Roman Army Command Structure

Roman Military Structure

• Two Consuls served as generals of the Roman army
• Magistrates of the imperium had the power to command armies
• Commander in chief had a staff of military tribunes (24 and 6 for each legion)
• Below senior officers were centurions with optiones
• Contingents of allies were commanded by the “Praefecti sociorum” appointed by the Consuls

Pyrrhus and the War with Rome

• Pyrrhus was a Hellenistic King notorious for his tactics, including using elephants in battle
• Pyrrhus was first called into battle by the Greek polis Tarras, which was in conflict with Rome
• Pyrrhus defeated Rome, then marched on the city, but was eventually defeated and left to take the throne of Macedon

The First Punic War

• The conflict in Sicily escalated into the First Punic War (264-241 BCE)
• The war was fought between Rome and Carthage, with Carthage controlling vast territories in Western Mediterranean, Southern Spain, and North Africa

Carthage and its Army

• The Carthaginian army consisted of mercenaries and troops from African subjects, as well as Numidian cavalry
• Generals were elected from Carthage elites and had great personal power and autonomy
• Carthaginian citizens made up the navy

Roman Naval Power

• The First Punic War forced Rome to become a great naval power
• The Corvus was a popular ship type with a boarding bridge
• Many Roman ships had rams, as seen in the image from Aegates Islands (Egadi today)

Birth of Roman Provincial System

• Roman naval victory secured Sicily and the coast of Sardinia and Corsica in the First Punic War
• These territories became provinces and were subject to tax and possession of the Roman people
• Roman officials were sent to oversee tax collection, maintain order, and defend territory

The Second Punic War

• Hannibal invaded Italy from Spain, crossing the Alps, and defeated Roman armies
• Hannibal's plan was to cause a mass panic and uprising in Rome and its allies
• His army consisted of Libyans, Iberians, Gauls, and Numidian cavalry
• Hannibal promised Roman allies independence and freedom, but most remained loyal to Rome

Scipio and the Fall of Carthage

• Scipio launched a counteroffensive against Carthage and destroyed all the armies in Carthage while Hannibal was away
• Hannibal was recalled from Italy but lost the final battle of Zama in 202 BCE
• Scipio took the title of Africanus after the victory

Roman Intervention in the East

• King Phillip V of Macedon allied himself with Carthage in a bid for power
• The Romans stopped Phillip and accepted the terms of appeal
• The end of the era of the phalanx, as the Romans were able to easily defeat Hellenistic armies
• Hellenistic Kingdoms realized that the phalanx was outdated and had to re-organize their armies