by Thomas Knepper

Created on: December 14, 2008   Last Updated: May 13, 2012

Rome was the most dominant empire of the ancient world. They crushed people after people on their way to domination of the Mediterranean and Europe. One of the reasons they were able to do this was their military prowess. While it was not the only factor that allowed for such explosive expansion, it is an important factor and as such is worth discussing.

Rome began as a small city state, ruled by the Etruscans. As they began to grow they overthrew their rulers and began expanding in the North of the Italian peninsula. They conquered their northern neighbors (despite a defeat at the hands of the Gauls) and turned south. By the end of the third century B.C. Italy at defeated King Pyrrhus of Epirus and had taken control of the entire Italian peninsula. In their expansion and domination it must be noted that they changed their military tactics several times.

In the beginning of Rome's expansion they were fighting for their own land and people, just like the American revolutionaries. Every Roman male citizen who owned land was trained and ready for war. The wealthier citizens who could afford horses were grouped into units of cavalry called Equites. The middle class citizens were equipped with armor, a short sword and spear (in the beginning). The poor citizens were equipped with javelins or bows and were the light infantry. Because the soldiers were the male citizens, they fought with the ferocity of someone defending their women, their way of life, and their homes. Because it was the landed citizens who fought they were literally fighting for their land. They were not conscripts, and as such were free men fighting for their own wealth and happiness. The Roman state also shared the booty of war with each soldier, so it was very beneficial for the men to return victorious.

Rome also had a nearly inexhaustible supply of troops because, as they began to conquer other states, they demanded troops from those conquered peoples. These troops complimented the heavy well trained infantry of Rome very well. This allowed them to weather defeats and maintain a strong army.

In the beginning, most city states still fought with a rough adaptation of the Phalanx, which was used by Alexander's army. This was a block of men with small shields and very long spears. There were two problems with this. One, it was not very easy for them to turn and face a flanking attack, and two, once the enemy was inside the spear wall, the soldiers were largely defenseless. The Romans on the other

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