1. The Roman Military By Scott Wright For Mr. Smith’s Roman History Class

3. Tools of war Strategy and Tactics Topics of Discussion

4. The Gladius (Sword) This was the weapon of choice for hand to hand combat. This would be about 50 cm with a double-edged blade

5. The Pilum (Spear) There were both thick and thin pilum The thin ones had a long iron head and fit to the 2 m handle through a socket The thick pilum was 2 m and attached with a 5 cm tang These were usually thrown before engaging the enemy with the gladius

6. Armor One of the most important parts of a soldier’s equipment. Roman armor was designed to protect against projectiles such as spears, arrows, swords, or daggers Roman armor developed and improved over time

7. Roman Armor 160 BC Armor for this period usually consisted of a shield and body armor that varied upon rank The shield was a curved oval made with wood and leather These were very heavy (10kg)

8. Roman Armor 160 BC continued… Body armor for was made from a small square breastplate and one greave A greave was worn on the left leg (the lead foot when fighting with a left-handed shield)

9. Roman Armor 160 BC continued… The heavy infantry wore a bronze helmet with plume to make a man look much taller These soldiers were called principes

10. Armor, 100BC – 200 AD Recruitment was now open to any Roman citizen Before, people with money entered the military, because a soldier had to pay for his own armor With open recruitment, the military had to provide cheap, mass-produced armor

11. Armor, 100BC – 200 AD, continued The standard armor was improved for this period and was called the loricsegmentata This type of armor was segmented and made from strips of iron joined together with straps It covered the chest and shoulders and weighed about 9kg

12. Armor, 100BC – 200 AD, continued The shield was improved as well It became rectangular instead of oval The front of the shield was often decorated with patterns from a particular military unit

13. Tools of the Siege A siege was held against a fortified position The Romans developed huge siege engines to attack the defenses of a fortified city One siege engine was the scorpion, which was like a giant crossbow and threw large spears Romans also used battering rams to break through enemy gates

14. Strategy and Tactics The military was very organized Each legion had about 5,500 men These were divided into ten units called cohorts The cohorts were divided into six centuries of about 80 men each Each century was commanded by a centurion The legion also had about 120 cavalrymen who acted as scouts

15. Conclusion The Roman armor and tactics made it the best military in the world during the height of the Roman Empire THE END THANK YOU!