By Tony
At the height of the Roman Empire it seemed that no one could stop the great
Roman Empire. With their armor and weapons looking intimidating, enemies ran away.
Their weapons were the gladius, javelin, or sometimes even their shield. Their shield was
curved and almost as big as the soldier. It was made of plywood and covered with leather.
There was also a metal disc in the middle that was used to punch the enemy before
stabbing them with their gladius. Their sword was 2ft long. The blade was double edged
and used for jabbing
the enemy upward
into their ribs.
Because their sword
was used for
jabbing it made it
easier for the soldier
to stay hidden
behind their shield.
Their armor was very heavy and strong because they wore a lot of it. Their first
layer was scale mail which was tiny metal scales sewed onto a leather vest. Chain mail
was next. It was a lot of metal rings close together. The segmented breastplate was the
most effective protection because it was thick.
Their siege tactics were vital to their success. The siege towers were designed to
get the soldiers on the top of a highly walled city. They were covered with metal plates to
make them fireproof. Because there were no engines back then, the towers were wheeled
into position by the soldiers. The top story was made for archers and javelin throwers.
The ballista was a very effective device. It was a type of catapult, and it was manned by
four men. It fired arrows, rocks, and iron tipped bolts. The onager was a sling-type
catapult. In the middle, there was a buffer filled with straw to absorb the blow from the
catapult. The tortise was an overlapping row of shields that many Roman Soldiers had to
make in some situations. It protected them from arrows and other dangerous things.
Their ranks were very organized. Generals commanded a legion, legate worked in
a legion, and six tribunes helped a legate. There was a senior centurion of every legion. A
legionary was a main soldier of the army. An auxiliary was a non-citizen soldier. Archers
were from the Middle East and dressed differently from the Romans. A cavalry soldier
fought on horseback, and a camp perfect was in charge of building and training. This is
how they were lined up: there were 6 centuries of 80 men each, 10 contubernias of 8 men
each, 9 ordinary cohorts with 6 centuries each. The first cohort was of 800 men each.
Bibliography
Brocklehurst, Ruth. Roman Army. London: Usborn, 2003
Romans. 2005. BBC. 28 March. 2005 www.bbc.couk.history/ancient/romans/<