ROMAN
MILITARY ACHIEVMENTS
AND LEADERS
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By: Matt Bacon, David Stone, and Julian Autar
Geography
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The Roman Empire was full of many
terrains, many of which were rough.
In order for armies to go from one battle
to another roads were built to
accommodate them.
The geography of Rome was transformed
through roads, which helped for
transportation.
Social Impacts
By The Military
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For a long time, most military personnel
could not marry because they were in the
military.
Military conquest allowed many different
cultures to mix in Rome.
Resulting from this, Rome was seen as the
center of the Mediterranean.
Economics
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Wars created great revenue for Rome
because when they won the battles
they gained land and spoils of war
(money from the land acquired).
The stated of Rome , which were
acquired had to pay taxes to Rome to
fuel the economy.
Most the soldiers enlisted in the
Roman army because they had no
jobs before.
Therefore, the military created job for
the unemployed.
Political
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Generals were politically involved in the
government of Rome.
Some generals overthrew the government
through civil war (e.g. Julius Caesar)
In fact, overthrew Pompey’s government
through civil war using his army.
Religion
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Aries was the roman
god of war.
The Romans thought
Mars, also another
god representing
war, was very
important.
It was said that he
was the father of
Romulus and Remus,
the founders of
Rome.
Statue of Aries
Technology
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The first ancient pieces of
artillery were non-torsion
bolt throwers.
• The Onager (catapult)
was specifically designed
for siege warfare. It could
be used to bombard
enemy walls and artillery,
or to hurl large stones or
missiles at oncoming
forces.
Roman Soldiers and Tactics
Different Types of Soldiers
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The first Roman soldiers were just ordinary Roman citizens like
farmers, blacksmiths, merchants and businessmen.
The average age of a legionary was between 17 and 46 years old,
every citizen might of been asked to join the army.
The army was divided into legions, each containing about 6,000
men, there was four lines of soldiers.
The front line was made up of Velites, these men throw spears at
the enemy, behind them were the Hastatus and the Princeps, these
men did most of the fighting.
Hastatus and Princeps had light armour and used swords, in the last
line were the Triarius, these men wore heavy armour.
It was these legions that began the expansion of Rome by capturing
other cities.
Roman Tactics
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The Romans used 3 main battle
formations to fight with
The first was the Tortoise formation.
Used as protection against sustained
enemy archery and other projectiles.
Generally speaking, this formation
was used as a last attempt in holding
off the enemy, if the Roman line
broke or if they got surrounded by
enemy troops.
This is a more complex formation
designed to repel enemy cavalry but
very effective.
The Romans also used many other
different formations such as the
Skirmish formation, the Wedge and
the Fake Retreat
Basic Roman Soldier Equipment
A Roman soldier had a helmet
to protect his head
A metal jacket to protect to
protect his chest
A shield to form a line of
defense when working with
other soldiers
A pilum which is a kind of
spear
Sometimes a javelin to throw
at the enemy
And a sword
Also sometimes a dagger just
in case
Military Leaders
Caesar
JULIUS CAESAR: HISTORICAL
BACKGROUND
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102/100 BCE: Gaius Julius Caesar was born
His family had noble, patrician roots, although they were neither rich nor
influential in this period.
85 BCE: at age 18 he married Cornelia, the daughter of a prominent member of the
Popular faction; she later bore him his only legitimate child, a daughter, Julia.
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When the Optimate dictator, Sulla, was in power, he ordered Caesar to
divorce her; when Caesar refused, Sulla proscribed him (listed him among
those to be executed), and Caesar went into hiding. Caesar's influential
friends and relatives eventually got him a pardon.
JULIUS CAESAR: HISTORICAL
BACKGROUND
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79 BCE: Caesar, on the staff of a military legate, was awarded the civic
crown (oak leaves) for saving the life of a citizen in battle.
