The Roman military was the most powerful one the world has ever seen. Rome was attacked often by other places. Therefore they had to organize a fighting force. Their fighting force began as a small one, but later on, it turned out to be the best military system.
At first Rome was just a place where a bunch of Farmers and Refuges lived. Whenever any land-owning citizen saw armies coming, they would report and go to the Field of Mars. At first, only land-owning citizens were allowed to go to war. The wars were very short, but if the wars lasted longer then the citizens who were in the war would be paid.
Later on, the Romans developed their own military system. In the army, there were groups of people called legions. Each legion held 4,200 soldiers, and had four classes of people. These were the four classes of people in the legion: the Triarii, Shield-bearing people, the Hestat, and the Velites. The Trarii were the strongest out of the four. Then were the people who hole shields, the Roman's shields looked like half of a cylinder, and were made so that a man could fit in the middle. They would hold these shields to certain directions, and so look like a big box on the outside. This Formation was called the Testudo formation. The Testudo formation is called the Tortoise formation in English. The third groups of people in the army were called the Hestat. They were young mean, and would throw spears into the ranks of the enemies. Last of all, there were the Velites. The Velites were young people, and would go separately to fight the enemies. These were the four ranks. These ranks were further organized into maniples that held 120 men each.
Commander Marius reorganized much of the army in 100 BC. He made it so that all citizens could join the army, not only land owning citizens. The soldiers’ wages were raised, and the soldiers' training was made so that both poor and rich citizens received the same training. Commander Marius made a very important part of the army called the Century. There were another four levels in the Century: the Centurion, Optimums, Signifier, and the Tesserarius. The Centurion was a leader of 100 mean in the legion. The Optimums was the second in command, while the Signifier would hold the big, Roman flag. The Tesserarius would keep all of the passwords, which were changed daily. The parts of the legion were also changed. The parts of the legion were also changed. Legions now contained 5,000 men each, and each was under control by a legatus. Every legion had some Auxillia and Golden eagle. The Auxillia were less trained people who could earn their citizenship by going to war (they would not be counted as part out the 5,000). The Golden eagle was special, when a legion did a good job, another ornament would be added to their golden eagle.
The Soldiers’ lives were very hard. They had very hard exercises everyday. They had to run, swim, jump, March, and throw javelins. They drilled very often, and discipline was very harsh. From person to legion they were punished. The Soldiers had to buy and carry theirs own things, including their armor and weapons. The camps were also made identically. The Roman armor included: Sandals or Boots (according to the weather), a Gladius, dagger, Javelin, shield, and light armor with cloths to prevent scraping.
The Roman Military was a very well organized one ever. They started out with only farmers and refuges, but later had a great, almost unstoppable army. They started out with a Legion that contained 4,200 soldiers, and later had 5,000 soldiers in each Legion. They later also had a Century! After a long time, the Romans had a well-organized army.
At first Rome was just a place where a bunch of Farmers and Refuges lived. Whenever any land-owning citizen saw armies coming, they would report and go to the Field of Mars. At first, only land-owning citizens were allowed to go to war. The wars were very short, but if the wars lasted longer then the citizens who were in the war would be paid.
Later on, the Romans developed their own military system. In the army, there were groups of people called legions. Each legion held 4,200 soldiers, and had four classes of people. These were the four classes of people in the legion: the Triarii, Shield-bearing people, the Hestat, and the Velites. The Trarii were the strongest out of the four. Then were the people who hole shields, the Roman's shields looked like half of a cylinder, and were made so that a man could fit in the middle. They would hold these shields to certain directions, and so look like a big box on the outside. This Formation was called the Testudo formation. The Testudo formation is called the Tortoise formation in English. The third groups of people in the army were called the Hestat. They were young mean, and would throw spears into the ranks of the enemies. Last of all, there were the Velites. The Velites were young people, and would go separately to fight the enemies. These were the four ranks. These ranks were further organized into maniples that held 120 men each.
Commander Marius reorganized much of the army in 100 BC. He made it so that all citizens could join the army, not only land owning citizens. The soldiers’ wages were raised, and the soldiers' training was made so that both poor and rich citizens received the same training. Commander Marius made a very important part of the army called the Century. There were another four levels in the Century: the Centurion, Optimums, Signifier, and the Tesserarius. The Centurion was a leader of 100 mean in the legion. The Optimums was the second in command, while the Signifier would hold the big, Roman flag. The Tesserarius would keep all of the passwords, which were changed daily. The parts of the legion were also changed. The parts of the legion were also changed. Legions now contained 5,000 men each, and each was under control by a legatus. Every legion had some Auxillia and Golden eagle. The Auxillia were less trained people who could earn their citizenship by going to war (they would not be counted as part out the 5,000). The Golden eagle was special, when a legion did a good job, another ornament would be added to their golden eagle.
The Soldiers’ lives were very hard. They had very hard exercises everyday. They had to run, swim, jump, March, and throw javelins. They drilled very often, and discipline was very harsh. From person to legion they were punished. The Soldiers had to buy and carry theirs own things, including their armor and weapons. The camps were also made identically. The Roman armor included: Sandals or Boots (according to the weather), a Gladius, dagger, Javelin, shield, and light armor with cloths to prevent scraping.
The Roman Military was a very well organized one ever. They started out with only farmers and refuges, but later had a great, almost unstoppable army. They started out with a Legion that contained 4,200 soldiers, and later had 5,000 soldiers in each Legion. They later also had a Century! After a long time, the Romans had a well-organized army.