Romans at War: The Roman Military in the Republic and Empire

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Despite their formidable reputation and host of victories, Roman armies were not invincible. [4] Romans "produced their share of incompetents" [5] who led Roman armies into catastrophic defeats. Nevertheless, it was generally the fate of even the greatest of Rome's enemies, such as Pyrrhus and Hannibal, to win the battle but lose the war. The history of Rome's campaigning is, if nothing else, a history of obstinate persistence overcoming appalling losses. [6] [7] Kingdom (753–509 BC) [ edit ] Rape of the Sabine Women, by Nicolas Poussin, Rome, 1637–38 ( Louvre Museum) Between 135 BC and 71 BC there were three Servile Wars against the Roman state; the third, and most serious, [184] may have involved the revolution of 120,000 [185] to 150,000 [186] slaves. Additionally, in 91 BC the Social War broke out between Rome and its former allies in Italy, [187] [188] collectively known as the Socii, over the grievance that they shared the risk of Rome's military campaigns, but not its rewards. [180] [189] [190] Despite defeats such as the Battle of Fucine Lake, Roman troops defeated the Italian militias in decisive engagements, notably the Battle of Asculum. Although they lost militarily, the Socii achieved their objectives with the legal proclamations of the Lex Julia and Lex Plautia Papiria, which granted citizenship to more than 500,000 Italians. [189] What kind of landscape did the Romans find when they conquered Britain, and what changes did they make? Battle of Cap Bon - Failure of the invasion of the kingdom of the Vandals by the Western and Eastern Roman Empires. The Romans built about 55,000 miles of roads across the empire. They built very straight roads, many of which are still used today.

By 59 BC an unofficial political alliance known as the First Triumvirate was formed between Gaius Julius Caesar, Marcus Licinius Crassus, and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus to share power and influence. [217] It was always an uncomfortable alliance given that Crassus and Pompey intensely disliked one another. In 53 BC, Crassus launched a Roman invasion of the Parthian Empire. After initial successes, [218] he marched his army deep into the desert; [219] but here his army was cut off deep in enemy territory, surrounded and slaughtered [206] at the Battle of Carrhae [220] [221] in "the greatest Roman defeat since Hannibal" [222] in which Crassus himself perished. [223] The death of Crassus removed some of the balance in the Triumvirate and, consequently, Caesar and Pompey began to move apart. While Caesar was fighting against Vercingetorix in Gaul, Pompey proceeded with a legislative agenda for Rome that revealed that he was at best ambivalent towards Caesar [224] and perhaps now covertly allied with Caesar's political enemies. In 51 BC, some Roman senators demanded that Caesar would not be permitted to stand for Consul unless he turned over control of his armies to the state, and the same demands were made of Pompey by other factions. [225] [226] Relinquishing his army would leave Caesar defenceless before his enemies. Caesar chose Civil War over laying down his command and facing trial. [225] The triumvirate was shattered and conflict was inevitable. Battle of the Lupia River (11 BC) – Roman forces under Augustus's stepson Drusus win a victory in Germany. Caesar defeated the Helvetii in 58 BC at the Battle of the Arar and Battle of Bibracte, [210] the Belgic confederacy known as the Belgae at the Battle of the Axona, [201] [206] the Nervii in 57 BC at the Battle of the Sabis, [201] [211] the Aquitani, Treviri, Tencteri, Aedui and Eburones in unknown battles, [206] and the Veneti in 56 BC. [206] In 55 and 54 BC he made two expeditions to Britain. [206] [212] In 52 BC, following the Siege of Avaricum and a string of inconclusive battles, [213] Caesar defeated a union of Gauls led by Vercingetorix [214] at the Battle of Alesia, [215] [216] completing the Roman conquest of Transalpine Gaul. By 50 BC, the entirety of Gaul lay in Roman hands. [215] Caesar recorded his own accounts of these campaigns in Commentarii de Bello Gallico ("Commentaries on the Gallic War"). Battle of Caer Caradoc – British chieftain Caractacus is defeated and captured by the Romans under Ostorius Scapula.

Forts

BC – Battle of Corinth – Romans under Lucius Mummius defeat the Achaean League forces of Critolaus, who is killed. Corinth is destroyed and Greece comes under direct Roman rule.

