Military Tactics of Imperial Rome

There is a clear sense that Roman Imperialism was made possible to a large degree by the attainment of a high level of military knowledge and structure. Rome in the imperial period roughly 27 BC at the beginning of the rule of Augustus to 395 AD when the empire was cleaved into East and West, (Boatwright, Gargola, and Talbert 459) was marked by a substantially large and organized standing Army. For the majority of the early imperial period the standing army of Rome was populated almost entirely by Roman citizens and only late in the period, at the time of Hadrian was there any significant non-citizen populous of the army and this was often in the form of special auxiliary forces, rather than imperial forces. (Boatwright, Gargola, and Talbert 150) Though, it must also be said that even during the period of the Republic, the Roman City State had developed and established sets of colonies, some created through collaboration and others created through conquest that delineated a sense of strategic protection and superiority regionally. (Heichelheim, and Yeo 105) In fact it is the organization of the army which marks both its success and its ability to utilize novel military tactics to defeat its enemy and gain imperial territory, which at its peak stretched through most of Europe, the Persian Gulf and North Africa.

The constitution of the Roman Army was historically by subscription, and all citizens of proper age were expected to serve, though there was a clear sense that others could serve in the stead it was restricted to citizens.

19. After electing the consuls they proceed to elect military tribunes, -- fourteen from those who had five years', and ten from those who had ten years' service. All citizens must serve ten years in the cavalry or twenty years in the infantry before the fortysixth year of their age, except those rated below four hundred Oasses. The latter are employed in the navy; but if any great public necessity arises they are obliged to serve as infantry also for twenty campaigns: and no one can hold an office in the state until he has completed ten years of military service. . . .When the consuls are about to enrol the army, they give public notice of the day on which all Roman citizens of military age must appear. This is done every year. When the day has arrived, and the citizens fit for service are come to Rome and have assembled on the Capitoline, the fourteen junior tribunes divide themselves, in the order in which they were appointed by the people or by the imperators, into four divisions, because the primary division of the forces thus raised is into four legions. . . . (Munro 23-24)

The core of the army then created an organized and standing system by where they could be called on to serve for a campaign of imperial or local need. Tactics to a large degree reflected this highly organized structure as the order in which one went into battle often determined the level of success, especially in a time when most military action, by their enemies was demonstratively disorganized, resulting in a frenzied rush to the battlefield and a frenzied rush bu all to kill the enemy. The troops were also further delineated by age, a designation that populated the army with the appropriate number of men in each role with those being the oldest and wisest leading the charge, and those in their prime being the best equipped. (Munro 25) These core issues, as to who populated the army and filled its ranks were also reflected in significant order and a strong sense of discipline in the army. (Heichelheim, and Yeo 62) For many the title given to this sense of discipline and order among Roman citizen soldiers was the “Roman Way” which frequently determined the level of control each given leader had over the standing army and the organized fashion in which it was equipped and eventually how it fought. (Warry 70-190)

Military Tactics of course ebbed and flowed, just as political sentiment did in the Roman Empire. Yet, the core of systemization and standardization, with the inclusion of the flexibility to apply observed tactics of others was so ingrained in the Roman military body that it explains the speed in which the Roman Republic became an empire. (Boatwright, Gargola, and Talbert 180, 206) the development of Roman tactics was a culmination of pre imperial experiences with war, as well as the foundation of the society, based on citizen soldiering, before the establishment of the empire.

War occupied a central place in the civic and religious structure of many citystates, but this was especially true of Rome. By the fourth century, Rome had evolved a pattern of warfare that centered on campaigns undertaken almostevery year, a level of intensity and regularity that is unique among ancient citystates. In the process, warfare came to be deeply entrenched in Roman political and religious life, shaping the highest offices as well as the lives and