THE ROMAN ARMY

Army organization
Very well organized, every soldier had a
clear role
Largest group of the army was the LEGION
This was made up of 6000 men under the
command of the LEGATE
The Legion
The legion was
divided into ten
cohorts, each with
600 people
Each cohort was
made up of six
centuries, each
with 100 soldiers
The centuries were
commanded by a
centurion
The Centurion
They were
responsible for
training the
soldiers under
their command
and making sure
everyone obeyed
orders.
Some were very
cruel
How to become a Soldier
Basically either you
signed up or you
were conscripted
during a time of
war
You had to be
physically fit and
tall
You were expected
to stay in the army
around 16 years
 Training
Most soldiers joined
between 16-20
years old
There were three
18-mile marches
each month
On each march
each soldier would
carry 55 lbs. of
equipment
 More Training
Soldiers would also
learn how to march
This was important
for learning
manoeuvres in
battle
New recruits were
given shields and
swords twice as
heavy as the real
thing!
Auxiliaries
These were soldiers from
lands conquered by the
Romans who volunteered to
fight for the Romans
many of these had special
skills- like cavalry soldiers
and archers
Most fought with a sword
and short spear
Thought of by Romans as
second class soldiers , paid
less and not trained as
rigorously
After 25 years- they became
Citizens (and their children
too!)
The Layout of a Typical Battle
 Major Battles During the Republic
The conquest of Italy: Rome gained control of Italian peninsula and
Sicily
Punic wars: between Rome and Carthage, strengthened Roman
power in the west
The conquest of Greece: Rome conquered the Hellenistic kingdoms
one by one and turned them into Roman provinces