Reforms of the Imperial Roman Army

Probably the largest and most well-known reform of the army was the total restructuring of the soldiers, the command structure, the battle formations, and the legionnaire’s equipment. This only continued to boost the power of the army. In the time of Augustus, when the “classical” legion most associated with the Roman army came into full force, the Imperial Army of Rome became the most powerful army in the ancient world.

This can be attributed to the many improvements the army underwent during the time of Marius in the reign of Augustus and beyond. Previously, the Velites, Hastati, Principes, and Triarii had different purposes in battle and had to provide their own weapons and armor. and Roman helmets that varied in quality and appearance. During the 1st century AD, Mario and Augustus made them a unified fighting force, with uniform weapons and armor equipped with the wealth provided by the state. After the reforms, the soldiers before Marius were restructured into two main groups: legionaries and auxiliaries. Citizens of the Roman Empire were recruited into the legions (heavy backbone infantry), while non-citizens formed the auxiliary (support and specialized troops such as archers, cavalry, and inferiorly equipped troops).

This had another impact on Roman society, as all people living within the empire’s territories could now join the army, both citizens and non-citizens. However, allowing a significant number of non-citizens to fight in the army would have important implications for the Roman state during the late Empire. The command structure was also significantly remodeled. After the reforms, not only were Roman armor and clothing altered, but it was even more prevalent how much the excellent organization and command of the army contributed to the success of the Legion. No man was lost in the army due to the fact that each soldier personally knew an officer and knew each other.

This also helped contribute to a more loyal and organized army. The smallest unit in the army was the Tent Group, or Contuberniun, which consisted of eight men. They shared and were in charge of their own store, supplies, and equipment. Then came the Century, which consisted of ten groups of Contuberniun forming eighty men. A centurion was in charge of each century. A maniple consisted of two centuries and a cohort consisted of three maniples, making a standard of 480 men per cohort.

However, as time passed, in the age of Augustus, it is believed that the Manipio was completely eliminated and the Cohort remained the main standard unit in the army and was subdivided into six Centuries instead of three Maniples. Finally, the Legion consisted of ten Cohorts along with 120 horsemen, which put the strength of a Legion around 5000 men, excluding non-combatants. A legate was in command of a legion, and a consul or praetor (as he became Marius) was in charge of the entire army or of a particular campaign.