During the approximately 120 years from the capture and destruction of Veii (traditionally 396) to the final defeat of the Hellenistic warlord Pyrrhus in 275, Roman warfare grew in range, duration, and complexity. Because of Rome’s successes against the Volsci, Etruscans, and Latins, its military scope and ambitions increased, which ultimately drew it into conflict with the Samnites, who largely lived in the mountainous areas of central and southern Italy. During the wars with the Samnites at the end of the fourth and the beginning of the third century, Rome occasionally confronted coalitions that also included Gauls, Etruscans, and Umbrians. To cope with these threats, the standard army of each of the two consuls was increased to two legions, which meant that Rome raised four legions of 4,500 men each. However, Rome did not fight these wars by itself. The treaty concluded with the Latins in 493 already stipulated that the allies contribute soldiers who would fight under Roman command. The system of allies was restructured in 338, when Rome defeated its Latin allies and enrolled most of them among its own citizens.5 At the end of the fourth century, a consular army consisted of two infantry legions and two units of allied infantry forces of similar size. The allies contributed large contingents of horsemen, who fought alongside the Roman cavalry. The allies were organized and equipped in a similar manner to the Roman forces. In short, these allied units, which served under Roman command, were assimilated to and incorporated in the Roman army. From a military point of view, there was little distinction between the Roman legions and the allied forces.
When in 281 the city of Tarentum requested help from Pyrrhus (319-272), Rome for the first time confronted a professional, Hellenistic army led by a modern and experienced general. Despite several defeats inflicted by Pyrrhus’ Macedonian phalanx, Rome emerged victorious from the war. Against the rigid tactics of the phalanx, Rome employed the much more flexible system of the maniples. The Roman legions faced battle not in a solid formation but in three lines, each composed of maniples that fought and maneuvered as more or less independent units. The flexibility of the manipular legion had probably been perfected during the wars against the Samnites, which were generally fought in the rough terrain of the mountainous interior of the peninsula.
The increased scale, range, and complexity of Roman warfare imposed new demands upon the recruitment and provisioning of the troops. In response, the Roman state created means in order to cope with the requirements of the Roman armies and to increase their effectiveness. In the fifth and early fourth century, military operations had been short-lived and seasonal affairs. Because the operations of the Roman armies had been limited to neighboring regions, the soldiers simply left their homes with sufficient food to sustain them for a few days. For the remainder, they lived off the land. Most operations did not last long enough to disturb the working of the land, while the short campaigns, if successful, offered an immediate source of income in the form of booty. Living off the land beyond the summer period would have been difficult, because stores of food would be brought into walled towns, out of reach of passing armies. However, the larger scale and complexity of later wars demanded the more continuous deployment of Roman soldiers. When Rome sought the final destruction of Veii at the end of the fourth century, its campaigns against such a powerful state were more prolonged and systematic than in previous wars. Hence, it is not surprising that, according to Livy, military pay was first introduced during the siege of Veii. Although the sources do not say so explicitly, military pay was introduced evidently in order to tide the farmer-soldiers over for the duration of the campaign and to compensate them for the loss of labor on the land. Moreover, protracted operations far afield required some organization of the provisioning of food. The allied communities and coloniae probably contributed supplies to the Roman armies, just as they would during the wars that were fought in Italy in the late third century. The coloniae that were established by Rome throughout the peninsula not only served as a means to settle loyal citizens and allies in strategically important locations, but they also created a network of secure towns in hostile territory that could be used as military bases. In the year 312, Rome’s first paved road, the Via Appia, was built between Rome and Capua. It was later extended to Beneventum. More roads were soon to follow. The purpose of such roads was not so much to ease the travel of the armies but primarily to facilitate military transports. In addition, these roads symbolized Roman control and thus Roman power (see also Chapter 28). Supporting the armies induced other innovations: from about the time of the capture of Veii, the sources first mention the tributum, a property tax that was levied to pay for military expenditure, and the imposition of indemnities on defeated enemies. Moreover, the first issues of silver coins by Rome were minted in Campania around the year 310, probably in order to pay for the construction of the Via Appia (see also Chapter 3).6 The needs of war were thus an important force in the process of state formation in Rome.
World History
