Curiosities of ancient Rome (Army)

Archimedes was a brilliant Greek scientist who led engineering work to defend Syracuse during the second Punic war, in 214-212 BCE. The Romans storming the massive city walls had to deal with unusual Archimedes inventions, including mirrors!

The Roman army from the beginning of its existence was constituted by Roman citizens who had property/land allowing them to arm themselves in battle. The change occurred at the end of the 2nd century BCE, when Gaius Marius first extended his hand to people without land (proletarii), offering them military service and a form of existence.

Most equipment legionary was not a Roman invention. For example, pugio Romans borrowed from Iberian tribes. Also, gladius are modeled on Iberian swords; legionaries were equipped with this weapon for the first time during the Second Punic War by the Scipio Africanus Major.

The Roman army has evolved many times over the course of history. The equipment (except armour) of Roman soldiers was originally, as was the case in all armies of the then world, on carts or mules/donkeys. Gradually, however, there was a need to improve military mobility, shorten the entire marching column, and abandon the use of too many draft animals and rolling stock.

Acies triplex, the triple formation, was a military formation used by the Roman legions of the republic period. It was introduced as a result of the reform of the Roman army in the 4th century BCE (so-called Camillian reform), which transformed the structure of the Roman army from a rigid phalanx to a much more flexible manipulative. Acies triplex was formed according to the quincunx – scheme of a five-element geometric pattern.

The Roman army was one of the best in the world for a reason. However, despite many victories, this unbeatable machine also had numerous failures. However, the most shameful defeat took place when the legion lost its eagle.

The primary method of attacking the Roman fleet was by boarding. Rome developed its power through a land army, therefore naval combat was a problem for a long time, and lack of skill often led to defeats. The solution was the “raven” (corvus), a ramp equipped with two or one spike (resembling a bird’s beak, hence the name) for boarding. It allowed for the introduction of the tactic of quickly jumping to the enemy and using the infantry force at sea.

Roman legions conquered more peoples and lands not only thanks to their organization and discipline but also thanks to armament that was really high quality. In addition to offensive equipment (pilum, pugio, gladius) also had very good armour.

Ancient Romans, unlike modern Americans, did not think that citizenship automatically entitled them to possess sharp weapons. It was recognized that such freedom could lead to many dangers.

During the Civil War (49-45 BCE), Julius Caesar’s soldiers were regularly hailed by missiles ejected and fired by the Republican side. Caesar decided to improve the equipment of his legionaries.