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The military of ancient Rome was one of largest pre-modern professional standing armies that ever existed. At its height, protecting over 7,000 kilometers of border and consisting of over 400,000 legionaries and auxiliaries, the army was the most important institution in the Roman world.
The term late Roman army is often used to include the East Roman army. The army of the Principate underwent a significant transformation, as a result of the chaotic 3rd century . Unlike the Principate army, the army of the 4th century was heavily dependent on conscription and its soldiers were more poorly remunerated than in the 2nd century.
The early Roman army was deployed by ancient Rome during its Regal Era and into the early Republic around 300 BC, when the so-called "Polybian" or manipular legion was introduced. Until c. 550 BC, there was probably no "national" Roman army, but a series of clan-based war-bands, which only coalesced into a united force in periods of serious ...
The Empire was increasingly plagued by usurpations led or supported by military conspiracies, leading to the Crisis of the Third Century (235–284 AD) in the late empire and eventual final decline. Following is a list of topics on the military history of ancient Rome. Structural history of the Roman military
The heavy losses that the Roman military suffered during this defeat ironically forced the Roman Empire to rely still further on such foederati troops to supplement its forces. [144] In 382, the practice was radically extended when federated troops were signed up en masse as allied contingents of laeti and foederatii troops separate from ...
The organization of the army of the mid-republic (also known as the "Polybian" or Manipular army) was described by the Greek historian Polybius in the mid-second century BC The basic military unit of the Polybian army was the maniple, which numbered about 120 men, and was subdivided into two centuries of 60 men. [9]
Roman military equipment (cf. Roman military personal equipment), particularly armor, was of better quality and far more ubiquitous, especially in the late Republican and Early Imperial era, than that of most of their opponents. Soldiers equipped with shields, helmets and highly effective body armor had a major advantage over warriors protected ...
The Imperial Roman Army was the military land force of the Roman Empire from 27 BC to 476 AD, [1] and the final incarnation in the long history of the Roman army. This period is sometimes split into the Principate (27 BC – 284 AD) and the Dominate (284–476) periods.