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His general sent him on an embassy to Nicomedes, the king of Bithynia, to
obtain a fleet of ships; Caesar was successful, but subsequently he became
the butt of gossip that he had persuaded the king (a homosexual) only by
agreeing to sleep with him
When Sulla died in 78, Caesar returned to Rome and began a career as a
orator/lawyer
JULIUS CAESAR: MAJOR
EVENTS
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75 - Pirates capture Caesar
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73 - Caesar is elected Pontifex
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69 - Cornelia, the wife of Caesar, dies
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67 - Caesar marries Pompeia
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65 - Caesar is elected Aedile
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63 - Caesar is elected Pontifex Maximus
62 - Caesar divorces Pompeia
JULIUS CAESAR: MAJOR
EVENTS
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61 - Caesar becomes Governor of Further Spain
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60 - Caesar is elected Consul and forms the Triumvirate
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59 - Caesar is elected Consul
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58 - Caesar defeats the Helvetii and Germans
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55 - Caesar crosses the Rhine and invades Britain
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54 - Caesar's daughter, who is also Pompey's wife, dies
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53 - Crassus is killed
JULIUS CAESAR: MAJOR
EVENTS
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52 - Clodius is murdered; Caesar defeats Vercingetorix
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49 - Caesar crosses the Rubicon - Civil War begins
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48 – Caesar defeats Pompey
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45 - Caesar is declared dictator for life
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44 - Ides of March, Caesar is assassinated
JULIUS CAESAR:
Untimely Death
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Julius Caesar had many men conspiring against him, among these
60 men were 16 senators, including Cassius, Casca, Cimber and
Brutus. Thei'r motives were obvious -- personal gain; they masked it
as a nobly patriotic cause. On the 15th of Martiae, 710 AUC, the
Senate held a meeting in the hall adjoining the theater Pompey had
built 11 years previously. A man named Cimber knelt at Caesar's
feet to plead for his brother's recall from banishment. When Caesar
irritably refused him, Cimber yanked Julius' toga down from his neck
and the other conspirators began to stab Caesar. When they were
finished, Caesar lay dead with 23 wounds.
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
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56-12 B.C
Agrippa was a renowned Roman general and close friend of Octavian
(Augustus)
As general, Agrippa defeated the forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra at
the Battle of Actium
Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus
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The Romans had appointed Cincinnatus dictator for six months so he could
defend the Romans against the neighboring Aequi who had surrounded the
Roman army and the consul Minucius in the Alban Hills.
gave up the title of dictator sixteen days after it had been granted.
and promptly returned to his farm…
Horatius
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late 6th C. B.C
Horatius was an heroic leader of the Roman forces against the
Etruscans
He deliberately stood alone against the Etruscans on a bridge which
the Romans were destroying from their side. In the end, when the
bridge was destroyed, Horatius jumped into the Tiber and swam
armed to safety.
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
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Sulla was a Roman general who vied successfully with Marius for leadership
of the command against Mithridates VI of Pontus
In the following civil war Sulla defeated the followers of Marius, had the
soldiers of Marius killed
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had himself declared dictator for life in 82 B.C
DECISIVE
ROMAN BATTLES
TIMELINE OF
DECISIVE BATTLES OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
o 496 BC Battle of Lake Regillus - A legendary early Roman victory, won over either the
Etruscans or the Latins
o 305 BC - Battle of Bovianum - Roman consuls M. Fulvius and L. Postumius decisiviely defeat
the Samnites to end the Second Samnite War .
o 295 BC - Battle of Sentinum - Romans under Fabius Rullianus and Publius Decimus Mus
decisively defeats the Samnites and their Etruscan and Gallic allies, forcing the Etruscans,
Gauls, and Umbrians to make peace .
o 280 BC - Battle of Heraclea - First engagement of Roman and Greek armies
o 242 BC - Battle of the Aegates Islands - Roman sea victory over the Carthaginians, ending
the First Punic War .
o 216 BC First Battle of Nola - Roman general Marcus Claudius Marcellus holds off an attack
by Hannibal.
o 208 BC - Battle of Baecula - Romans in Spain under P. Cornelius Scipio the Younger defeats
Hasdrubal Barca, who was a Carthagian general.
o 207 BC -Battle of the Metaurus - Hasdrubal is defeated and killed by Nero's Roman army.
