THE ROMANS
Charges of cavalry are equally useful at the beginning, the middle, and the end of battle. They should be made always, if possible, on the flanks of the infantry, especially when this last is engaged in front.—NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
Alexander the Great, for all his phenomenal accomplishments, did not establish a definitive procedure for identifying his successor. Because of this, his empire disintegrated soon after his death in 323 BC. Following this collapse, a number of his generals established themselves as the regional rulers in major portions of the short-lived empire. As Alexander’s empire disintegrated, the last of the great ancient civilizations was rising in the Mediterranean—beginning in the Italian city-state of Rome.
The foundation of Roman dominance was its military. And like Rome itself, the army as an institution evolved over the more than 800 years of Roman rule. To understand the Roman army, it is helpful to study the military system in its three major incarnations: the republic army, the principate period imperial army, and the army of the late empire. Each army had its own organization, equipment, and style of warfare. The cavalry forces of Rome evolved in parallel with the army.
REPUBLIC CAVALRY
During the early republican period, the Roman army was composed of civilian militia who were not full-time soldiers but rather citizen soldiers of Rome. Although they were not professionals, they were required to serve for the duration of a campaign. This could last several years and in extreme cases, decades. The republic army’s performance was usually weak at the beginning of a campaign and improved with experience. At the end of the war or campaign, the army disbanded and recruited a new group when the need arose.
The Romans recruited cavalrymen, known as the equites (horsemen), in the same manner as the army except that the cavalry recruits came from the elite of Roman society. Significant property and wealth, as well as Roman citizenship, were required to join the equites. Distinguished service in the cavalry was an effective way for a young ambitious Roman from a good family to make contacts with other upwardly mobile young men and hopefully attract the eye of a politically well-positioned mentor.1
The often short service of Roman republic cavalryman is only one of many explanations for the cavalry’s generally poor battle performance. The selection of cavalrymen based on wealth rather than ability is another possible explanation. Unlike in the northern Greek states of Thessaly and Macedonia, the wealthy aristocratic class of Rome did not prize the horse and horsemanship as part of its social and cultural tradition. Rome’s geographic distance from the horsemen of the steppe and the nature of the local terrain helped ensured no such tradition developed. And, the republic did not often face enemies who mounted significant cavalry forces and thus the need for a competent cavalry force was not compelling. For these reasons, the Roman republic did not produce high-quality cavalry.2 Nonetheless, the cavalry, because of its social status, were considered the elite of the republican army; and that was reflected in their pay, which was three times that of the infantry legionnaire and half again that of an infantry centurion.3
A cavalryman provided his own mount with the understanding that it would be replaced by the state if it were lost in battle. The cavalry was organized into the standard Roman legion of the time, which consisted of five parts: three types of heavy infantry, light infantry, and cavalry. The legion totaled 4,200 infantrymen and occasionally on campaign could number 6,000. To this total the cavalry only added 300 horses and riders. The cavalry of the legion organized into 10, 30-man cavalry troops called turmae. Each turmae was further divided into three 10-man squads commanded by a decurion (literally, leader of 10). The senior decurion commanded the turmae.4
The republic cavalryman was equipped in a manner very similar to the Macedonian heavy cavalry. A lance with a butt spike was the main weapon. The cavalryman’s equipment also included the gladius, the short sword of the legionnaire. One distinguishing characteristic of Roman cavalry was that a round, 30-inch diameter shield was standard equipment and carried on the left arm. The Roman cavalry wore a mail shirt or bronze cuirass and a helmet. The horse of the republic cavalryman was not armored.5
PRINCIPATE CAVALRY
Caius Marius is credited with the professionalization of the Roman army in 107 BC. Due to restrictions on recruiting, he solicited volunteers for military service from citizens who had not, in the past, met the property qualifications for service. These soldiers, drawn from the lower echelons of society, looked at service in the army as a means of social ascent, and many preferred to remain in the service indefinitely. Marius’s actions were precedent setting. From that point on, the only requirement for service in the legions was citizenship. This practice eventually produced a professional army of long-serving volunteer citizens who improved the quality of the army. Unlike the republican army, which disbanded after each major campaign or war, the principate army served continuously. These changes led to the reorganization of the legion and the elimination of class distinctions among the rank and file of the army.6
The reorganization of the legion removed almost all cavalry and light infantry. During this time Rome relied increasingly on foreign troops to supplement the combat power of the Roman legions. These units, called auxilia, or auxiliaries, replaced the Roman citizen cavalry. These foreign cavalry units organized into discreet units and they reported, through their officers, directly to the army commander. The cavalry auxilia organized into cohorts called alae. Ala, the Latin word for wing, referred to the cavalry’s traditional position in the battle line on the wings of the infantry center. There were two sizes of alae: the quingeniary alae, consisting of 512 men divided into 16 turmae of 32 men each; and the milliary alae, which fielded a force of 768 men divided into 24 turmae. The alae commander held the rank of prefect. The decurion who led each turmae held the equivalent rank of centurion in the infantry. Expectations of the decurion were high: “In like manner the decurion is to be preferred to the command of a troop for his activity and address in mounting his horse completely armed; for his skill in riding and in the use of the lance and bow; for his attention in forming his men to all the evolutions of the cavalry; and for his care in obliging them to keep their cuirasses, lances and helmets always bright and in good order. The splendor of the arms has no inconsiderable effect in striking terror into an enemy.”7 There was no official relationship between particular alae and legions, but commanders often attached alae to legions for specific operations. Over time, some of these relationships became habitual. The alae purchased their horses in the region where they were organized, but were equipped with Roman weapons and supplies, and organized, paid, and trained according to the Roman standards. The official language for duty was Latin.
