The newly equipped Roman soldier also carried a pugio or dagger usually worn on the right hip with the gladius on the left. A few had helmets but most wore wolf skins over their caps so the officers could identify them in battle.Īround the 3rd century BCE, after the wars with Carthage, the Roman army adopted the Spanish sword or gladius hispaniensis which replaced their thrusting weapon. They used a light javelin and carried a light shield (usually circular) because a heavier one proved too cumbersome. There were also the velites recruited from the poorest of propertied citizens who served as light infantry. The pilum would remain in the legionary's arsenal of weapons for over five centuries. The hastati and principes carried two javelins or pila. In the rear came the triarii, the veterans, numbering around 600 who only fought in the extreme.Įveryone wore bronze helmets and breastplates (the wealthier wore mail cuirass) and carried a semi-cylindrical shield. The second group was the slightly older principes, usually in their late twenties or thirties also numbering around 1200. They consisted of the youngest propertied citizens usually in their late teens and early twenties and numbered around 1200. The first group or division positioned in the forefront closest to the enemy was the hastati. Each legion numbered 4,200 infantrymen and 300 cavalrymen. The army was now divided into three distinct divisions, and each division was then separated into centuries (roughly 100 men) but they were still comprised of only propertied citizens. ![]() The Punic Wars of the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE against Carthage saw the appearance of the famed legion.
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