemy formations with missiles (thrown javelins—pila or lancea—bows and arrows, and artillery), followed by hand-to-hand engagement with spear (hasta), short sword (gladius), dagger (pugio), and/or pickaxe (dolabrum). There were also a few units of auxiliary infantry bowmen (singular, sagitarius, plural, sagittarii), recruited mainly in the eastern provinces (Syria, Crete, Thrace, and Illyria were prime recruiting grounds for infantry bowmen). They were used as skirmishers, to provide rear-rank support for the heavy infantry (by arching overhead), or as stand-alone area effect mass archery battalions. Most auxiliary cavalrymen were armed and armored similarly to the infantry, using cycling formations to deliver volleys of javelins, then closing with spear and long sword (some time early in the Principate, a long sword known as the spatha began to replace the gladius amongst cavalrymen, although the spatha did not become ubiquitous amongst cavalrymen until the Late Principate). By the end of the Early Principate, some few units of auxiliary cavalry began to be armed with bows (Latin, equites sagittarii), fighting as mounted skirmishers (i.e., hit-and-fade tactics). Also by the end of this period, the Romans were experimenting with heavy cavalry lancers (Latin, equites contariorum), probably on the Sarmatian model—such units were rare and few in number, although they would grow in importance during the Late Principate (198-284 CE). Mercenary units called numeri (Latin, "numbers") were often recruited from allied peoples (Celts, Germans, Sarmatians, Berbers, Aramaeans, Arabs, Thracians, and Iberians being the most-often cited) to provide the Roman army with tactical flexibility—they fought in their native styles, with native equipment, under their own commanders, to serve specific tactical needs (e.g., scouting, raiding, screening, or as expendible shock troops). The Roman army often relied on entire armies supplied by regional allies and buffer states (known variously as socii, symmachiarii, or foederati) to bolster their forces on specific campaigns (Armenia, Nabataea, and Emesa being prime examples).
The strategic posture of the Roman army of the Early Principate was aggressive, deployed primarily in the periphery (the outer provinces), poised to pacify newly conquered peoples, to guard the borders (Latin, limes), and to project Roman power beyond the borders. The Roman Empire reached its greatest extent under the emperor Trajan, when the empire's population was approximately 90 million inhabitants (about one-third of the world's population at that time) and the empire encompassed 6.5 million square miles of territory. By point of comparison, the contemporary Chinese civilization (under the Han Dynasty) had 60 million inhabitants and covered almost 2.5 million square miles, and the Persian Empire (under the Arsakid Dynasty) had about 10 million inhabitants and covered a little over 1 million square miles. The only significant exception to the peripheral deployment of the Roman army was the Praetorian Guard (Latin, Praetorianii, "Soldiers of the Palace"), who are best thought of as the emperor's private army rather than as a palace guard unit. At its height in the second century CE, the Praetorian Guard alone could field over 10,000 men (out of a total army strength that topped 300,000 fighting men). Stationed outside Rome, ostensibly as a garrison, and technically only able to provide a small bodyguard for the emperor within the environs of the city of Rome, the Praetorians were in actuality the enforcers of the emperor's will within the empire—they were used to intimidate the Senate, to quell riots in Rome and rebellions in the inner provinces, and to take the field to bolster the regular army for specific campaigns. Contrary to the popular portrayal of the Praetorians as soft palace guards, they were recruited from veteran legionaries, and their combat service record was as good as most senior legions. However, their centrality to the authority (Latin, auctoritas), power (potestas), and right to command (imperium) of the emperors often led the Praetorians to play a political role, making and breaking emperors, eventually leading to their disbandment by Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus, called Constantine I (272-337 CE), in 312 CE.
