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The Roman Military in the Pre-Republican Period - OnionWilliams - 02-12-2017
Hi all,
This is my first post here!
I am currently researching Regal Rome for a short story/ novel that is based around the deposition of Tarquinius Superbus and the establishment of the Republic. A big point of the story centres on the Roman army during this period.
I have done research, notably Adrian Goldsworthy's The Complete Roman Army (2003), and have come to the conclusion that in the early period of Rome the military was formed of levies as it is until the Marian Reforms. When Rome was but a fledgling state the main focus of war would have been raiding and cattle wrangling, just as the Hellenes' had been. Notable members of communities would have rallied the fighting men around them and lead them on campaigns. Battles would have been disorganised with the more heavily armed "heroes" duelling (similar to Homeric combat).
As the military and combat evolved and became more sophisticated then the troops would have taken up a Hoplite phalanx formation, with the more heavily armed troops in the front and lighter troops in the rear. This would have been due to the still simple type of formation and the influence of Hellenic colonists in the Italian peninsula. Furthermore, the Chigi vase shows the cultural interactions between the Hellenes and Etruscans, and we can assume there may have been some other forms of cultural interaction besides art, specifically in this case arms armour, and formations.
As for the equipment of the troops I believe that there would not have been uniformed as in later Rome, but, instead would have had a variety of equipment including armour and weapons. I believe that there would have been Aspises, Samnite Scutums, and Celtic shields present, as there were numerous cultures on the peninsula interacting with one another. By this logic we can assume that there would have been numerous weapons in use also, such as kopis swords and Celtic long swords.
I hope that you all can either confirm or correct my research and provide other resources that I can use to further my research!
With much appreciation,
OnionWilliams.