From the Roman army's origins as war bands of farmer-warriors, mounting only brief, seasonal raids against their equally belligerent neighbours, the Romans developed a militia that adopted the weapons and tactics of the Greek phalanx. They then outstripped their rivals for power with the vital innovation of the 'manipular legion', a much more flexible and versatile battle formation. Fuelled by their willpower and resilience, the Romans'social and tactical organization enabled them to sweep away first the rival empire of Carthage and then the Hellenistic armies of the Greek world. Illustrated with battle plans and colour plates of formations and tactical scenarios, this book explains the development of the military machine that enabled Rome to dominate the whole Mediterranean.
Introduction 4
Chronology Of Major Conflicts 7
Italy Before Rome 10
Etruscans
Latins
Oscans
Greeks
Celtic incursions
A village called Rome
The Age of Kings 13
Clan warfare
City-state warfare
The'Servian'army
The Age of Conquests 23
Italy
The western Mediterranean
The Greek world
The'Livian'legion
The'Polybian'legion
The socii
The Roman Way of War 30
The war band
The phalanx
Phalanx versus war band: The Allia, 390 BC
The Caudine Forks, 321 BC
The manipular legion
The triplex acies
The pilum
The gladius and scufum
Militia versus mercenary: Cannae, 216 BC
Zama, 202 BC
Legion versus phalanx: Kynoskephalai, 197 BC
Magnesia, 190 BC
Pydna, 168 BC
Select Bibliography 63
Index 64
Overview
From the Roman army's origins as war bands of farmer-warriors, mounting only brief, seasonal raids against their equally belligerent neighbours, the Romans developed a militia that adopted the weapons and tactics of the Greek phalanx. They then outstripped their rivals for power with the vital innovation of the 'manipular legion', a much more flexible and versatile battle formation. Fuelled by their willpower and resilience, the Romans'social and tactical organization enabled them to sweep away first the rival ...