TIMELINE OF
DECISIVE BATTLES OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
o 202 BC - Battle of Zama - Scipio Africanus Major decisively defeats Hannibal in North Africa,
ending the Second Punic War .
o 197 BC - Battle of Cynoscephalae - Romans under Flamininus decisively defeats Philip V in
Thessaly.
o 191 BC - Battle of Thermopylae - Romans under Manius Acilius Glabrio defeat Antiochus III
the Great and force him to evacuate Greece .
o 190 BC Battle of Magnesia - (near Smyrna) Romans under Lucius Cornelius Scipio and his
brother Scipio Africanus Major defeat Antiochus III the Great leading to a decisive victory of
the war .
o 168 BC Battle of Pydna - Romans under Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus defeat and
capture Macedonian King Perseus, ending the Third Macedonian War .
o 146 BC Battle of Corinth - Romans under Lucius Mummius defeat the Achaean League forces
of Critolaus , who is killed. Corinth is destroyed and Greece comes under direct Roman rule.
o 146 BC Battle of Carthage - Scipio Africanus Minor captures and destroys Carthage, ending
the Third Punic War
o 89 BC Battle of Asculum - Roman army of C. Pompeius Strabo decisively defeats the rebels in
the Social War.
TIMELINE OF
DECISIVE BATTLES OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
o 86 BC - Battle of Chaeronea - Roman forces of Lucius Cornelius Sulla defeat the Pontic
forces of Archelaus in the First Mithridatic War.
o 58 BC June - Battle of the Arar (Saone) - Caesar defeats the migrating Helvetians
o 58 BC - Battle of Bibracte - Caesar again defeats the Helvetians, this time decisively.
o 58 BC - Caesar decisively defeats the forces of the Germanic chieftain Ariovistus near
modern Belfort.
o 52 BC - Battle of Alesia - Caesar defeats the Gallic rebel Vercingetorix, completing the
Roman conquest of Transalpine Gaul.
o 48 BC - Battle of Pharsalus - Caesar decisively defeats Pompey, who flees to Egypt
o 47 BC - Battle of the Nile - Caesar defeats the forces of the Egyptian king Ptolemy XIII
o 47 BC - Battle of Zela - Caesar defeats Pharnaces II of Pontus. This is the battle where he
famously said “Veni, vidi, vici.” (I came, I saw, I conquered.)
o 45 BC - Battle of Munda - In his last victory, Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus
Labienus and Pompey the Younger in Spain. Labienus is killed in the battle and the Younger
Pompey captured and executed.
TIMELINE OF
DECISIVE BATTLES OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
o 42 BC - First Battle of Philippi - Triumvirs Marc Antony and Octavian fight an indecisive battle
with Caesar's assassins Marcus Brutus and Cassius. Although Brutus defeats Octavian, Antony
defeats Cassius, who commits suicide.
o 43 AD- Battle of Medway - Claudius and general Aulus Plautius defeat a confederation of
British Celtic tribes. Roman invasion of Britain begins.
o 50 AD- Battle of Caer Caradock - British chieftain Caractacus is defeated and captured by the
Romans under Ostorius Scapula.
o 101 AD - Battle of Tapae – Roman emperor Trajan defeats Decebalus, ending the Dacian Wars
o 268 AD- Battle of Naissus - Emperor Gallienus and his generals Claudius and Aurelian
decisively defeat the Goths.
o 268 AD Battle of Fano - Aurelian defeats the Alemanni, who begins to retreat from Italy .
o 273 AD- Battle of Chalons (273) - Aurelian defeats the Gallic usurper Tetricus, reestablishing
central control of the whole empire.
PRINCIPLE BATTLES OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
o 312 AD - Battle of Milvian Bridge - Constantine I defeats Maxentius and takes control of
Italy.
o 324 AD - Battle of Chrysopolis - Constantine decisively defeats Licinius, establishing his
sole control over the empire.
o 394 AD- - Battle of Frigdus - Christian Roman Emperor Theodosius defeats and kills the
pagan usurper Eugenius and his Frankish general Arbogast.
o 451 AD- in June - Battle of Chalons - An army of Visigoths, under king Theodoric, and
Romans, under general Aëtius, repulses the attack of Attila the Hun. Theodoric is killed in
the battle.
*AGUSTUS was the Title of the Roman
emperor, used first by Julius Caesar (27 BC14 AD)
Work Cited List
Websites
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http://www.exovedate.com/ancient_timeline_one.html
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http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/special/index.html
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http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/romebattles/

http://www.geocities.com/caesarkevin/caesar_11.html#Munda
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http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/classics/students/dave/ROMAN/battles.html
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http://www.unrv.com/military/roman-battle-index.php
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http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/caesar.html
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http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/rome/p/romanmilitldrs.htm