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What Is Loyalty And Loyalty In The Roman Army

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The Roman Army: Dedication and Loyalty “It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience. “Julius Caesar. The words of a powerful man describing the tenacity and dedication of one the most powerful and dedicated Armies in history. By the middle of the first century B.C, the Roman army had developed over centuries of all but continuous warfare into a professionally minded force (L.J pg 379). Rome naturally always had an Army from its earliest days as a village by the Tiber bank. At first it consisted of a king and his bodyguard and retainers, members of clan groups living together (Keppie pg 37). Within many campaigns the Empire’s army have known victory and defeat. From …show more content…

They were separated in 6 troops called cohorts and each of these cohorts consisted of 80 legionnaires. One officer who was called a Legate was assigned to a cohort and had full authority over his men. All were influenced in their powerful northern neighbors the Etruscans and to include the group call the Cities a powerful and dominant influence in central Italy (Keppie pg 38). The structure and the manner in how the Roman army was put together during its prime were all due to Servius Tullius, the sixth king. Servious is credited with establishing many of the early institutions of the Roman state (Keppie pg 40). Servious created the first census and with doing so had created a way in which not just the people of Rome, but the Soldiers were divided depending on their wealth. There was a political and military …show more content…

It should remebered that throughout the Roman Republic the soldiers fighting for Rome were her own citizens for whom defence of the state (Keppie pg 23). During the later times of the 6th century the Tarquins; who was the ruling family at the time, were expelled. Due to the expulsion a republic was established, the result was a century long war against adjacent communities that brought Rome supreme primacy over Latium. There was a decline of the Etruscan’s strength due to the fighting with the Greeks, and southern Italy. The rivalry was cause of trading disputes with a mixture migration from Celts who were settling in the Po valley and were spreading throughout Etruria. In the long term it can be seen that the Etruscans provided a buffer for the towns of central and southern Italy against the Gallic adavance, which consumed much of their reamaining strength (Keppie pg 15) The battle against the Gallics took ten years with the end coming with the capture of Veii in 396. The war was compared to the Trojan war. The Roman army had to expand from 4000 to 6000 soldiers. Depending on their class they had to provide certain equipment, for example a soldier could bring all his gear, but was not required to bring his greaves or a helmet. Soldiers due to the lack protective gear, they were given a ‘scutum’ which is a longer shield which would provide better body protection

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