At the beginning of the imperial period, the Romans recruited the troopers of the alae in mass by tribe. They then served their entire 25-year service within their alae. The veteran and his family received Roman citizenship at the end of his term of service. As time went by, the number of alae members who already had their citizenship steadily increased. This partly reflected the number of second-generation family members enlisting for service. In some cases the trooper could receive his citizenship before the end of his service. Units that performed with particular distinction in battle might receive their citizenship as a reward—in that case the title civium Romanorum was added to the unit name. Merit was the usual basis for advancement in the alae. Battle experience, time in service, as well as personal connections were also important for advancement.
Once formed, the alae structure was very durable and scores of alae remained in continuous service from the first century AD into the beginning of the third century.8 In the first century, Gallic forces (provinces of Lugdunensis, Britannia, and Belgica) made up the vast majority of Roman cavalry: 18,000 of a total alae force of 40,500. Other provinces providing significant components were Tarraconenis (Spain), 6,000; Thrace, 4,500; and Pannonia (Hungary), 4,000.9 The alae gave the imperial Roman army a larger number of cavalry who
were united, well trained, and could be trusted to conduct more difficult, independent, and technically challenging missions, such as reconnaissance.10 Although the alae were an improvement over republic cavalry, and individually the troopers were very good, their performance in battle was mixed. This was due to sometimes wavering allegiances to Rome, but most often to poor tactical employment by Roman officers and generals.
The reorganization in the imperial period did not entirely eliminate the legion cavalry. A small group of 120 cavalrymen remained as part of the legion organization, which had grown to 5,500. These men were no longer recruited specifically from the elite of Roman society, but rather based on either duty performance or prior experience with horses from within the infantry ranks of the legion itself. It also appears from the legion records that these men remained assigned to their original legion cohort. They were then detached for service with the legion cavalry. The legion cavalry all but disappear from the written record because their small numbers precluded them from being a significant combat force. Their missions were reduced to dispatch carrying and scouting. It is likely that in small police actions, conducted separately from a major campaign, their role in the legion was still critical.11
In many ways, Julius Caesar represented the ideal Roman cavalry commander. Suetonius, writing in AD 110, describes Caesar as “highly skilled in arms and horsemanship, and of incredible powers of endurance.” Plutarch relates that “he had been an expert rider from boyhood. He had trained himself to put his hands behind his back and then, keeping them tightly clasped, to put his horse to its full gallop. And in the Gallic campaigns he got himself into the habit of dictating letters on horseback, keeping two secretaries busy at once, or even more, according to Oppius.” He had a great affinity for horses and his personal mount was special: “He rode a remarkable horse, too, with feet that were almost human; for its hoofs were cloven in such a way as to look like toes. This horse was foaled on his own place, and since the soothsayers had declared that it foretold the rule of the world for its master, he reared it with the greatest care, and was the first to mount it, for it would endure no other rider. Afterwards, too, he dedicated a statue of it before the temple of Venus Genetrix.”12
Caesar was unique among Roman generals in both his understanding of the importance of cavalry and its skillful employment. Caesar’s use of large numbers of allied Germanic and Gallic cavalry during his campaigns in Gaul was the inspiration for the institutionalization of the imperial alae cavalry formations.
