Legio
In the time of Romulus, the united armed forces of Rome went by the name of
legio. The legion then consisted of 300 knights (
celeres), under
the command of a
tribunus celerum, appointed by the king, and 3000 foot
soldiers, under the command of three
tribuni militum. Each of the three
ancient tribes provided a third of this force and one tribune. With the increase of the
military forces of Rome the name of
legio was given to each of the
subdivisions equivalent in numbers to the original army.
The military system of King Servius Tullius made the infantry the most important part of the
military forces, instead of the cavalry as heretofore. The five classes included in the
census (q. v.) were obliged to serve in the army at their own expense; those
who were not comprised in these classes—viz. the
proletarii—were freed from service, and, when they were enlisted, received
their equipment from the State. The
iuniores, those who were from 17 to
46 years old, were appointed for field service, and the
seniores, those
from 47 to 60, for the defence of the city.
The first and second lines of the legion, drawn up in unbroken order like the Greek phalanx,
consisted of citizens of the first class, equipped with helmet, cuirass, round shield (
clipeus), and greaves, all of bronze. The third and fourth lines were from
the second class, and had no cuirass, but had the helmet and greaves and large oblong shields
(
scutum). The fifth and sixth were armed similarly, but without greaves,
and were drawn from the third class. The fourth class was armed with the
scutum as its only weapon of defence, but, like the others, provided with spear (
hasta) and sword. It either filled the seventh and eighth lines, or, with the
fifth class, formed the
rorarii, who opened the battle with slings and
other light missiles.
An important alteration, ascribed to Camillus (about B.C. 390), was the abolition of the
phalanx and introduction of the manipular formation, which prevailed till the time of Marius
(end of the second century B.C.). In the flourishing days of the Republic, the normal strength
of a legion, which could be increased in time of need, consisted of 300 knights (
equites) and 4200 foot soldiers (
pedites). In respect to
the weapons used, the latter were divided into four kinds, according to their length of
service and familiarity with warfare:
1.
1200
hastati, all in early manhood;
2.
1200
principes, in the full vigour of life;
3.
600
triarii, who were proved veterans; and
4.
1200
velites, who were lightly armed, and were drawn from the lowest
classes of the census. The first three classes had a bronze helmet (
cassis) with a lofty plume of feathers, a
scutum, a leathern
cuirass (
lorica, q. v.), greaves, and a sword (
gladius), which, after the Second Punic War, was of the Spanish kind, being short,
strong, and two-edged, fitted for thrusting rather than cutting, and worn on the right side.
There was also a spear, which in the first two divisions was a
pilum (q.
v.), and among the
triarii a lance (Polyb. vi. 23). The
velites were armed with a leather helmet (
galea), a light shield
(
parma), and a sword and several light javelins. The 3000 heavily armed
men were divided into 30
manipuli, numbering 120 men each among the
hastati and
principes, and 60 each among the
triarii, and were again subdivided into two bodies called
centuriae, and led by centurions (q. v.). Of the 1200
velites,
20 were allotted to each century, and they formed the final complement of each maniple. On
the field of battle the maniples were drawn up in open order, separated laterally from one
another by intervals corresponding to the breadth of each maniple in front. The arrangement
of the maniples would thus resemble that of the black squares on a chess-board. They fell
into three divisions—the
hastati in the front rank, with the
principes behind them, and the
triarii in the
rear. If the first division, the
hastati, were compelled to give way,
then the second division, the
principes, advanced through the intervals
left by the maniples of the first division; if the
principes, in their
turn, had to retreat, then the third division, the
triarii, who had been
previously kneeling, protected by their shields, allowed the
hastati and
principes to fall back into the intervals separating the maniples of
the
triarii, and themselves, closing their ranks, pressed forward to
meet the enemy. The 300 knights of the legion were divided into 10
turmae of 30 men each, and were equipped with a bronze cuirass, leathern greaves,
helmet, shield, a long sword for attacking, and a long lance provided at both ends with an
iron point. Each
turma was under three decurions and three
under-officers (
optiones). The legion, as a whole, was under the command
of six
tribuni militum (q. v.).
The consular army consisted of two legions. Four legions were regularly levied in each
year; in other words, 16,800 foot soldiers and 1200 cavalry. This levy of citizens was
further swelled by the Italian allies (
socii), a body of 20,000 foot
soldiers and 3600 cavalry, thus adding to each of the two consular armies 10,000 foot
soldiers and 1800 cavalry. The former were in twenty cohorts (see
Cohors), each consisting of 420 men. Ten of these cohorts fought on the
right wing and ten on the left wing of the legions. Besides these, four cohorts of 400 men
each were formed into a picked body. The cavalry were in six squadrons (
alae) of 300 men each. Four of these belonged to the main army, and two to the picked
body. In wars beyond the limits of Italy there were also auxiliary forces (
auxilia), consisting either of soldiers raised in the country where the war was being
carried on, or of light-armed troops furnished by allied kings and nations. Besides the
ordinary component parts of the legion there was also the bodyguard of the
commander-in-chief, the
cohors praetoria. See
Cohors.
