Triarii
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Triarii (Singular: Triarius) were a class of infantry in the Camillan and Polybian legions of the early Roman republic. Triarii were spearmen who were armed with short spears, or hastae, as main weapons and also carried short thrusting swords, or gladii, as a backup weapon. For protection they wore complete plate cuirasss, bronze helmets and carried large shields.
Units of Triarii formed the third line in a legion, and originally fought as a phalanx, though eventually adopted the looser square formation of other Roman legionaries. If the Hastati in the first line of the legion or the Principes in the second failed to rout or wipe out the enemy or simply needed a rest, they would fall back behind the Triarii and let them take over the fighting. Because the Hastati and Principes usually won battles without resorting to the Triarii, falling back to the Triarii was seen as an act of desperation, hence the expression rem ad Triarios redisse, "it has come to the Triarii", which meant that the time had come to use a last chance or resort. Triarii were eventually done away with after the Marian reforms.
Equipment and organisation
Triarii were the wealthiest men in the legion, and could afford the highest quality equipment.[1] In the early Camillan system, they were armed with hastae, relatively short thrusting spears, 1.8 metres (6 feet) in length. As a backup weapons, they also carried gladii, relatively short thrusting swords 74 centimetres (29 inches) in length]. They fought as Hoplites, carried clipeuses, large round shields used by the Greeks, and wore montefortino helmets, usually with a number of feathers fixed onto the top to increase stature.[2] They would often paint or engrave portraits of ancestors onto the shield, believing that it would bring them luck in battle.[3]
In the legion, the 900 Triarii formed 15 maniples, military units consisting of 60 men each, which were in turn part of the 15 ordi, larger units made up of a maniple of Triarii, a maniple of Rorarii and a maniple of Accensi.[1] The Triarii made up the third in the legion, behind the front line of Hastati and the second line of Principes, and in front of the Rorarii and Accensi.[2] In a pitched battle, the Leves, javelin armed light infantry skirmishers who were attached to maniples of Hastati, would form up at the front of the legion and harrass the enemy with javelin fire and cover the advance of the Hastati, sword armed medium infantry with large breastplates, who were the first line of attack. If the Hastati failed to break the enemy, they would fall back and let the Principes, similarly equipped though more experienced infantry armed with spears who wore chainmail, take over. If the Principes failed, they would retire behind the Triarii and let them take over. The Rorarii, unarmoured troops armed with a spear and a shield, and Accensi, the worst equipped and least dependable troops who carried slings, would be used in a support role, providing mass and supporting wavering areas of the line.[3]
In the later Polybian system, infantry were sorted into classes according to age and experience rather than wealth, though the Triarii were usually still the richest.[4] They were still armed with hastae, short thrusting spears. As a backup weapons, they kept the gladii, short thrusting swords that were also used by the Hastati and Principes. They no longer fought as Hoplites, but adopted the looser formations of other Roman units and now carried scuta, large convex rectangular shields already used by other Roman legionaries. The montefortino helmet was still in use.[5]
The Triarii had been reduced in number to 600 per legion, and now formed 10 maniples of 60 men each.[6] The Triarii still made up the third line in the legion, behind the front line of Hastati and the second line of Principes, but the Rorarii and Accensi had been done away with. Leves had been replaced with Velites, who had a similar role and were now also attached to Principes and Triarii.[6] In a pitched battle, the Velites would form up at the front of the legion and harrass the enemy with javelin fire and cover the advance of the Hastati, who were armed with swords, and were the first line of attack. If the Hastati failed to break the enemy, they would fall back and let the Principes, similarly equipped though more experienced infantry, take over. If the Principes failed, they would retire behind the Triarii and let them carry on.[7]
History
Triarii appear to have been remnants of the old first class of the army under the Etruscan kings when it was reformed by Marcus Furius Camillus.[8] The first class were equipped in a similar fashion to heavy Greek Hoplites, and fought in phalanx formation, like Triarii. They were the heaviest soldiers of the legion, though they were used as in the centre of the front line of a very large phalanx rather than as a last reserve at the rear. It is likely that engagements with the Samnites and a crushing defeat at the hands of the Gallic warlord Brennus, who both used lots of smaller units rather than a few very large ones, taught the Romans the importance of flexibility and the inadequacy of the phalanx on the rough, hilly ground of central Italy.[9][10]
After Camillus's reforms, soldiers were still sorted into their individual troop types according to their wealth, the triarii being the richest. With the Punic wars, a deficeincy in this type of organisation came to light. Commanders found it hard to judge the quality of their troops, the Triarii sometimes being courageous and highly skilled soldiers, and other times being green recruits with little, if any, experience.[5] A reform, partly brought about by Scipio Africanus after his campaigns in Iberia, saw the classes of infantry now sorted by length of service rather than wealth, and the Leves, Rorarii and Accensi had now disappeared. The Triarii were the oldest and most experienced men in the legion, though they were usually still the richest.[11]
With the formal military Reforms of Gaius Marius designed to combat a shortage of manpower due to wars against Jugurtha, the different classes of units were done away with entirely.[12] The wealth and age requirements were scrapped. Now soldiers would join as a career, rather than as service to the city, and would all be equipped as medium infantry with the same, state purchased equipment. Auxilliae, local irregular troops would now be used to fulfill roles such as archery, skirmishing and as cavalry.[13]
See also
References
- ^ a b Southern, Pat. The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History. Oxford university press. p. 90. ISBN 0195328787.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ a b Smith, William. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. Little, Brown, and Co. p. 495.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ a b Mommsen, Theodor. The History of Rome, Book II: From the abolition of the monarchy in Rome to the union of Italy. The History of Rome.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Southern, Pat. The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History. Oxford university press. p. 92. ISBN 0195328787.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ a b Mommsen, Theodor. The History of Rome, Book III: From the union of Italy to the subjugation of Carthage and the Greek states. The History of Rome.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ a b Smith, William. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. Little, Brown, and Co. p. 496.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Penrose, Jane. Rome and Her Enemies: An Empire Created and Destroyed by War. Osprey publishing. p. 33. ISBN 1841769320.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Southern, Pat. The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History. Oxford university press. p. 89. ISBN 0195328787.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ Penrose, Jane. Rome and Her Enemies: An Empire Created and Destroyed by War. Osprey publishing. p. 29. ISBN 1841769320.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Southern, Pat. The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History. Oxford university press. p. 88. ISBN 0195328787.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ Southern, Pat. The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History. Oxford university press. p. 91. ISBN 0195328787.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ Southern, Pat. The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History. Oxford university press. p. 94. ISBN 0195328787.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ Smith, William. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. Little, Brown, and Co. p. 506.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|accessdate=(help)