This article is part of the series on: Image File history File links Rmn-military-header. ... Military of ancient Rome (portal) 800 BC–AD 476 For the military of the East Roman Empire after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, see Byzantine military. ...

Structural history

Roman army (unit types and ranks, legions, auxiliaries, generals)

Roman navy (fleets, admirals)

Campaign history

Lists of wars and battles

Decorations and punishments

Technological history

Military engineering (castra, siege engines, arches, roads)

Personal equipment

Political history

Strategy and tactics

Infantry tactics

Frontiers and fortifications (limes, Hadrian's Wall)

As with most other military forces the Roman military adopted a "carrot and stick" approach to military, with an extensive list of decorations for military gallantry and likewise a range of punishments for military transgressions. The branches of the Roman military at the highest level were the Roman army and the Roman navy. ... The Roman army was a set of land-based military forces employed by the Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic and later Roman Empire as part of the Roman military. ... This is a list of both unit types and ranks of the Roman army from the Roman Republic to the fall of the Roman Empire. ... This is a list of Roman legions, including key facts about each legion. ... Auxiliaries (from Latin: auxilia = supports) formed the standing non-citizen corps of the Roman army of the Principate (30 BC - 284 AD), alongside the citizen legions. ... // Manius Acilius Glabrio -- Manius Acilius Glabrio (consul 191 BC) -- Manius Acilius Glabrio (consul 91) -- Titus Aebutius Helva -- Aegidius -- Lucius Aemilius Barbula -- Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir) -- Lucius Aemilius Paulus Macedonicus -- Marcus Aemilius Scaurus (praetor 56 BC) -- Flavius Aëtius -- Lucius Afranius (consul) -- Sextus Calpurnius Agricola -- Gnaeus Julius Agricola -- Flavius Antoninus -- Marcus... The Roman Navy (Latin: Classis, lit. ... The Roman Navy (Latin: Classis, lit. ... The history of ancient Rome—originally a city-state of Italy, and later an empire covering much of Eurasia and North Africa from the ninth century BC to the fifth century AD—was often closely entwined with its military history. ... The following is a List of Roman wars fought by the ancient Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic and Roman Empire, organized by date. ... The following is a List of Roman battles (fought by the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire), organized by date. ... The technology history of the Roman military covers the development of and application of technologies for use in the armies and navies of Rome from the Roman Republic to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. ... Roman military engineering is a type of Roman engineering carried out by the Roman Army - almost exclusively by the Roman legions for the furthering of military objectives. ... Basic ideal plan of a Roman castrum. ... Roman siege engines were, for the most part, adapted from Hellenistic siege technology. ... List of ancient Roman triumphal arches (By modern country) // France Orange Reims: Porte de Mars Saint Rémy de Provence: Roman site of Glanum Saintes: Arch of Germanicus Greece Arch of Galerius, Thessaloniki Hadrians Arch, Athens Italy It has been suggested that List of Roman arches in Rome be... Not to be confused with Romans road. ... Roman military personal equipment was produced in large numbers to established patterns and used in an established way. ... Root directory at Military history of ancient Rome Romes military was always tightly keyed to its political system. ... The strategy of the Roman Military encompasses its grand strategy (the arrangements made by the state to implement its political goals through a selection of military goals, a process of diplomacy backed by threat of military action, and a dedication to the military of part of its production and resources... Roman infantry tactics refers to the theoretical and historical deployment, formation and maneuvers of the Roman infantry from the start of the Roman Republic to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. ... Map of all the territories once occupied by the Roman Empire, along with locations of limes Roman military borders and fortifications were part of a grand strategy of territorial defense in the Roman Empire. ... The limes Germanicus, 2nd century. ... Hadrians Wall is a stone and turf fortification built by the Roman Empire across the width of modern-day England. ...

Decorations, awards and victory titles

Qualifications

• Military diploma - a notarized copy of an original bronze constitution issued by the emperor in Rome, granting Roman citizenship to foreign veterans who had served for 25 years or more in the Roman auxiliary forces or Praetorian Fleets

A Roman military diploma is a document written on 2 ca. ...

