How Did the Resources and Ideas of the Roman Army Help in Its Success? Free Essay Example

Introduction

I wanted to research the Roman Army and how it was so powerful because I am fascinated by how one civilization managed to control such a large empire, with little worthy resistance, excluding Carthage who were still inevitably defeated by the Romans for such a long period of time. In particular, I wanted to look at the advantages that the Romans had over their opposition, and how they were helped by the resources and ideas that they utilized. In this dossier, I will look at various kinds of sources to deduce reasoning for the success and strength of the Roman Army, by looking at the equipment, attitudes and tactics of the Roman army, as well as their legionary fortresses.

Weapons and Equipment

The Romans managed to obtain better resources and equipment than their adversaries, which gave them the advantage in battle. They had armour which protected their bodies and meant that they could last longer on the battlefield, two-edged swords which allowed for a more versatile style of striking, and javelins, also known as ‘pilum’ which allowed for ranged warfare, and was hard to avoid when thrown fast.

Here we see a Roman cavalryman, which was a Roman soldier riding on horseback. As we can see from the image, this allowed the soldier to jab downwards with his spear while travelling at speed. This would have made it hard for the enemy to fight back, as they would have to fight upwards to attack the soldier, which would be harder to aim and generate power.

It would also be hard to dodge, due to the speed of the horse and the momentum behind it. This shows one of the key roles of cavalryman, being that they chased down fleeing enemies and eliminated them. We see that the cavalryman is triumphing over his enemies, which shows that this style of warfare would have been powerful.

Roman Military Tactics

This is a comparison between two strong military formations, one used by the Romans and one of Macedonian origin. The Romans had complex military formations, that were versatile and well-equipped. Although Polybius describes the Phalanx formation as formidable, describing that it would be powerful in ‘appearance and strength’, he states that overall, the Roman formation allowed for adaptation to account for specific battles and how the battle was going. They were ‘much more serviceable’, meaning that their plans could easily be changed mid-battle. However the Romans still thought of the Phalanx as a viable strategy. When the Romans came across another strong military tactic such as the Phalanx, they took it and used it, which links back to source 4, the quote by Julius Caesar.

Training for the Roman Army was extremely tough both physically and mentally. Roman recruits were required to have a very high level of fitness, obtained by running, jumping and swimming, which would help them be more prepared on the battlefield. Here, it is said that ‘Militari ergo gradu XX milia passuum horis quinque… conficienda sunt’, meaning that they had to complete a march of 20 Roman miles in 5 hours. They would have a high level of endurance, they would be faster, and they would be able to withstand tougher conditions due to the rigorous training only allowing the strongest men through into the army. This would also build up the discipline and mental toughness of the soldiers, which would better prepare them for battle. They believed that the only way to improve was through ‘assiduo exercitio’, continuous practice. Their continuous practice and exercise gave them a significant advantage when facing armies that were less well-trained, as they would overpower the enemy in speed, power and endurance.

The Legionary Fortress

The legionary fortress had strong defences, which allowed it to withstand enemy attack. There was a ditch surrounding it, which would have made it harder for enemy soldiers to approach, as they would have to attack at an incline upon reaching the outer walls, which were also built high to stop enemies from easily climbing over. There were also battlements in the wall, which allowed Roman soldiers defending the wall to shoot through gaps in the wall while having defences on either side of them, making it harder for them to be shot back at. There were towers in each corner, which would have been the weak points of the fortress, as they would be more difficult to defend if the towers were not there. They also had towers at regular intervals along the sides, which meant that they were equally prepared for an attack from any direction.

Here we see the tactics used by the Romans in the Jewish War, when they were sieging Jerusalem. The Romans encircled the city with a wall to cut off supplies to the city completely and thereby drive the Jews to starvation. This was a preferable strategy to just charging into the city with their army, as they wouldn’t have to lose their soldiers in battle if there is never any battle at all. After a while many of the people had died from starvation, and those that were left would have been weak and tired from hunger and lack of resources, and therefore unable to effectively fight back. At this point, the Romans breached the defences and massacred the rest of the population. This brutal massacre would have sent a message to other potential future enemies of Rome, and deterred them from wanting to take on the Romans.

Attitudes of the Roman Army

Part of the reason for the Roman Army’s success was how they learnt and borrowed ideas from countries. Here we see that they borrowed their equipment from the ‘Samnitibus’, who were the Samnites, a group of tribes living in south-central Italy. The attitude of the Romans was that they were never too proud to use ideas from other places, whether that place was an ally or an enemy, which would give them an advantage, as it meant that the Roman Army could utilize a combination of the best ideas from many different places, allowing them to be the best in all areas. The word ‘studio’, meaning ‘enthusiastically’, shows how the Romans had no pride in doing this. However, it is important to recognise the potential bias involved in the analysis of this speech, as Julius Caesar was known to put a positive spin on the Romans in an effort to generate motivation and patriotism.

There were very strict punishments for breaking the rules in the army. This would have scared the soldiers into being disciplined and therefore making them less likely to desert their duties or fail. Although this treatment is seen as cruel and evil in terms of modern morality, it cannot be denied that this would strengthen the Roman army, by forcing soldiers to fight to their best.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we can see that the power of the Roman Army, and its control of a large empire can be explained through looking at the individual resources and ideas it utilized. We see that when conquering other parts of the world, their supreme strategies and preparation of soldiers gave them a significant advantage, and when defending their land their rugged and well-designed legionary fortresses allowed them to fend off combatants. Overall, I believe one of the most important attributes of the Roman military was its ability to take on foreign ideas and adapt to new ways of doing things, rather than being prideful and only using their own ideas.