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Comitatenses
The ''comitatenses'' and later the '' palatini'' were the units of the field armies of the late Roman Empire. They were the soldiers that replaced the legionaries, who had formed the backbone of the Roman military since the late republic. Organization Units such as the Joviani and Herculiani had 5,000 soldiers and 726–800 cavalrymen. Many units' sizes would vary. There were three types of units, the heavy infantry, medium infantry, and light infantry. The ''comitatenses'' were the heavy infantry. The auxiliaries, '' auxilia palatina'', and the '' peltasts'' were the medium infantry, and the '' psiloi'' were the light infantry. ''Comitatenses'' regiments consisted of 1,024 soldiers. ''Comitatenses'' legions could consist of 6,000 to 7,000 soldiers. Some of these soldiers would be lightly armed, while others would be heavily armed. During a battle the army would divide into 3-4 divisions. The army might use a double phalanx to protect its rear. Reserves would be located b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Legionary
The Roman legionary (in Latin ''legionarius''; : ''legionarii'') was a citizen soldier of the Roman army. These soldiers would conquer and defend the territories of ancient Rome during the Republic and Principate eras, alongside auxiliary and cavalry detachments. At its height, Roman Legionnaires were viewed as the foremost fighting force in the Roman world, with commentators such as Vegetius praising their fighting effectiveness centuries after the classical Roman legionary disappeared. Roman legionnaires were recruited from Roman citizens under age 45. They were first predominantly made up of recruits from Roman Italy, but more were recruited from the provinces as time went on. As legionnaires moved into newly conquered provinces, they helped Romanize the native population and helped integrate the disparate regions of the Roman Empire into one polity. They enlisted in a legion for 25 years of service, a change from the early practice of enlisting only for a campaign. Legionna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comes
''Comes'' (plural ''comites''), translated as count, was a Roman title, generally linked to a comitatus or comital office. The word ''comes'' originally meant "companion" or "follower", deriving from "''com-''" ("with") and "''ire''" ("go"). The special lasting meaning derives from the position of a follower within a ''comitatus'', which was a retinue, or group of followers, such as those of magnates. In some instances these were sufficiently large and/or formal to justify specific denomination, such as a "''cohors amicorum''". The word ''comes'' is the origin of the much later terms for counts within the medieval nobility, and counties as their territorial jurisdictions. Ancient Roman religion ''Comes'' was a common epithet or title that was added to the name of a hero or god in order to denote relation with another god. The coinage of Constantine I (emperor), Roman Emperor Constantine I declared him "''comes''" to Sol Invictus ("Unconquered Sun") ''qua'' god. Imperial Ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Field Armies
A field army (also known as numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps. It may be subordinate to an army group. Air armies are the equivalent formations in air forces, and fleets in navies. A field army is composed of 80,000 to 300,000 soldiers. History Specific field armies are usually named or numbered to distinguish them from "army" in the sense of an entire national defence force or land force. In English, the typical orthographic style for writing out the names field armies is word numbers, such as "First Army"; whereas corps are usually distinguished by Roman numerals (e.g. I Corps) and subordinate formations with ordinal numbers (e.g. 1st Division). A field army may be given a geographical name in addition to or as an alternative to a numerical name, such as the British Army of the Rhine, Army of the Potomac, Army of the Niemen or Aegean Army (also known as the Fourth Army). The Roman army was among t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limitanei
The ''limitanei'' (Latin, also called ''ripenses''), meaning respectively "the soldiers in frontier districts" (from the Latin word '' limes'' meaning frontier) or "the soldiers on the riverbank" (from the Rhine and Danube), were an important part of the late Roman and early Byzantine army after the reorganizations of the late 3rd and early 4th centuries. The ''limitanei'', unlike the ''Comitatenses'', '' palatīni'', and '' Scholae'', garrisoned fortifications along the borders of the Roman Empire and were not normally expected to fight far from their fortifications. The ''limitanei'' were lower-status and lower-paid than the ''comitatenses'' and ''palatīnī'',Treadgold 1995, pp. 149–157. and the distinction in role and status between ''scholae'', ''palatini'', ''comitatenses'', and ''limitanei'' had largely replaced the older one between praetorians, legionaries, and auxiliaries. The ''limitanei'' and ''palatini'' both included legionary units alongside auxiliary units.Tre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palatini (Roman Military)