Crowns

• Grass Crown- (Latin, corona obsidionalis or corona graminea) was the highest and rarest of all military decorations. It was presented only to a general or commander who broke the blockade of a beleaguered Roman Army
• Civic Crown- (Latin: corona civica) was a chaplet of common oak leaves woven to form a crown. During the Roman Republic, and the subsequent Principate, it was regarded as the second highest military decoration a citizen could aspire to (the Grass Crown being held in higher regard)
• Naval crown - (Latin corona navalis), was a gold crown awarded to the first man who boarded an enemy ship during a naval engagement. In style, the crown was made of gold and surmounted with the beaks of ships
• Gold Crown - (Latin Corona Aurea) Awarded to both Centurions and apparently some principales, for killing an enemy in single combat and holding the ground to the end of the battle
• Battlements Crown - (Corona Vallaris or corona muralis) Was made of gold and decorated with the uprights (valli) of an entrenchment. It was awarded to the first soldier or Centurion to mount the wall or palisade of an enemy town^[1].
• Crown of the Preserver - awarded to "those who have shielded and saved any of the citizens or allies"^[2] - Polybius relates that the crown is presented by those civilians the soldier saved and adds that "the man thus preserved also reverences his preserver as a father all through his life, and must treat him in every way like a parent."^[3].

In the Roman Republic and early Empire, the Grass Crown (or Blockade Crown; in Latin, corona obsidionalis or corona graminea) was the highest and rarest of all militry decorations. ... The Civic Crown (Latin: corona civica) was a chaplet of common oak leaves woven to form a crown. ... The Naval Crown (in Latin corona navalis), was a gold crown awarded to the first man who boarded an enemy ship during a naval engagement. ...

Imperial Titles

Synonyms for Emperor

• Augustus (also "Αὔγουστος" or "Σεβαστός"), "Majestic" or "Venerable"; an honorific cognomen exclusive to the emperor
  • Αὐτοκράτωρ, "Autocrat" (lit. "Self-ruler"); Greek title equivalent to imperator i.e. Commander-in-Chief
  • Βασιλεύς (Basileus) , Greek title meaning sovereign, popularly used in the east to refer to the emperor; a formal title of the Roman emperor beginning with Heraclius
• Caesar (also "Καίσαρ" or "Nobilissimus Caesar"), "Caesar" or "Most Noble Caesar"; an honorific name later used to identify an Emperor-designate
• Censor, a Republican office with a five year term and one coequal officeholder
• Consul, the highest magistracy of the Roman republic with a one year term and one coequal officeholder
• Dominus, "Lord" or "Master"; an honorific title popular in the Empire's middle history
• Imperator, "Commander" or "Commander-in-Chief"; a victory title taken on accession to the purple and after a major military victory; the praenomen of most Roman emperors
• Imperator Destinatus, "Destined to be Emperor"; heir apparent, used by Septimius Severus for Caracalla.
• Imperium maius, "greater imperium"; absolute power to a degree greater than any other, including power of enacting capital punishment
• Invictus, "Unconquered"; an honorific title
• Pater Patriae, "Father of the Fatherland"; an honorific title
• Pius Felix, "Pious and Blessed" (lit. "Dutiful and Happy"); an honorific title
• Pontifex Maximus, "Supreme Pontiff" or "Chief Priest" (lit. "Greatest Bridgemaker"); a title and office of Republican origin - could not be used by "Catholic" Emperors, while by that time only the pope had a claim on the title of highest religious authority.
• Princeps, "First Citizen" or "Leading Citizen"; an honorific title denoting the status of the emperor as first among equals
• Princeps Iuventatis, "Prince of Youth"; an honorific title awarded to a presumptive Emperor-designate
• Princeps Senatus, "First Man of the Senate" a Republican office with a five year term
• Tribunicia potestas, "tribunician power"; the powers of a tribune of the people including sacrosanctity and the veto

