- See also Legion software and Legion forummer.
The Roman legion (from the Latin legio, meaning levy) was the basic military unit of ancient
Rome. It consisted of about 5,000 to 6,000 infantry soldiers and cavalrymen. Legions were named and numbered; about 50 have been identified, although there
were never that many in existence at any one time.
History
Originally, in the time of the Kings, the legio was the whole
Roman army, comprised of levied citizens. At some point, possibly in the beginning of the Roman Republic, the legio was subdivided into two separate legions, each one ascribed to one of the
two consuls. In the first years of the Republic, when the warfare was mostly
concentrated in raids, it is uncertain if the full manpower of the legions was summoned at one time. Legions become organized in
a more formal way in the 4th century BC, as Roman warfare evolved to more frequent and planned operations, and the consular army
was raised to two legions. The military tribunes appeared after 331 BC. The internal organization of the legion became more
sophisticated, from the classic phalanx to the manipular system, and allowed important tactical
innovations. Later in the Roman Empire, the legion was commonly reinforced by allied troops, the allae.
Throughout the history of Rome's Late Republic and Imperial era, the
legions played an important political role. Their actions could secure the empire for an Imperial hopeful or take it away. An example is the defeat of Vitellius in the Year of the Four
Emperors, decided in the moment that the Danubian legions chose to support Vespasian. By the 1st Century BC the threat of the Legions under a demagogue was
recognized. Governors could not leave their provinces with their Legions. When
Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon he left his provinces and came to Italy under arms. This last precipitated a constitutional crisis.
Organization
In the Republic, legions had an ephemeral existence. Except for Legio I to IV, which were the consular army (two per consul),
other units were levied by campaign. The shift to more permanent legions came about primarily for domestic reasons, e.g. to make
them loyal to the Emperor, not their generals. In The Empire, the legion was standardized, with symbols and an individual history
where men were proud to serve. The legion was commanded by a legate or legatus. Aged around thirty, he would
usually be a senator on a three year appointment. Immediately subordinate to the legate would be six elected military
tribunes - five would be staff officers and the remaining one would be a noble heading for the Senate. There would also be a
group of officers for the medical staff, the engineers, record-keepers and the praefecti castrorum (commander of the
camp) as well as other specialists such as priests and musicians.
In the middle of the Republic, legions were composed of the following units:
Cavalry or equites. The cavalry was originally the most
prestigious unit, where wealthy young Romans started to be noticed before the starting of their political career. Cavalry
equipment was paid by each of the cavalrymen and consisted of a round shield, helmet, body armour, sword and one or more javelins. The cavalry was outnumbered in the legion. In a total of circa 3000 men,
the legion had only around 300 horsemen, divided into 10 units of 30 men. These men were commanded by decurions. Additional to this heavy cavalry,
there would be the light cavalry levied from poor citizens and wealthy young citizens not old enough to be in the
hastati or the equites.
Light infantry or velites. The velites did not
have a precise formal organization or function in battle, being used where there was need for them.
Heavy Infantry. This was the principal unit of the legion. The heavy infantry was composed of citizen
legionaries that could afford the equipment composed of bronze helmet, shield, armour and javelin. The preferred weapon was the
gladius, a short sword. The heavy infantry was subdivided, according to the
legionaries' experience, into three separate lines:
- The hastati (sing. hastatus) were the younger ones and formed
the front line
- The principes (sing. princeps), men in their late twenties
early thirties, composed the second line of the legion
- The triarii (sing. triarius) were the veteran soldiers that occupied the
rear; only in extreme situations would they be used in battle.
Each of these three lines was subdivided into maniples, the lowest subunit of the
army, each consisting of two centuries commanded by the senior of the two centurions. Centuries were nominally 100 soldiers each (thus the name), but in practice
might be as few as 60, especially in the less numerous triarii manipules. Each century had its standard and was made up
of ten units called contubernia. In a contubernium there would be eight soldiers who shared a tent, millstone, a mule
and cooking pot (depending on duration of tour).
In battle, the manipules were commonly arranged in a chequered formation called quincunx. Principes manipules would cover the open space left by the hastati, and be
covered in return by triarii manipules.
In the late republic, the cohort substitutes the manipule as the basic
tactic unit. The cohort is composed of six to eight centuries and is led by a centurion assisted by an optio, a soldier who could read and write. The
senior centurion of the legion was called the primus pilus, a career soldier and advisor to the legate.
A legion therefore had around 4,800 men-at-arms as well as a large number of camp followers, servants and slaves. Legions
could contain as many as 6,000 fighting men, although at times in Roman history the number was reduced to 1,000 to curb the power
of mutinous commanders. Julius Caesar's legions had only around 3,500
men.
Symbols
From 104 BCE onwards, each legion used an eagle as its standard. The standard was
carried by an officer known as an aquilifer, and its loss was considered to be a
very serious embarrassment.
References and further reading
See also
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