The ''palatini'' (Latin for "palace troops") were elite units of the Late Roman army mostly attached to the ''comitatus praesentales'', or imperial escort armies. In the elaborate hierarchy of troop-grades, the ''palatini'' ranked below the ''scholares'' (members of the elite cavalry regiments called the '' scholae''), but above the '' comitatenses'' (regiments of the regional ''comitatus'') and the '' limitanei'' (border troops). The term derives from ''palatium'' ("palace") a reference to the fact that the regiments originally served in the imperial escort armies only. Later they were also found in the regional ''comitatus'' (mobile field armies). There, however, they continued to enjoy higher status and pay than the rest of the ''comitatus'' regiments. At the time the '' Notitia Dignitatum'' was written (ca. 395 for the Eastern Empire), 80% of the regiments in the eastern ''comitatus praesentales'' were graded ''palatini'' and 14% of those in the regional ''comitatus''. The ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biarchus
A Biarchus was a military position in the army of the Late Roman Empire that was created after the military reforms of Diocletian. Although the Code of Justinian mentions the position of Biarchus as part of the ''Agentes in Rebus'', which were the Imperial couriers, other sources mention their presence in a variety of military positions in the Roman military: they appear in the ''scholae palatina'', ''auxilia palatina'', '' fabricae'', ''vexillationes'', and in the '' stratores''. Their duties are unknown, but they may have related to food supply. The biarchus was subordinate to the centenarius and the ducenarius but above the ''circitor'' in the command structure of the Roman military. This position may have replaced the role of the Optio. It is possible that the Biarchus commanded a ''contubernium'', which was a Roman military unit consisting of ten men. Historian Michael Speidel argued that Roman texts on military formations and ancient inscriptions indicate that in the La ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Army
The Roman army () served ancient Rome and the Roman people, enduring through the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (509–27 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC–AD 1453), including the Western Roman Empire (collapsed Fall of the Western Roman Empire, AD 476/480) and the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire (collapsed Fall of Constantinople, AD 1453). It is thus a term that broadly spans approximately 2,206 years, during which the force underwent numerous permutations in Size of the Roman army, size, Military of ancient Rome, composition, Structural history of the Roman military, organization, Roman military equipment, equipment and Strategy of the Roman military, tactics, while conserving a core of lasting traditions. Early Roman army (c. 550 – c. 300 BC) Until , there was no "national" Roman army, but a series of clan-based war-bands which only coalesced into a united force in periods of serious external threat. Around 550 BC, during the period conventiona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rebellion
Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a portion of a state. A rebellion is often caused by political, religious, or social grievances that originate from a perceived inequality or marginalization. ''Rebellion'' comes from Latin ''re'' and ''bellum'', and in Lockian philosophy refers to the Right of revolution, responsibility of the people to overthrow unjust government. Classification Uprisings which revolt, Resistance movement, resisting and taking direct action against an authority, law or policy, as well as organize, are rebellions. An insurrection is an uprising to change the government. If a government does not recognize rebels as belligerents, then they are insurgents and the revolt is an insurgency. In a larger conflict, the rebels may be recognized as belligerents ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shield Wall
A shield wall ( or in Old English, in Old Norse) is a military formation that was common in ancient and medieval warfare. There were many slight variations of this formation, but the common factor was soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder and holding their shields so that they would abut or overlap. Each soldier thus benefited from the protection of the shields of his neighbors and his own. History Ancient history The formation was known to be used by many ancient armies including the Persian Sparabara, Greek phalanx, and the early Roman army, but its origin and spread is unknown. It may have developed independently more than once. Although little is recorded about their military tactics, the Stele of the Vultures depicts Sumerian soldiers in a shield wall formation during the third millennium BC. By the seventh century BC, shield walls in ancient Greece are well-documented. The soldiers in the shield wall formations were called hoplites, so named for their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pitched Battle
A pitched battle or set-piece battle is a battle in which opposing forces each anticipate the setting of the battle, and each chooses to commit to it. Either side may have the option to disengage before the battle starts or shortly thereafter. A pitched battle is not a chance encounter such as a meeting engagement, or where one side is forced to fight at a time not of its choosing such as happens in a siege or an ambush. Pitched battles are usually carefully planned to maximize one's strengths against an opponent's weaknesses and use a full range of deceptions, feints, and other manoeuvres. They are also planned to take advantage of terrain favourable to one's force. Forces strong in cavalry, for example, will not select swamp, forest, or mountain terrain for the planned struggle. For example, Ancient Carthage, Carthaginian General Hannibal selected relatively flat ground near the village of Cannae for his great confrontation with the Romans, not the rocky terrain of the high Apen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