Tacitus claims that Orkney was "discovered and subdued", but Thomson (2008) pp. 4–5 is as sceptical about Tacitus's claims on behalf of Agricola as he is about Claudius's earlier subjugation of Orkney (see above).

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BC – Battle of Sentinum – Romans under Fabius Rullianus and Publius Decimus Mus defeat the Samnites and their Etruscan and Gallic allies, forcing the Etruscans, Gauls, and Umbrians to make peace Some Rights Reserved (2009-2023) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. From its origin as a city-state on the peninsula of Italy in the 8th century BC, to its rise as an empire covering much of Southern Europe, Western Europe, Near East and North Africa to its fall in the 5th century AD, the political history of Ancient Rome was closely entwined with its military history. The core of the campaign history of the Roman military is an aggregate of different accounts of the Roman military's land battles, from its initial defense against and subsequent conquest of the city's hilltop neighbors on the Italian peninsula, to the ultimate struggle of the Western Roman Empire for its existence against invading Huns, Vandals and Germanic tribes. These accounts were written by various authors throughout and after the history of the Empire. Following the First Punic War, naval battles were less significant than land battles to the military history of Rome due to its encompassment of lands of the periphery and its unchallenged dominance of the Mediterranean Sea. The Romans had a very well organised army which allowed them to conquer other countries. The Roman army was one of the most successful armies in history and far more advanced than any other army at the time. The Roman army had much more advanced weapons and armour than other armies of the time

Discover how the Roman conquest changed what people in Britain ate, and how they looked after their health. Viriathus leads the Lusitani to a second victory against a Roman army, capturing Segobriga in Spain. Public toilets were such scary places full of rats and other terrors that the Romans often used magic spells and asked the gods for help when they used them. Battle of Ravenna – Bonifacius defeats rival Roman general Flavius Aetius, but is mortally wounded in the process.

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However, Rome still controlled only a very limited area and the affairs of Rome were minor even to those in Italy [45] and Rome's affairs were only just coming to the attention of the Greeks, the dominant cultural force at the time. [52] At this point the bulk of Italy remained in the hands of Latin, Sabine, Samnite and other peoples in the central part of Italy, Greek colonies to the south, and the Celtic people, including the Gauls, to the north.

Now that the Romans and Gauls had blooded one another, intermittent Roman-Gallic wars were to continue between the two in Italy for more than two centuries, including the Battle of Lake Vadimo, [53] the Battle of Faesulae in 225 BC, the Battle of Telamon in 224 BC, the Battle of Clastidium in 222 BC, the Battle of Cremona in 200 BC, the Battle of Mutina in 194 BC, the Battle of Arausio in 105 BC, the Battle of Aquae Sextiae in 102 BC, and the Battle of Vercellae in 101 BC. The Celtic problem would not be resolved for Rome until the final subjugation of all Gaul following the Battle of Alesia in 52 BC. BC – Battle of Crotona – Hannibal fights a drawn battle against the Roman general Sempronius in Southern Italy. Dacian King Decebalus crushes the Roman army at Tapae (today Transylvania, Romania), Legio V Alaudae and general Cornelius Fuscus perish in battle. BC - Gaius Petronius' expeditions against Nubia - Roman forces managed to reach Qasr Ibrim and northern Nubia, capturing several cities, including Pselcis, Primis, Abuncis, Phthuris, Cambusis, Attenia, and Stadissias, then destroyed the city of Napata (kushite capital) and other cities in retaliation while taking captives. Kushites Kandake earns a favorable peace treaty and Romans established a new frontier at Hiere Sycaminos ( Maharraqa), halting Rome’s southward expansion in Africa.Battle of the Medway – Claudius and general Aulus Plautius defeat a confederation of British Celtic tribes. Roman invasion of Britain begins In Romans at War ground-breaking research is presented in an accessible, entertaining, and sumptuously illustrated format, including: Roman–Sasanian War of 421–422 - The Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II declared war against the Persians and obtained some victories, but in the end, the two powers agreed to sign a peace on the status quo ante. BC - Siege of Aracillum - Roman forces under Gaius Antistius Vetus against the Cantabri people, Roman victory. May – Battle of Argentovaria – Western Emperor Gratianus is victorious over the Alamanni, yet again.