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When Rome was only a simple alliance of villages, the Roman army was a federated army in
which the inhabitants of each village fought
together as a clan. After the city was founded, the
army modeled itself on the Curiate Assembly
(comitia curiata), where the Romans combined in
30 groups called curiae. Each curia provided a
centuria of infantrymen and a decuria of cavalrymen, which was equivalent to 3,000 infantry and
300 cavalry. Battles were fought as a series of individual encounters in which an individuals fury
(furor) was commended. It was this same fury
that separated the warrior from his normal persona and turned him into a man possessed.
Even in the ancient world, the cavalry was a
separate unit and not merely a mounted version
of the infantry. Cavalrymen were aristocrats, the
only people with the means to purchase a horse.
Cavalrymen, like infantrymen, fought individual
battles that emphasized their individual merits.
Ancient literature contains two distinct versions
of how the cavalry developed. In addition to those
who claim that it was the monarchy that increased
cavalry numbers from 300 to 600, then to 900,
and later to 1,800 under Tarquinus Priscus (the
fifth king of Rome) there are those who state
that before Priscuss reign the cavalry numbered
only 300, and later 600. There is a preference for
the latter theory. This is because it was only at the
end of the 5th century BCE, when the state
decided to grant allowances to the cavalry for the
acquisition and upkeep of their horses, that 12
new cavalry centuriae were created. These new
centuriae replaced the six oldest centuriae in the
field, which were thereafter reserved for ceremonial roles, though maintaining their political role
in comitia centuriata.
At the end of the 7th century BCE Rome
adopted the Etruscan hoplite tactics that had
originated in Greece. The infantry grew in importance at the expense of the cavalry. The main hoplite weapons were a long thrusting spear (hasta)
The Encyclopedia of the Roman Army, First Edition. Edited by Yann Le Bohec.
2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118318140.wbra1097
2
A separate centuria was made up of those who did
not have the means to join up, the proletariat. The
first three classes were given weapons that allowed
them to serve in the heavy infantry; the other two
were given weapons for serving in the light infantry. In the beginning, the Centuriate Assembly
probably only consisted of soldiers that had actually been recruited. Some scholars, such as
Fraccaro (1931), believe that in the middle of the
6th century BCE, when the comitia are traditionally believed to have been formed, there were
6,000 heavy infantry equivalent to 60 centuriae of
young adults in the first three classes who numbered approximately 100 per centuria. At the
beginning of the Republic the army split into two
legions, each with 3,000 hoplites in 60 centuriae at
half their strength. The 2,400 light infantry,
equivalent to about 25 centuriae of young adults
from the last two classes, were then divided into
legions each containing about 1,200 men. Some
scholars, such as Sumner (1970), agree with
sources that refer to the oldest Roman army as
classis (Paul. Fest. 48L), identifying it with the
first class of wealth (Gell. NA, 6.13), and think that
heavy infantry initially amounted to only 40 centuriae of first-class young men from the comitia.
Later, 2,000 hoplites, equivalent to 20 centuriae of
second-class and third-class young adults, with
less wealth but still enough so that they could
purchase a clipeus and a hasta, were combined
with the 4,000 first-class hoplites. A further 2,500
light infantry may then have been added, equivalent to 25 centuriae of fourth-class and fifth-class
young adults. Other scholars, such as Cairo
FURTHER READING
Brizzi, G. (2008) Il guerriero, loplita, il legionario (2nd
edn). Bologna.