The
Roman Army Overview
The
Roman army evolved greatly over the centuries from a Greek
style hoplite army in the early republic to the classic legion at the start of the empire. One of the strengths of the
Roman people was their ability to adapt and take on new ideas and technologies from the peoples they encountered, Etruscans,
Greeks, Carthaginians,
Parthians, Sarmatians. When
Marius took command of the legions to fight the Teutons and Cimbri at the start of the last century BC he made steps to improve the army, creating highly trained professional soldiers and modifying the manipular organization into a system of cohorts. The Roman%s did not have a single organised army as such, but rather groupings of legions, each of which acted as an independent army. The legions were divided into ten cohorts, nine of equal strength, and the first usually doubled. Each cohort was made up of si' centuries of ()
men lead by a centurion. Each of these was in turn made up of ten contubernia, each headed by a decanus. This was supported by *)) cavalry, divided into ten
turmae, each lead by a decurion . In the early empire the cavalry was
still a basic support unit, with the core of the army being the heavy infantry legionaries. The cavalry's job was mainly to chase down fleeing enemies, but they also
had an important role as scouts and spies - exploratores or
speculatores)
https://www.academia.edu/15317762/The_Roman_Army
