The Roman Military
The Roman Military Systems
The Manipular System
The manipular system was adopted around 315 BC, during the Second Samnite War. The rugged terrain of Samnium, where the war was fought, was not conducive to the phalanx formation which the Romans had inherited from the Etruscans and Ancient Greeks. So they decided to create a means in which their army could be more flexible in the rough terrain.
The Manipular Formation
The manipular legion was organized into four lines, starting at the front: the velites, the hastati, the principes, and the triarii. These were divided by experience, with the younger soldiers at the front lines and the older soldiers near the back. The army was arranged in a checkerboard like way called the triplex acies. it was also supplemenmted and supported by cavalry, most of which were from their allies
The Velites
The velites were the soldiers at the very front of the formation. They would act as the screening force of the army. They are lightly armed and armored numbering usually at 1,200 men strong. Their job was to skirmish with the enemy before contact. They notable wore a wolf's head on their own. They had either 5 or 7 light javelins/darts which they threw at the enemy before battle. A gladius in reserve was also kept by the velites if needed to engage in close combat. Lastly they carried a light wooden shield called a parma.
The Histati and The Principes
The histati was the next in line, followed by the principes. They were generally alike but the principes were more experienced and better fighters. Once the histati were tired the principes would take over. After the principes were tired the histati would also take over. This cycle would repeat giving each other a break. They wore similar equipment, with the principes having higher quality. The soldiers in the first two ranks carried one or two pilas, the roman throwing javelin. Once the pila was thrown they would draw their galdius. They also carried the iconic scutum shield and had a range of body armor. The histati numbered around 1,200 as well as the principes.
The Triarii
In the last line was the 600 elite triarii. In contrast with the histati and the principes, these veterans were still armed with phalanx style spearmen equipment. They carried the traditional thrusting spear and round clipei shiled. These older troops were revered and respected. They were not to engage in battle until the histati and the principes could no longer fight.
The Cohort System
As Rome expanded, defeating Greece and Macedonia, wiping Carthage from existence and delivered the Selucids a devestating blow. The militia army of the earlier Republic were stagnating and beceoming inadequate for facing new enemies due to a lack of man power. A new threat from the north would also rise. They needed to find a way to make a large organized army to combat the threats that their enemies pose. This became the birth of the cohort system.
The Cohort Formation
The velites, histati, principes and the triarii would all be changed. Instead of having four different units it was turned into one; the legionaire. The legionaires would no longer adopt the maniple system instead they would have cohorts. 10 cohorts would make up one legion. Within the cohorts make up 6 centuries. Each century had 100 men led by a centurion. 80 soldiers of each century were legionaries while 20 were non-combatants. They no longer used the triplex acies formation, but instead was they were packed in organized closed lines with their respective century.
The Legionary
The legionary was the standard unit of the legion in the Cohort System. Their equipment was very similar to the histati and the principes. They carried two pilas with a gladius. They wore a helmet, body armor and greaves. They also had the large scutum shield as their primary protection. Unlike the units in the Manipular System, the legionaries had to carry all of their equipment with them. They also had construction tools for rapid building of fortifications and camps.
