The Dagger
The dagger was made of iron and was elaborately decorated. It was only used when both javelins and the short sword were lost in battle. However the dagger could also be used for eating and cutting rope or building things.
The Javelin
The javelin was made of wood and the tip was made out of soft iron which could bend when the soldier threw the spear, if it got stuck in the ground it would bend, preventing the enemy from reusing it. This also had another advantage; if the spear was thrown and it hit an enemy shield, it would disable the shield allowing the second javelin that a legionary carried to be thrown to kill.
The Sandals
The sandals were made of leather and had metal studs on the soles which had three uses. The first use is the most obvious use; they were used for grip . The second use is that when soldiers were marching down roads, the noise of the studs on the road will instil more fear into the enemy troops. The third use is that in battle you could do some pretty big damage if you kicked someone in the shins with them or you stamped on someone’s head.
The Shield and Boss
The shield was made out of wood with layers of leather stretched over the front of it for reinforcement. The shield was curved for even more protection and it could probably shield one fully armoured legionary without much problem, if he was sitting down behind it. There was some decoration on the front, like the eagle, the symbol of the Roman Empire. On the back of the shield is a handle with which the soldiers carried the shield. The legionary’s hand is protected by a giant metal boss which is in the middle of the shield. The boss could also be used as a weapon; the legionary could probably kill someone with his shield alone.
The Roman army was divided up into many legions of about 5000-6000 men. The Legions were then divided up into ten cohorts; nine of these had 480 men and one which was called the First Cohort and 1000 men. This included five double centuries, extra administration staff and 120 cavalry soldiers. The First Cohort was the senior cohort of the legion. The cohorts were broken down into six centuries, one of which consisted of eighty men; the century was the essential fighting unit of the legion. The centuries were divided even further into ten contubernia, one of which, a contubernium, consisted of eight men. These eight men lived together in a barracks or a tent and developed close friendships which helped them in battle because they would be fighting for each other.
The person in charge of the whole legion was the Legate and he was assisted by six tribunes. A century was commanded by a centurion. The First Cohort had an extra centurion called the Primus Pilus who was the chief centurion of the legion. Each centurion was assisted by an Optio. Also there were auxiliary troops who were not Roman citizens and they brought skills such as archery to the army. They also made up part of the Roman army. There were also Numeri who were barbarians and they were often sent into battle first to tire the enemy.
Over the page is a diagram to show how the Roman army was divided up:
Diagram showing how the Roman army was divided up:
10 Cohorts- 480 men each
6 Centuries – 80 men each.
10 Contubernia- 8 men each
The Roman army was effective in battle for many different reasons. The formations and the way the army was set out before battle helped them immensely. The legions were set out in a curved motion, with auxiliary infantry in front of them; these were probably made up of Syrian archers who would weaken the enemy before they could come close enough to do any major damage. In front of the auxiliary infantry were the barbarian infantry and the barbarian cavalry.
The barbarians were placed right at the front to tire out, weaken and maybe even scare the enemy with thousands upon thousands of screaming men. The barbarians were not well armed so they were probably meant to die. The auxiliary infantry came next. These were slightly better armed than barbarians; they were backed up by auxiliary cavalry. Finally the legions; these were the best armed and the best trained. By the time the enemy got to the legions they were tired out and so all the legions had to do was finish them off.
Over the page is a diagram of how the Roman army was set out before battle:
During battle the people responsible for keeping order and organisation were the centurions, whereas the legate took and overall view of the battle. Orders were transmitted in a number of ways; the first of which was the basic; a cavalry man would ride through the men issuing orders. Also the standards would guide the soldiers into battle and tell them where to go. Finally the trumpet signals could be used to issue orders which was effective because the whole army could hear the signals. Soldiers who disobeyed orders could be punished in a number of ways including being told off and even being killed.
Also the Roman army was effective in battle because they had superior weapons and armour. Also they had a selection process and then they had a rigorous training process. To be in the Roman army you had to be a Roman citizen, slim and muscular, be healthy with especially good eyesight and especially good hearing, they had to be literate and they had to be at least 5ft 9 inches. All of these selection criteria prove how strict the army was about how they selected their soldiers.
The Roman army was effective in places other than battle because they were trained to build quickly and efficiently. The army was trained to build many buildings such as:- roads, domestic buildings such as houses, towns and cities, bridges to get across rivers, aquaducts that were used to carry water, military buildings and defences, siege technology and sewers.
Also the leaders; the centurions and the legates were very experienced and very well educated, most were from rich and respected families. This helped the army to be effective because in sieges the leaders could direct the siege and help the effectiveness of the attack. Probably the most important reason why the Roman army was so effective was because of the strict discipline that the army had. For example the centurions carried around a staff made out of vine wood and it was used to beat disobedient soldiers with. Also if a soldier had a small, silly fault like dirty armour then he would be made to stand outside headquarters with no weapons and armour. This was to show that he wasn’t worthy of being a soldier. A more serious punishment was that if a unit disgraced itself then it would be decimated which meant that one man in every ten would be clubbed or stoned to death by the rest of the army.
The place where the army was probably most effective apart from battle was sieges this was mainly because of the superior siege technology the Romans had including catapults and siege towers. Over the page are some diagrams and labels of some siege technology that the Romans built:
Therefore the reasons why the Roman army was so effective in battle and elsewhere are because they had the most advanced technology of their time, their tactics and their weapons were unmatched. The strict discipline and the rigorous training made the army what it was and this helped the Romans conquer as much of the known world as they did.
