This blog follows the Roman soldier Gnaeus in the year 251 BC. He fights alongside fellow soldiers against the Carthaginians as a triarius in the Battle of Panormus, the modern-day city of Palermo. This battle was part of the First Punic War, a conflict that marked the end of the early Republican Period. After this, Rome became a major superpower in the Mediterranean and the arch-rival of the Phoenician Carthage.
The Early Roman Republic
Since the expulsion of the kings in 509 BCE until the announcement of the principate in 27 BCE, Rome was a republic. Usually, the period of the Roman Republic is divided into the Early, Middle, and Late Roman Republic. We shouldn't think that the 'republic' was a constant throughout the time it existed: according to historian Jeremy Armstrong, this period can be better divided into as many as 13 parts. The beginning of the Roman republic was similar to the time of kings in that it was led by warlords, each with their own retinue of clients. From this eventually arose the social relations of Roman society.
Around this time, we should think more of loose groups of war bands than of the Greek type of Poleis. They conducted annual raids on enemy tribes, and the spoils they won 'heroically' made them heroes to the rest of the people. The great difference between the early Republic and the time of Kings was that these warlords often worked closely together and began to act more in the name of the Roman Republic. From this tradition, we also see the Triumphal processions and the claiming of the largest part of the war booty by the patricians, who had conquered it 'in the name of Rome'.
The warlords of the early republic came from different Latin peoples and didn't always come from Rome itself. For an ambitious warlord from another tribe, it was very attractive to join them and thus become a 'Roman'. These warlords could join, and as long as they acted in the name of the Republic, they were a welcome addition. In this way, the early Republic could grow considerably in military power. This open character of the early Romans toward 'outsiders' is remarkable, especially compared to later periods when only a small group of Romans had full citizenship, even if they were Roman allies or even born in Rome.
The warlords from the early period eventually became the Patricians, the noble families that would rule Rome. From this perspective, the gap widened between the 'haves' (patricians) and the 'have nots' (the plebeians), resulting in long political friction where the plebeians wanted more share in the rights of the patricians. Although the name 'Republic' implies a relatively equal society, it was far from democratic: only male Roman citizens had the right to vote and legal personhood. The society was, due to this origin, very hierarchically organized and shaped by patron-client relationships, even among the privileged citizenry. Aristocratic senatorial families stood at the top, followed by equites (knights) and plebeians. Below them existed an underclass of proletarians and slaves who had little say over their own lives, let alone politics.
The ideal of the republic formed the foundation for Roman identity; the Romans called themselves a republic right up until the fall of the western empire, even though they were ruled by an emperor. From the period of the middle republic, we see the emergence of a bureaucratic machine that was necessary to manage the complexity of Rome. Prominent patrician families played the key role in this.
The Army of the Middle Republic
It's no wonder that the hierarchy of Roman society was reflected in the army of the Republic. In the early period, the Roman army resembled that of surrounding city-states, consisting of loose war bands and hoplite armies in the phalanx according to the Greek model. During the war against the Samnites from 343 to 290 BCE, the Romans developed a new, original battle formation and method of warfare, the so-called manipular legion. This would be the standard form of the Middle Republican army until the reforms at the end of the second century BCE.
The manipular legion was divided into different ranks and groups with their own functions. The vanguard was led by velites, light infantry who harassed the enemy. They were often young men who, besides a wolf skin and a small shield, wore no protection to move as quickly as possible across the battlefield. Heavy infantry was the most important element of the republican army. The formation of these soldiers was divided into three lines based on combat experience and wealth class. At the front were the hastati: they were the least experienced and armored soldiers who led the attack in the first phase of a battle. The middle line was formed by the principes. If the line of the hastati was broken during the first phase or if this part of the combat lasted too long, they would move forward, equipped and ready to battle an exhausted opponent. The Triarii like our Gnaeus, the veterans with the best equipment, formed the rear guard of the Roman army. If the formations of the hastati and principes were broken, they would come to their aid in the final phase of the battle. This rarely happened and was a sign that the fight would continue to the bitter end; the Romans even had an expression for it in everyday life, 'res ad triarios venit' or 'it comes down to the triarii'. Alongside this, there was cavalry on the flanks, made up of the class of the equites (knights), auxiliary cavalry consisting of wealthy Italians without citizenship rights, and other specialists.