A chain of Roman arms manufactories (Latin, fabricae) supplied the enlarged professional army of Early Imperial Rome with a range of standard equipment, although it should be noted that Roman "standardization" does not fit the post-industrial
definition of that word—Roman arms production was performed by what we would call a craft industry (multiple small-scale producers), and soldiers from this period would have used a variety of equipment with variable quality, falling within a relatively narrow range of designs but lacking true uniformity of kit. Nevertheless, one of the key advantages the Romans enjoyed over many opponents was the ability to arm and armor all of the empire's soldiers with relatively high quality weapons and armor. Most soldiers, whether legionary or auxiliary, wore mail corselets (lorica hamata) or scale corselets (lorica squamata), and iron or bronze helmets of various designs. The segmented plate breastplates (lorica segmentata or lorica laminata) that have become visual shorthand to identify Roman soldiers in most modern TV and film were also worn, although they were not ubiquitous (I will discuss this at greater length in the "Army in Depth" section). Officers often wore solid cuirasses of iron, bronze, or hardened leather. Cuirasses were often used in combination with a unique system for protecting the groin, hips, shoulders, and upper arms called pteruges ("feathers")—these consisted of multiple overlapping layers of laminated linen or leather strips hung vertically along the waistline and from the arch of the shoulders. Crests and plumes of horsehair or feathers (probably sometimes dyed) were reserved for officers or for the rest of the army on ceremonial occasions (e.g., marching in a Triumph—a military parade to mark a significant victory). The Romans did not have uniforms as we understand them. Most soldiers would have worn simple mid-thigh-length tunics of un-dyed wool or linen (various shades of grey ranging from almost white to almost black), although these might have been bleached white for ceremonial occasions. Plebeian (non-noble) officers (centurions, decurions, optios, etc.) probably had red-dyed tunics, crests, and plumes. Aristocratic officers would have worn white tunics with a purple stripe to mark their rank as Senatorial, while members of the imperial family would be clothed and cloaked entirely in purple—purple dye (purpura) made from the secretions of sea snails of the Muricidae family was a color-fast (i.e., non-fading) luxury product of the eastern Mediterranean often reserved for aristocrats and rulers. One piece of equipment that does seem to have been different between legionaries and auxiliaries, by design, is the shield. Legionaries carried a large rectangular shield called a scutum, while auxiliaries (both foot and horsemen) carried a smaller oval (or sometimes round) shield called a clipeus. The design of the scutum evolved over time, but it was always a pretty big shield, often dished or curving around the wielder's torso. It generally provided protection for the wielder that extended from about the shoulders to the knees—the fighting stance of legionaries was a crouch on the balls of the feet that meant this coverage was even more complete. Initially, the clipeus was much smaller than the scutum, although throughout the Principate it too evolved, becoming ever larger (although still a flat ovoid in form). By the end of the Principate, the designs of the scutum and clipeus converged, both legionary and auxiliary troops being armed with a large, flat oval shield universally called a scutum. As mentioned above, during the Early Principate Roman cavalry began to shift away from the use of the infantry sword (gladius) toward use of a specialized (i.e., longer) cavalry sword called a spatha. During the Republic, Roman soldiers generally carried a sword similar in design to the Greek xiphos, but during the conquest of Spain (ca. 206-27 BCE) the Romans encountered a native weapon that they found impressive enough to adopt as their own, and when Augustus standardized the equipment of the Roman military this weapon became the standard Roman sword, used by both infantry and cavalry, known as the gladius. The gladius had straight parallel edges with a sharply tapered point, between 25 to 32 inches blade length. It is believed the cavalry sword known as the spatha was modeled in part on Celtic long swords—many early Celtic mercenaries or auxiliaries serving in the Roman army fought as cavalry—and Roman cavalrymen quickly saw the advantages of having a sword with greater reach and with greater slashing capability. Thus, by the end of the Early Principate, the spatha had displaced the gladius as the primary cavalry sword. It was similar in design to the gladius, but longer (30-39” blade length), and rather than parallel cutting edges it had a gradual taper to its cutting edges, giving it more of an elongated triangular profile. Although the gladius was primarily a thrusting weapon, with only moderate chopping or slashing potential, the spatha was more versatile, being equally good at thrusting or chopping/slashing. It is important to note, however, that although use of the gladius was virtually ubiquitous amongst Roman infantrymen (it fit their close-quarters fighting style very well), Roman cavalrymen continued to use a variety of swords (e.g., the gladius, the Greek xiphos, the spatha, and a single-edged Iberian sword called a falcata) until well into the Early Principate, and the spatha really didn’t become the standard cavalry sword until near the end of this period. Finally, Roman armies were also liberally supplied with artillery—each centuria ("century," a unit of 100 men) of infantry, whether legionary or auxiliary, was supplied with a ballista (tension artillery that fired bolts, i.e., oversized arrows) and each cohors ("cohort," a unit of 500 men) of infantry with a catapulta (torsion artillery that fired shot, i.e., stones, metal balls, and/or clay pots filled with flaming naptha).
Most of the figures used here are from Corvus Belli Miniatures, although the onager (Roman catapult) and crew are from Museum Miniatures, and the gladiators and horse archers are from the now-defunct Miniature Wars company (they look suspiciously like the sculpting style of Baueda/Hostis, making me think they might use the same sculptor). The shield designs are a mixture of transfers from Little Big Men Studios, Veni Vidi Vici, and hand-painted originals by me. One of the things I love about the Corvus Belli ranges are their variety of poses, including the centurion and optio figures I used here to give my units a little flavor by portraying the lower-echelon command structure. Although I was very pleased with the look of the optios (the guys with two feathers sticking up from each helmet), I did some modifying to the centurions by adding a transverse crest (a classic look I just couldn't do without). I also gave the Praetorians crests and red leather edging to the segments of their armor—Praetorians and officers were likely the only fighters that wore their crests in battle, and I wanted them to stand out with particularly fine armor. As always, Steven Hales' work at Little Big Men Studios is gorgeous, and his shield transfers really make the legionary, Praetorian, and cavalry figures pop. My own work is a bit more crude, but I think I did a decent job of providing the auxiliary infantry with a variety of designs. Veni Vidi Vici decals were used for the unique quadruple scorpion shield designs of the Praetorian cavalry (the singulares)—I tried to hand-paint tiny scorpions but failed miserably, so Veni Vidi Vici had to come to the rescue.