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The Roman legion (from the Latin legio, meaning levy) was the basic military unit of ancient Rome. It consisted of about 5,000 to 6,000 (later 8,000) infantry soldiers and several hundred cavalrymen. Legions were named and numbered; about 50 have been identified, although there were never that many in existence at any one time. Usually there were 28 Legions plus their Auxiliaries, with more raised as needed or as able.
Originally, in the time of the Kings, the legio was the whole Roman army, comprised of levied citizens. At some point, possibly in the beginning of the Roman Republic, the legio was subdivided into two separate legions, each one ascribed to one of the two consuls. In the first years of the Republic, when the warfare was mostly concentrated in raids, it is uncertain if the full manpower of the legions was summoned at one time. Legions become organized in a more formal way in the 4th century BC, as Roman warfare evolved to more frequent and planned operations, and the consular army was raised to two legions. The military tribune s appeared after 331 BC. The internal organization of the legion became more sophisticated, from the classic phalanx to the manipular system, and allowed important tactical innovations. Later in the Roman Empire, the legion was commonly reinforced by allied troops, the allae.
Throughout the history of Rome's Late Republic and Imperial era, the legions played an important political role. Their actions could secure the empire for an Imperial hopeful or take it away. An example is the defeat of Vitellius in the Year of the Four Emperors, decided in the moment that the Danubian legions chose to support Vespasian. By the 1st Century BC the threat of the Legions under a demagogue was recognized. Governors could not leave their provinces with their Legions. When Julius CaesarAlternative meanings: Julius Caesar (disambiguation). Gaius Julius Caesar ( Latin: C·IVLIVS·C·F·C·N·CAESAR) ( July 13, 100 BC March 15, 44 BC) was a Roman military and political leader whose conquest of Gallia Comata extended the Roman world all the way t crossed the RubiconThe Rubicon Rubico is an ancient Latin name for a small river in northern Italy. In Roman times it flowed into the Adriatic Sea between Ariminum and Caesena. The actual modern identity of the water-course is uncertain, it is usually identified as the Pisc he left his provinces and came to Italy under arms. This last precipitated a constitutional crisisA constitutional crisis is a situation in which separate factions within a government disagree about the extent to which each of these factions hold sovereignty; as such, it is distinct from a rebellion, in which factions outside of a government challenge.
In the Republic, legions had an ephemeral existence. Except for Legio I to IV, which were the consular army (two per consul), other units were levied by campaign. The shift to more permanent legions came about primarily for domestic reasons, i.e. to make them loyal to the Emperor, not their generals. In The Empire, the legion was standardized, with symbols and an individual history where men were proud to serve. The legion was commanded by a legate or legatus. Aged around thirty, he would usually be a senator on a three year appointment. Immediately subordinate to the legate would be six elected military tribunes - five would be staff officers and the remaining one would be a noble heading for the Senate. There would also be a group of officers for the medical staff, the engineers, record-keepers and the praefecti castrorum (commander of the camp) as well as other specialists such as priests and musicians.
In the middle of the Republic, legions were composed of the following units:
Cavalry or equites. The cavalryAn army unit consisting of mounted soldiers are commonly known as cavalry . Cavalry fight from the backs of their mounts, which most often are horses or camels. Infantry travelling by horse and fighting on foot are instead known as dragoons. Modern cavalr was originally the most prestigious unit, where wealthy young Romans started to be noticed before the starting of their political career. Cavalry equipment was purchased by each of the cavalrymen and consisted of a round shield, helmet, body armour, sword and one or more javelinFor the spear-like object, see Javelin throw. For the aircraft, see Gloster Javelin or ATG Javelin. For the anti-aircraft weapon, see Javelin surface-to-air missile. For the anti-tank weapon, see Javelin anti-tank missile. For the Sailing dinghy, see Javes. The cavalry was outnumbered in the legion. In a total of circa 3000 men, the legion had only around 300 horsemen, divided into 10 units of 30 men. These men were commanded by decurion s. Additional to this heavy cavalry, there would be the light cavalry levied from poor citizens and wealthy young citizens not old enough to be in the hastati or the equites.
Light infantry or velitesVelites were a class of light infantry in the army of the Roman Republic, The Velites were skirmishers, armed with a short sword ( Gladius) and several javelins. They wore light armor, which usually consisted of little more than greaves and a bronze helme. The velites were basically javelin throwers who did not have a precise formal organization or function in battle, being used where there was need for them.
Heavy Infantry. This was the principal unit of the legion. The heavy infantry was composed of citizen legionaries that could afford the equipment composed of bronze helmet, shield, armour and short spear (pillum). The preferred weapon was the gladiusA gladius gladius hispaniensis the Spanish sword) is a short sword, 600 mm (24 inches) long, used by the Roman legionaries. However, contrary to common belief, it was not used by gladiators, who used a version with a shorter blade (300 mm to 350 mm [12 in, a short sword. The heavy infantry was subdivided, according to the legionaries' experience in the Republican Legion prior to the Marian reforms which abolished the seperate classes of troops turning the legion into a professional force, into three separate lines:
Each of these three lines was subdivided into maniples, the lowest subunit of the army, each consisting of two centuries commanded by the senior of the two centurions. Centuries were nominally 100 soldiers each (thus the name), but in practice might be as few as 60, especially in the less numerous triarii manipules. Each century had its standard and was made up of ten units called contubernia. In a contubernium, there would be eight soldiers who shared a tent, millstone, a mule and cooking pot (depending on duration of tour).
In battle, the manipules were commonly arranged in a chequered formation called quincunx. Principes manipules would cover the open space left by the hastati, and be covered in return by triarii manipules.
In the late republic, the cohort of which there were six to ten, substitutes the manipule as the basic tactical unit. The cohort is composed of six to eight centuries and is led by a centurion assisted by an optio , a soldier who could read and write. The senior centurion of the legion was called the primus pilus, a career soldier and advisor to the legate.
A legion therefore had around 4,800 legionaries as well as a large number of camp followers, servants and slaves. Legions could contain as many as 6,000 fighting men, although at times in Roman history the number was reduced to 1,000 to curb the power of mutinous commanders. Julius Caesar's legions had only around 3,500 men.
Auxiliaries, each Legion had a same size or near same size auxiliary which contained specialist units, engineers and pioneers, artillerymen and siege craftsmen, service and support units plus units made up of non-citizens (who were granted Roman citizenship upon discharge) and undesireables. These were usually formed into complete units such as light cavalry, light infantry, and laborers.