The Roman Conquest Strategy in Italy
Rome had grown in the early centuries of the republic from a small city-state into an imperium that ruled almost all of Italy. This happened in some cases with bloody conquest wars like against the Etruscan city of Veii in 396 BCE, which was only 16 km away from Rome. But in most cases, this 'conquest' involved a clever strategy of incorporating and merging warlords from other Indo-European cultures. Rome regularly chose allies to attack their enemies together and then incorporated both peoples into the republic. Finally, there were plenty of opportunities for the elite of these other peoples to join the elite of Roman society.
The First Punic War
Throughout the fourth century BCE, the republic had absorbed other small city-states and regional rulers, but this brought it into increasingly frequent conflict with other imperia around the Mediterranean. This happened in 264 BCE, when Rome came to the aid of Campanian pirates in Messina against the Greek city-state Syracuse in Sicily. Rome came into conflict with the other ally of the Campanians, the Phoenician city-state Carthage. This disagreement escalated into a very devastating war between the two superpowers, larger than the conflict that had begun in 264 BCE; Syracuse even switched to the Roman side after just a year.
Because of Sicily's location, much of the war was fought at sea. At the beginning of the war, Rome was merely a land power and was repeatedly thwarted by the Carthaginian fleet without being able to fight back. Because of this, the city developed its own navy, with triremes that were directly copied from a stranded Carthaginian model. Although the Romans were able to build a fleet quickly, it was clear that the Carthaginians were much more experienced in naval warfare. The Roman strategy was therefore designed to turn a sea battle into a land battle, by having Roman marines board Carthaginian ships with the help of a corvus, a kind of boarding plank. This was very effective and remained the main strategy of the Roman navy for the coming centuries.
Most of the war remained undecided between the two camps. The young Roman navy even attempted a daring invasion of Carthage between 256 and 254, but this failed quickly. The last decisive land battle was fought in 251 BCE, when the Romans managed to prevent the Carthaginians from conquering the city of Panormus (Palermo). After this, the Romans had almost completely taken Sicily and fighting occurred almost only at sea. A failed naval raid in 249 BCE in which the Roman fleet suffered heavy losses was followed by a years-long stalemate. In 243 BCE, the Romans managed to build a new fleet and in 241 BCE they won a decisive sea battle, after which Carthage signed a peace treaty and Rome gained control of Sicily. The island thus became (with the exception of Syracuse) the first Roman province, under the authority of a praetor.
Peace between Carthage and Rome would not last long, and the conflicts that followed would be the most tragic and destructive wars of classical antiquity. In 218 BCE, war broke out again between the two superpowers, this time in Iberia. The Carthaginian general Hannibal would, however, bring the conflict to Rome and nearly destroy the mighty city-state.
Equipment of triarius Gnaeus
Clothing
Tunica (Tunic)
In Roman society, the tunica made of wool, linen (and in some cases cotton) was the most important garment for both men and women. During the republican period, it was very fashionable to make it long and flowing, to give the same appearance as the more formal toga worn by Roman citizens. However, this was not practical for soldiers, and so they wore a short tunica, with or without short sleeves.
The tunica that Gnaeus wears is dyed blue. In modern depictions, Roman military personnel often wear red, because this color was a symbol for the god of war Mars. However, it is unclear what colors Roman soldiers wore, as the color varied per legion (and also per manipule). Soldiers maintained their own tunics during the republic, which they often had sent from home: so Gnaeus received his tunic as a gift from his wife.
Belt
To have the mail shirt rest on the hips and to hang the sword, a simple leather belt was used during this period.
Caligae (Sandals)
The sandals that Gnaeus wears are a practical military model worn by Roman soldiers. Military sandals were comfortable and light in design: this allowed soldiers to perform hard work, stand watch for long periods, and march great distances per day without developing blisters. Soldiers themselves fitted the sandals with nails to provide grip on unpaved or natural ground. These could also be used to finish off fallen enemies on the battlefield as Roman units marched over them.
Sagum (Cloak)
Gnaeus carries a cloak with him for cold or bad weather. The Roman cloak was a large piece of wool, held together with a fibula. Roman soldiers wore cloaks to keep themselves warm and dry: the latter was very important to protect the equipment against rust or dirt. They may also have played a role in night operations, to camouflage soldiers. The cloak could even be used to protect the arm during a fight: there is a report of legionaries who were ambushed by the enemy without a shield and wrapped their cloaks around their forearm to use as a shield.
From wall paintings, it can be seen that Roman legionaries mostly wore brown, beige, and gray cloaks. This was because the cloaks were made of undyed wool, so the natural oil of the sheep could make the cloak water-resistant. Centurions and other commanders wore red, white, or even purple cloaks to stand out: Julius Caesar was known for wearing his cloak even during battles for dramatic effect.
