• Looking much better, but still have someone else contribute/doublecheck your facts and wordings to avoid plagiarism or errors.  Mr. A, 2008-05-02, 2:10 a.m.   

Julius Caesar was Rome's greatest general and one of the greatest military commanders of all time. The Roman Forces, developed by Caesar, surpass those of all other nations. He never exposed his soldiers to needless hardship or danger.

• The army consisted of people usually from the age of 17-46.
• Each soldier had a term of service (sacramentum) of 20 years.
• Each soldier was paid a stipendium which was 225 denarii = $45 per year!!!!
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• Image taken from VRoma  (This is one Denarius)

• When soldiers retired as veterans (veteranus) they received a reward of money or land or both. Besides the pay a soldier received a share of the captured territory's treasure!!

Legion - the main division of infantry

• At full strength there were 6000 men --> under Caesar, about 3600 men in a legion.
• Consisted of 10 cohorts (cohortes) --> each cohort had 3 maniples (manipuli) -->each maniple had 2 centuries (ordines).

At the peak of Caesar's command he ruled over 10 legions.

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• Image taken from VRoma

Cavalry - equitatus, equites

• Made up of mercenaries from Rome's allies.
• Divided into squadrons (alae), troops (turmae), and squads (decuriae).
   
   

Artillary - engineers (fabri) created and operated the machines (tormenta).

• Catapulta - shot large arrows or darts in horizontal directions. (LOOK AT THE PICTURE!!!)
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• Image taken from VRoma
•   Ballista - threw large stones through the air. A small ballista was called an onager.
• Scorpio - simmilar to the catapulta, but shot a single HUGE arrow.            }}}}-------->
• Aries - battering ram. (BOOM).
• Turris - a tower set up at a distance and rolled forward to strategicly approach walls.
• Agger - an embankment created to furnish an approach to a wall.
• Vinea - a movable shed that protected people working at or under a wall.
• Pluteus - a screen behind which people can carry on seige operations.
• Testudo - a protective formation of soldiers' shields.
• Auxiliaries - main job was to confuse the enemy by flinging arrows and rocks into the scores of enemies.  Included archers (sagittarii), slingers (funditores), and soldiers with light armor (milites levis armaturae).
   
   

Officers - (going in order high to low in rank).

• Dux - commander-in-chief. Highest officer was called imperator after winning an important battle/war.
• Legati - The staff officers. No definate command. They did whatever the cammander told them to do. Acted as an advisory body.
• Quaestor - The quartermaster. They were elected by the people of Rome. Job was to provide the clothing, pay, food, and equipment for the soldiers. Caesar sometimes placed a quaestor in charge of a legion.
• Tribuni Militum - Military Tribunes. Each legion had 6. Under the command of the quaestor
• Centuriones - Centurions. There were 6 centurions to a legion.  The highest ranking centurion (primipilus) led the 1st maniple of the 1st cohort. 

The Battle - The Roman Battle Tactics

• The first charge was really important. It was perferably made from a gentle hill slope (ex superiore loco).
• The leader made a speech before battle to encourage (Cohortatio) the legion.
• Signa Inferre - The signal to advance. The first line started to advance.
• Concursu - The run..... (AAHHHH!!!) They ran with their javelins poised (pilis infestis). Then they threw the javelins at the enemy, then they went into hand-to-hand combat with their swords. The first and second lines of cohorts relieved each other, while the third line was used only in case of emergency.
• The Cavalry were used for preliminary skirmishing, gaurding the flanks, and persuing the retreating enemy. They were usually placed on the wings of the battle line along with the auxiliary soldiers.
   
   

Seige Operations - For walled towns. The Romans used 3 different forms

• Oppugnatio Repentina -The sudden assault. They would drive the enemy away from the wall with arrows and slings then they would scale the wall.
• Expugnatio - The formal siege. People behind protective screens (plutei) would gradually walk toward the wall. 50-180 foot tall towers (turres ambulatoriae) would be created and walked to the wall. Archers would be near the top of the towers and battering rams were near the bottom. Then a draw bridge would be lowered to the wall so soldiers could run onto the wall and fight in hand-to-hand combat.
• Obsidio - The blockade. An entrenchment (circumvallatio) was was created around the entire enemy stronghold. The point of this operation was to starve the enemy to death.

Equipment - The tipical Legionary soldier

• Uniform - They wore a sleeveless tunic (tunica) which went down to their knees. It was tied together around the waist by a belt (cingulum). And they had a heavy wool cloak (sagum) for wet or cold weather.
• Armor - The soldier either wore an iron helmet (cassis) or brass or leather helmet (galea), with a coat of mail (lorica). They carried a shield (scutum) which was about 4 by 2 and 1/2 feet.
• Weapons - They had a light spear (hasta), a heavy spear (pilum), and a sword (gladius). The sword was held over the soldier's shoulder by a strap (balteus).
• Baggage - The soldier carried with him armor, weapons, clothes, food, utensils, a saw, hatchet, spade, basket, and one or more stakes used for the rampart.  They were all stored in a bundle (sarcina) which in the end weighed about 50 pounds. Heavy baggage (impedimenta) was carried by pack animals and carts. This baggage was all the supplies for the army that no human could carry alone. 
• Rations - (res frumentaria).  They were distibuted every 15 days.  The soldiers recieved half of a bushel of wheat which they groung and mixed with water to bake bread.

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