For other persons named Octavian, see Octavian (disambiguation). ... The cognomen (name known by in English) was originally the third name of a Roman in the Roman naming convention. ... An autocrat is generally speaking any ruler with absolute power; the term is now usually used in a negative sense (cf. ... A silver coin of the Seleucid king Antiochus I Soter. ... Louis XIV, king of France and Navarre (Painting by Hyacinthe Rigaud, 1701). ... For the Patriarch of Jerusalem, see Patriarch Heraclius of Jerusalem. ... Caesar (plural Caesars), Latin: Cæsar (plural Cæsares), is a title of imperial character. ... Censor was the title of two magistrates of high rank in the Roman Republic. ... This article is about the Roman rank. ... The Latin word imperator was a title originally roughly equivalent to commander during the period of the Roman Republic. ... A victory title is an honorific title adopted by a successful military commander to commemorate his defeat of an enemy nation. ... In the Roman naming convention used in ancient Rome, male names typically contain three proper nouns which are classified as praenomen (or given name), nomen gentile (or Gens name) and cognomen. ... Lucius Septimius Severus (or rarely Severus I) (b. ... Caracalla (April 4, 186 – April 8, 217) was Roman Emperor from 211 – 217. ... Imperium can, in a broad sense, be translated as power. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Alternate meanings: see Pontifex (disambiguation) In Ancient Rome, the Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the collegium of the Pontifices, the most august position in Roman religion, open only to a patrician, until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post. ... For other uses, see Pope (disambiguation). ... The Latin word Princeps (plural: principes) means the first. This article is devoted to a number of specific historical meanings the word took, by far the most important of which follows first. ... First among equals redirects here. ... The princeps senatus (plural principes senatus) was the leader of the Roman senate. ... Ordinary Magistrates Extraordinary Magistrates Titles and Honors Emperor Politics and Law Tribune (from the Latin: tribunus; Greek form tribounos) was a title shared by 2-3 elected magistracies and other governmental and/or (para)military offices of the Roman Republic and Empire. ... Ordinary Magistrates Extraordinary Magistrates Titles and Honors Emperor Politics and Law Tribune (from the Latin: tribunus; Greek form tribounos) was a title shared by 2-3 elected magistracies and other governmental and/or (para)military offices of the Roman Republic and Empire. ...

Victory Titles

Main article: List of Imperial Roman victory titles

Victory titles were treated as Latin cognomina and were usually the name of the enemy defeated by the commander. Hence, names like Africanus ("the African"), Numidicus ("the Numidian"), Isauricus ("the Isaurian"), Creticus ("the Cretan"), Gothicus ("the Goth"), Germanicus ("the German") and Parthicus ("the Parthian"), seemingly out of place for ardently patriotic Romans, are in fact expressions of Roman superiority over these peoples. The most famous grantee of Republican victory title was of course Publius Cornelius Scipio, who for his great victories in the Second Punic War was awarded by the Roman Senate the title "Africanus" and is thus known to history as "Scipio Africanus". This document is a list of victory titles assumed by Roman Emperors, not including assumption of the title Imperator (is itself a victory title); note that the Roman Emperors were not the only persons to assume victory titles (Maximinus Thrax acquired his victory title during the reign of a previous...

The practice continued in the Roman Empire, although it was subsequently amended by some Roman Emperors who desired to emphasise the totality of their victories by adding Maximus ("the Greatest") to the victory title (e.g., Parthicus Maximus, "the Greatest Parthian").

Decorations (Medal Equivalents)

Polybius writes that "After a battle in which some of them have distinguished themselves, the general calls an assembly of the troops, and bringing forward those whom he considers to have displayed conspicuous valour, first of all speaks in laudatory terms of the courageous deeds of each and of anything else in their previous conduct which deserves commendation"^[4]. Only after this are the military decorations presented:

• Torc - gold necklet
• armillae - gold armbands
• phalerae - gold, silver, or bronze sculpted disks worn on the breastplate during parades
• hasta pura - a ceremonial silver spear awarded to "the man who has wounded an enemy"^[5]
• a small silver replica of a standard or flag (the vexillum).
• a cup - presented to an infantryman "who has slain and stripped an enemy"^[6] not in the normal melee of battle but voluntarily in single combat after throwing themselves into danger
• "horse trappings" - presented to a cavalryman "who has slain and stripped an enemy"^[7] not in the normal melee of battle but voluntarily in single combat after throwing themselves into danger

A torc, also spelled torq or torque (from Latin torqueo, to twist, because of the twisted shape of the collar) is a rigid circular necklace that is open-ended at the front. ...

