Roman citizen

  • Physically fit and 1.6m tall
  • Most soldiers joined between 18-20 years old
  • You were expected to stay in the army for 25 years

Training & Work

  • Used fighting methods of Greeks (phalanx) but developed own methods in LEGIONS
  • Legions divided into ‘maniples’ (cohorts) which moved in lines effectively in hilly terrain
  • LEGION: basic unit was 80 men
    (6 = a cohort) and 10 cohorts made up a full legion of 4800 men
  • War was a major part of life in the first 300 years of the Republic
  • Men carried a 25 kg pack on his back
  • Failure to perform duties or cowardice were corrected by stoning or even execution of 1 in every 10 men
  • Policy of “divide and conquer”
  • To move armies around so quickly, Romans built roads, bridges, aqueducts
  • Built war machines (catapult which could hurl a 27 pg boulder 500m and battering ram which took 1000 men to mobilize it for action)

Roman Siege Equipment

  • Romans developed their weapons from Macedonia, Carthaginian, and Spanish originals.
  • Ballista
  • A type of catapult.
  • Shoots arrows, fireballs and other projectiles
  • Battering Ram
  • Protected against enemy fireballs and molten lead
  • Roof, wet animal skin
  • Swung back and forth against the defending town’s gate until the gate gave away
  • Assault Tower

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Post comment