In the course of the first century B.C. the organization of the legion was essentially
altered. In the first place, in the time of Marius, the census ceased to be the basis of the
levy, and all the citizens collectively were placed on the same footing in respect to their
military service and the uniform which they wore. All the soldiers of the legion alike
received the heavy equipment and the
pilum, while the light-armed
velites were done away with. After the right of citizenship had been
conferred on the Italian allies, these no longer formed a separate part of the legions, but
were incorporated with them. Thus the Roman army now consisted only of heavy-armed legions
and of light-armed auxiliary troops. The latter were partly raised in the provinces and
divided into cohorts, and partly enlisted as slingers and archers. The cavalry of the legions
ceased to exist. Like the light-armed soldiers, the whole of the cavalry consisted of
auxiliary troops, who were partly enlisted and partly levied from the provinces, while some
were supplied according to agreement by allied nations and princes. A further important
novelty introduced by Marius was the use of the cohort-formation, instead of the
maniple-formation, which broke up the front too much. The legion was now divided into ten
cohorts, in each of which there were three maniples of
hastati,
principes, and
triarii, designations which now only concerned the
relative rank of the six centurions of the cohort. The customary battle array was in three
divisions, the first being formed of four cohorts, and the second and third of three each.
Again, while in earlier times the obligation of service extended at the most in the infantry
to twenty campaigns and in the cavalry to ten, from the days of Marius the soldier remained
uninterruptedly for twenty years with the army, an earlier dismissal being only exceptional.
For this reason the well-to-do classes sought to withdraw themselves from the general
military service, and it thus came to pass that the legions were for the greater part manned
by means of conscriptions from the lowest ranks of the burgher population of Italy, in which
the service was regarded simply as a means of livelihood. Thus from the original army of
citizens there was gradually developed a standing army of mercenaries.
Under the Empire we find what is really a standing army, bound to the emperor by oath. (See
Sacramentum.) Apart from the legions this army
consisted of the
auxilia (q. v.), the guards stationed in Rome and the
neighbourhood (see
Praetoriani), and the
city-cohorts (see
Cohors), the artillery and the
corps of workmen (see
Fabri), the marines (see
Classiarii), and the municipal and provincial
militia. The legions are now once more provided with a corps of cavalry 120 strong, and are
designated not only by numbers, but also by distinctive names. Together with the auxiliary
troops they form the garrison of the imperial provinces under the command of the imperial
legati legionum (see
Legati),
whose place was taken in the middle of the third century A.D. by the
praefecti
legionum. (See
Praefecti.) The strength of
the legion now amounted to 5000-6000 men, raised partly by a regular levy, partly by drawing
recruits from the Roman citizens of all the provinces beyond the bounds of Italy. As under
the Republic, it was divided into 10 cohorts of 6 centuries each; the first cohort was,
however, twice the strength of the remainder. It was not until the second half of the third
century A.D. that a new division of the 10 cohorts into 55 centuries came into use, with 10
centuries in the first cohort, and 5 in each of the rest. At the death of Augustus, the
number of the legions was 25; it was then increased to 30, and this number was maintained
until the end of the second century, when three new legions were added by Septimius Severus.
From the beginning of the fourth century it gradually rose to about 175, each of them,
however, mustering a considerably smaller contingent. In course of time, and especially after
the second century, owing to the conflicts with the barbarians, the legion was drawn up more
and more after the manner of the Greek phalanx, without intervals in its line and with a
division of troops in its rear. In its equipment there was an important alteration beginning
with the second half of the third century, when all the soldiers of the legion carried long
swords (
spathae), and the first five cohorts two
pila, one larger and another smaller, while the last five had
lanceae, or javelins serving as missiles, and fitted with a leather loop to help in
hurling them with precision. See Pfitzner,
Geschichte der röm.
Kaiserlegionen (Leipzig, 1881).
The military music of the Romans was provided by
tubicines (see
Tuba),
cornicines (see
Cornicen),
bucinatores (see
Bucina), and
liticines (see
Lituus). The accompanying illustration from the Column
of Trajan represents the soldiers of a legion on the
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Roman Legionaries on the March. (Relief from the Column of Trajan, Rome.)
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march, carrying their helmets close to the right shoulder, and their
“kit” at the top of a pole resting on the left. On standards or ensigns,
see
Signum;
Vexillum. On levy, oath of allegiance, pay, and discharge from service, see
Delectus;
Missio;
Sacramentum;
Stipendium. For the army as a whole, see Brissaud,
De l'Organization Militaire chez les Romains (Paris, 1891); and
Exercitus.