Financial awards

• monetary bonuses
• part of the booty and spoils after a conquest including slaves

Service awards

• missio honesta - honorable discharge

Imperial Parades

• Ovation - a less-honored form of the Roman triumph. Ovations were granted, when war was not declared between enemies on the level of states, when an enemy was considered basely inferior (slaves, pirates), and when the general conflict was resolved with little to no bloodshed or danger to the army itself.
• Triumph - a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly honour the military commander (dux) of a notably successful foreign war or campaign and to display the glories of Roman victory.

The ovation (Latin ovatio) was a less honored form of the familiar Roman Triumph. ... A Roman Triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly honour the military commander (dux) of a notably successful foreign war or campaign and to display the glories of Roman victory. ...

Punishments

When the Roman soldier enrolled in service to the state, he swore a military oath known as the sacramentum: originally to the Senate and Roman People; later to the general and the emperor. The sacramentum stated that he would fulfill his conditions of service on pain of punishment up to and inclusive of death. Discipline in the army was extremely rigorous by modern standards, and the general had the power to summarily execute any soldier under his command. BIOGRAPHY SACRAMENTUM was formed by Nisse Karlén (vocals/guitar) in the summer of 1990 under the name of Tumulus. ...

Polybius divides the punishments inflicted by a commander on one or more troops into punishments for military crimes, and punishments for "unmanly acts", although there seems to be little difference in the harsh nature of the punishment between the two classes.

Punishments for crimes

• Fustuarium or bastinado — Following a court-martial sentence for desertion or dereliction of duty, the soldier would be stoned, or beaten to death by cudgels, in front of the assembled troops, by his fellow soldiers, whose lives had been put in danger. Soldiers under sentence of fustuarium who escaped were not pursued, but lived under sentence of banishment from Rome^[8]. Polybius writes that the fustuarium is "also inflicted on those who steal anything from the camp; on those who give false evidence; on young men who have abused their persons; and finally on anyone who has been punished thrice for the same fault."
• Pecunaria multa - fines or deductions from the pay allowance
• Flogging in front of the century, cohort or legion
• "demanding sureties", including the re-taking of the military oath known as the sacramentum.
• If committing treason or theft then the punishment would most probably: being placed in a sack of snakes and thrown into a nearby river or lake.

The fustuarium (an abstraction from the Latin fustis, a branch or rod) was a Roman military form of execution by cudgeling, which was copied by later armies. ... It has been suggested that Falaka be merged into this article or section. ... Whipping on a post Flagellation is the act of whipping (Latin flagellum, whip) the human body. ...

Punishments for "unmanly acts"

• Decimatio - a form of extreme military discipline used by officers in the Roman Army to punish mutinous or cowardly soldiers. A cohort selected for punishment by decimation was divided into groups of ten; each group cast lots, and the soldier on whom the lot fell was executed by his nine comrades, often by stoning or clubbing. The remaining soldiers were given rations of barley instead of wheat and forced to sleep outside of the Roman encampment.
• Castigatio - being hit by the centurion with his staff or animadversio fustium
• Reduction of rations, or to be forced to eat barley instead of the usual grain ration
• Whipping with the flagrum (flagellum, flagella), or "short whip" — a much more brutal punishment than simple flogging. The "short whip" was used for slave volunteers, volones, who comprised the majority of the army in the later years of the Roman Empire.
• gradus deiectio - a reduction in rank
• missio ignominiosa - a dishonorable discharge
• Loss of advantages gained from length of service.
• militiae mutatio - relegation to inferior service or duties.
• Summary execution.
• munerum indictio - additional duties

Decimation (Latin: decimatio) was a form of extreme military discipline used by officers in the Roman Army to punish mutinous or cowardly soldiers. ... A scourge (from the Italian scoriada, ultimately from the Latin excoriare = to flay and corium = skin) is a whip or lash, especially a multi-tong type used in order to inflict severe corporal punishment or self-mortification on the back. ... Reduction in rank may refer to two separate concepts: In military law, a reduction in rank is a demotion in military rank as punishment for a crime or wrongdoing, imposed by a court-martial or other authority. ...

Notes

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