Armor of the imperial period cavalryman did not change much from the republic cavalry. The standard empire cavalryman wore an open-faced helmet with cheek pieces. A mail armor shirt, reinforced at the shoulders, protected him to mid-thigh. Roman cavalryman at this time began to wear leather breeches to protect their legs and to improve their security in the saddle. The cavalryman was armed with a long (36-inch) straight sword called a spatha—replacing the short sword of the republic cavalry. Light, dual-purpose javelins were also part of the individual’s arsenal, and a man would carry several. These weapons were relatively short, approximately 6 feet long, included a butt spike, and could be thrown or used in close combat. Shields were made of wood with a leather covering and could be round, rectangular, or oval. Oval was the most common shape in the imperial cavalry, and the shields were quite large, approximately 4 feet high and 2 feet wide.13
The imperial Romans did not make any formal distinctions between cavalry types, but battle descriptions mention heavy cavalry and archers. There is no documentation that these units existed formally within the principate Roman system, but it is likely that army and alae commanders adapted individual alae to particular weapons as needed. For example, if a particular alae was made up primarily of men from a region where archery was imbedded within the culture, it would be reasonable for the alae to have all or a portion of the unit equipped with bows. An example of this is the Thracian and Syrian auxilia who were carefully dispersed throughout the empire because they were the best archers in Roman service and this skill was in limited supply. Units could also be trained to a new system. For example, some lightly armored cavalry changed to heavier armor in the late first century after coming into contact with the eastern cataphractii heavy cavalry.14
During the second and third centuries, heavily armored and armed cavalry were increasingly in evidence. A knee-length mail cloak covered the neck and arms, and there was an increased use of scale armor. Some cavalrymen carried a heavy, two-handed lance called a contus, which was 12 feet long. Horse protection included scale armor barding that protected most of the horse’s body and neck, as well as leather and bronze chamfrons, which included intricate metal eye protection.15
LATE EMPIRE CAVALRY
The character of warfare changed in the late imperial period. The Roman army adjusted to low-level warfare—warfare that was decentralized and on a much smaller scale. This new type of combat was to stop raids rather than armies. Cavalry, with its speed and mobility, was ideal for challenging marauding barbarian raiders; and therefore the proportion of cavalry in Roman service increased. Analysis of the early fifth-century AD document Notitia Dignitatum suggests that there existed one cavalry unit for every two infantry units—making cavalry one-third of the army’s com-plement of units if not total numbers. In addition, the role of cavalry in battle had become much more important: “The strength of the sixth-century army was undoubtedly its cavalry.” By that time the Roman army was transformed into a cavalry-heavy force that anticipated the type of warfare that would dominate the Middle Ages.16
The late Roman period—beginning in the mid third century and lasting until the fall of the western Roman Empire toward the end of the sixth century—was a time of incredible turmoil and the gradually diminishing influence and control of the central Roman government. This turmoil negatively affected every aspect of Roman society, including the army and the cavalry. Rome’s borders were under almost constant attack, and during this period the strategy of the empire, to the extent that a strategy existed, was decidedly defensive. Various Germanic tribes threatened the western and central provinces, and the eastern provinces were under threat by the powerful Sassanian Empire. At the same time, civil war sapped the strength of the empire. The policy of joint rule evolved in this period with an eastern and western Caesar sharing control of the empire and focusing on regional protection. But dual governor-ship inhibited standardization of army organization, training, and equipment. It also made it more difficult to concentrate all the resources of the empire at a single decisive point.
The army reflected the divided, defensive, and regionally focused nature of the empire. The total number of troops in the army during this period may have increased slightly, but the size of the legion decreased significantly. By the end of the third century the number of legions had risen to approximately 60, but each had only about a thousand legionnaires. In 212 AD Rome extended citizenship to the greater part of the empire, removing much of the ethnic distinction between the legion and the auxilia. Breaking the infantry into smaller units allowed posting these groups as defensive forces around the perimeter of the empire. In the middle of the third century Emperor Gallienus created all-cavalry reserve forces in Greece, northern Italy, and the Balkans. These new cavalry units used the 120-man legion cavalry and light infantry forces for their initial manpower. They eventually formed 500- to 600-man cavalry reaction forces called vexillationes that were able to move quickly and reinforce any part of the empire’s borders. They were very effective in this role and were successful in restoring calm on countless occasions. Ironically, because of their rapid action and consistent success, the government failed to appreciate the potential threats that had been averted and eventually lost interest in maintaining the defensive forces. The Romans dispersed the frontier armies by the end of the century.17
As the fourth century progressed, the empire became increasingly dysfunctional. The army divided into two major components: the comitatus, which was the standing fiel
d army, and the static forces of the frontier. Emperor Constantine formed a comitatus of five vexillationes and five legions. However, a single central army was not flexible enough to deal with the expanses of the empire, and Constantine’s successors increased and divided the comitatus to provide field armies on a regional basis. Ultimately, field armies divided between the eastern and western portions of the empire. This probably happened in 365 AD under the emperors Valentinian and Valens.
As the army divided, and then divided again, standardization among subordinate units completely eroded. The Notitia Dignitatum records the names of all the major units of the Roman armies in the west at the end of the fourth century, and the east at the beginning of the fifth century. This document indicates that virtually no standardized cavalry organization existed. Dozens of different-named units break down into three general types of cavalry: light cavalry and archers, general purpose cavalry lightly armored and armed with javelins, and heavy cavalry. These units were probably smaller, less armored, and less well trained than their predecessors in the imperial period. The number of cavalry armed with the bow as a primary or secondary weapon had increased significantly because of Persian and Hun influence, and by the sixth century they were the dominant type of cavalry in the eastern empire. To the extent that the emperor could afford, the fully armored cataphractii heavy cavalry became the most effective type. They were completely armored in calf-length, long-sleeve mail suits with a hood. Conical helmets with a nose guard replaced the legionary-style helmet. The long heavy lance was their main weapon. Though the cataphratii were in many ways operationally superior to other types of cavalry, the expense of buying and maintaining their armor relegated them to a specialized minority among the mounted forces. Late Roman armies could also include a super-heavy cavalry called clibanarii, who wore scale and plate armor and whose horses were also heavily armored. This type of super-heavy cavalry was not particularly useful on the battlefield. When clibanarii were used in 312 AD against the army of Constantine, his infantry surrounded the immobile cavalrymen and clubbed them to death.18
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