Unit Browser for RTR: Imperium Surrectum

Short description

These Triarii are recruited from among Rome's allies and equipped in the same way as their Roman counterparts.

Description

The military superiority of the Roman Republic rested heavily on the manpower and loyalty of its allies, the Italic Socii. Most of these communities, tribes or city states had been subjected by force during the early centuries of Rome's expansion across Italy, but they remained remarkably loyal to the Republic even in its darkest days.

Polybios (III, 90, 13-14) comments on their steadfastness after the crushing defeat at Lake Trasimene in 217 BC: "For up to now, although the Romans had been beaten in two battles, not a single Italian city had revolted to the Carthaginians, but all remained loyal, although some suffered much. From which one may estimate the awe and respect that the allies felt for the Roman state."

The Socii were organised by the Romans into legions like their own - each with the same number of velites, hastate, principes, and triarii, but with up to three times as many equites (cavalry) and served alongside them for the majority of the 3rd and 2nd Centuries BCE, including the Punic Wars, the struggle against the Hellenic powers of the eastern Mediterranean, the Numantian Wars, the war against Jugurtha, and the defeat of the Cimbri and Tuetones.

The Triarii were the oldest and most experienced soldiers, who along with the Velites, Hastati and Principes, made up the full infantry complement in a pre-Marian Republican legion. They were armed similarly to the Principes although, rather than a gladius, their weapon of choice was commonly a hasta, a long spear. Other than this, they carried all the accoutrements of a typical Roman foot soldier: greaves, the gladius and scutum. However, the Triarii did away with the pila, as they weren't practical in addition to being armed with the hasta.

The proverb "ad triarios perventum est", used in relation with an extremely serious situation, is indicative of the role usually assigned to these men, of final line of defence. That they should engage at all was usually seen as being a last resort, since it meant the two previous lines, the Hastati and the Principes had been broken.

Polybius (Book 6, 21.6) says the Triarii were "the oldest of all" and that, because they were worth more than 10,000 drachmas, were able to wear a coat of chain mail instead of the simple sheet of metal worn over the chest by the common soldiers (Polybios, Historiai, 6.23.14). Along with the Velites, Hastati and Principes, the Triarii made up the names among the Romans of the four classes in each legion distinct in age and equipment. They divided them so that the senior men known as Triarii numbered six hundred, the Principes twelve hundred, the Hastati twelve hundred, the rest, consisting of the youngest, being Velites.

The scutum, or shield, was semi-rectangular in shape, and provided good protection for almost the entire body. A hasta was about six feet in length with a shaft generally made from ash, while the head was of iron, and usually had a bronze butt-spike.

Following the Marian reforms, the triarii lost their distinctive equipment and became indistinguishable from the principes.

Marius' reforms began to break down the distinction between Roman and Italian legions - granting citizenship to Italians that enlisted in the legions and effectively making all the legions under the Republic's command truly "Roman legions".

Following the Social Wars, as swathes of Italian communities south of the River Po had been given Roman citizenship, the concept of separate allied Italic and Roman legions became completely obsolete. This, combined with the fact that the Marian reforms ensured that standardised equipment was provided by the state, meant that the Romans could recruit their reformed legions from the entire Italian peninsula, though remnants of the manipular system remained in the positions and titles of centurions within each cohort of the reformed legions.