Roman+Empire

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== Roman Military by Preston Cooper

Roman Battle Tactics

The Roman Empire enjoyed great success and growth from 31 B.C to 476 A.D because of their strong army and their superior military tactics. The roman infantry consisted of 3,000 to 6,000 men know as legionaries or legions, The strong unit had been made up of mostly heavily armed soldiers. (Graham ET AL. 1964 274) In the early days of Rome every man that was a citizen had to join the army, but then they realized they lacked men causing the army to become mostly volunteer. As a result Rome had recruited nearly 300,000 men. (World Book 444). Their military and the tactics originated from the well known [|Greek Army]. Rome had many strategies, but the most famous is the [|Testudo] (tortoise). In this battle formation, the soldiers would stand three feet from each other with their shields covering every opening. With this formation, they would be able to attack fortresses without being shot by arrows or charge enemy troops with swords pointing out towards the enemy.

Roman Soldiers Armor

The [|roman military's armor] consisted of strips of metal and leather. The body armor covered the stomach and shoulders, they used strips of metal to make it lighter and more reasonable for the men. The helmet or Galea's design helped protect a blow at any direction, for example three centimeters above their forehead a metal bar protected them from a direct hit to the skull. The [|Roman shield] became a famous symbol of military strength. The shield measures from 107 to 118 centimeters long and 92 to 97 centimeters wide, allowing the troops to have a good source of protection. The shield's materials included two sheets of wood glued together with canvas stitched around it. The shield could be used for defense and offense. With these shields, they would charge a man and attempt to knock him down, then stab him with the sword.(Quara.com)

Roman Soldier Weapons

A Roman soldier carried four [|weapons]: two throwing spears, a gladius (sword), and a dagger for last resort. Many would carry a javelin, a long and heavy spear used for throwing, rather than up close fighting. The Romans designed the metal rod at the end of the javelin to bend after impact, causing it to be unusable after striking its target. The primary design feature made it able to strike with force and go through heavy shields. The gladius design made it light and short, but a very effective sword. The gladius dominated in close range fighting. The designed allowed a quick strike, and a lot of power. As a last resort they would use the dagger. The dagger became a concealed back up weapon. Rome became known for [|siege attacks] where they used great weapons called Catapults, Ballistas, and Onagers. Catapults hurled heavy artillery such as rocks or flaming balls. The catapult had a huge arm that had a bucket at the end that would fling stones at the enemy. Ballistas resembled huge crossbows. They would crank a large string back that would hold a large stone or large arrows. With a pull of a rod the ammunition would fly towards the opponent. Onagers looked like a catapult with a sling shot at the end. The Onagers would fling many small rocks or a few large stones.(Primary Homework.com)

Famous Roman Battles

The[| battle of Carthage]remains one of the most famous battles for Rome. Carthage challenged Rome as the first imperial opponent of Rome. Roman soldiers fought under Commander [|Scipio Aemilianus.] During the battle of Carthage 150,000 deaths occurred. The city of Carthage is located in Africa and was originally established as a Phoenician trade port. Almost as famous,[|The Battle of Alexandria], involved the Roman Army against the Egyptian Army. [|Julius Ceaser] served as the commander of the roman army of this time. His army consisted of 20,000 on foot and 2,000 on horseback. Rome won both of these significant battles because of great leadership and superior weapons and tactics.(Roman Empire.net)

Roman Centurions The [|Centurion] stood as the most famous [|Roman officer]. These men lead as the best troops in the roman army. To tell the Centurion from other legionaries they wore a silver helmet with a horizontal feathered crest on top of their helmets. To become a Centurion you had to be a high class man with great battle skills and a citizen of Rome. Their duties included training the Legionaries (soldiers), assigning duties and maintaining discipline in the ranks.(Primary Homework.com)

=Works Cited= //Academic American Encyclopedia. Danbury,// CT: Grolier, 1991. Print.

Various, World Book, and IVID Communications. //World Book Encyclopedia (2001 Standard Edition)//. Chicago, IL: World Book, 2000. Print.

“Roman battle tactics.” //http://primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/romans/formation.html//. n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.

Nakano, Emily. “Roman Armor.” //https://www.quora.com/Why-didnt-Roman-armour-protect-the-arms-and-legs//. n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.

“Battles.” //http://www.roman-empire.net/diverse/battles.html//. n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.

History of Roman Weapons and how to find them for fancy dress costumes. (2017). Retrieved January 31, 2017, from Roman Weapons, http://halloweenallyearround.com/history-of-roman-weapons-and-how-to-find-them-for-fancy-dress-costumes/

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