Military+Warfare

=Main Points= By Ryan Roggenkemper


 * Roman legionaries were professional soldiers.toc
 * Auxiliaries were recruited from Roman provinces.
 * Some auxiliaries were professional soldiers, but many weren't.
 * The most important unit in Ancient Indian armies was the archer.
 * Ancient Indian chariots were six feet tall and needed 4-6 horses to move.
 * The most feared Ancient Indian soldier was the war elephant.

= = =Ancient Roman Military=

The Ancient Roman military was one of the strongest armed forces of the ancient world. With their legions, the Romans conquered country after country until they had the largest empire of their time. This empire surrounded the Mediterranean Sea, stretched north to the present-day United Kingdom, and went east to the Caspian Sea. Even in times of peace, the Romans held fights between gladiators. The same legions which conquered the land that created the Roman Empire also protected it. With the assistance the legions, the Roman Empire survived as one civilization until 473 C.E. At this point, the Roman Empire split into the Eastern and Western Roman Empires. The western civilization was quickly destroyed, but the Eastern Roman Empire survived until 1476 as the Byzantine Empire.

Legions
The legions were the most specialized parts of Ancient Roman military. Legions were made up of 30 maniples of either 120 or 200 soldiers. Maniples were broken down into two centuries of either 60 or 100 legionaries. These centuries were finally broken down into either 6 or 10 groups of ten soldiers. This equaled either 3,600 or 6,000 legionaries in a legion. With around 30 standing legions, the total force of the Ancient Roman military added up to around 150,000 legionaries. Legions fought in formations that were similar to the phalanx, but with a few differences. Legionaries were spaced more widely than was usual for phalanxes, which made legions more mobile on rugged terrain. It was because of these modifications that the Roman legions were able to so easily defeat the phalanxes of other kingdoms.
 * ~ Number of Soldiers in a(n) ||
 * Individual Group(old) || 10 || Individual Group(new) || 10 ||
 * Century(old) || 100 || Century(new) || 60 ||
 * Maniple(old) || 200 || Maniple(new) || 120 ||
 * Legion(old) || 6,000 || Legion(new) || 3,600 ||
 * Auxiliaries(old) || 6,000 || Auxiliaries(new) || 3,600 ||
 * Cavalry(old) || 300 || Cavalry(new) || 300 ||
 * Total(old) || 12,300 || Total(new) || 7,500 ||

Weapons
The weapons of Roman legionaries were very uniform. A typical legionary had two //pila,// or javelins. One javelin was light and one was heavy. The light //pilum// was about 4 feet long and the heavy one was about 6 feet long. In addition, each legionary had a //gladius,// or short sword.

Armor
Legionaries very well protected. Each legionary had plate armor. This was made very well, so it was light while protecting the legionary well. Legionaries also had metal helmets which slowly evolved to provide more safety. Finally, legionaries had large, oblong shields which were made of wood and reinforced with iron on the sides and in the center.

Tactics
Because legionaries were very precise and disciplined, the were able to perform very difficult tactics. The easiest of these was the standard battle formation. In this, the legionaries in the front of the army raised their shields to create a wall between them and the enemies. The standard battle formation was simple to do, but it was very effective because the Roman soldiers were protected and because the legionaries could hurt enemies by stabbing at them from behind their shields. A slightly more advanced formation was the //testudo//, or tortoise. In this formation, the legionaries on the outer ides of the group held their shields up, while the soldiers on the inside of the group held their shields over their heads. This created an impenetrable "shell" which protected the legionaries from almost all harm. The tortoise was said to have been so strong that a chariot could ride on top!

Auxiliaries
Although the legions made up the strongest part of the Roman army, the auxiliaries were almost as important. Unlike legions, auxiliaries were formed almost entirely of soldiers who were not Roman citizens. After 25 years of service as an auxiliary, a soldier received a bronze tablet which granted him and all his children Roman citizenship. The most important auxiliaries were the cavalry. This is because Roman cavalry was very weak, often numbering only about 300 per legion. This made Roman legions very vulnerable to enemy cavalry without auxiliary //alae,// which were recruited cavalry. Alae were necessary because their were so few Roman horsemen.

Weapons
The weapons of the auxiliaries were not even close to as uniform as the weapons of the legions. Each auxiliary simply used the weapon which was the specialty of the land he or she came from. For example, one auxiliary might use an ax, while another used a bow and arrow.

Armor
Like the weapons, the armor of auxiliaries was not uniform. An auxiliaries might just have leather armor, while a second had chain mail. A third might even have plate armor.

War Machines
The Romans had extremely powerful and advanced war machines. These machines needed to be designed by skilled architects. Examples of these are ballistae, siege towers, battering rams, and two types of catapults. One catapult used a counterweight to fling rocks up to over a thousand feet and the other used the energy from a twisted rope to launch lighter rocks farther than the counterweight catapult. Siege towers were essentially ladders surrounded in wood to protect against arrows and animal hides to protect against incendiary weapons, like fire arrows or hot oil. From siege towers, Roman legionaries could simply walk onto the walls of the defenders and start to fight. Another helpful siege weapon was the battering ram. Battering rams were made of a large tree trunk with a heavy metal piece in the front. The trunk was tied to the top of a roofed shelter made of wood. Legionaries would stand underneath this shelter and pull the ram backwards, then let it fall and strike the fortifications of the city. Even with all of these amazing machines, the most advanced weapon was the ballista. The ballista was a weapon that shot large bolts, almost like a giant crossbow. The bolts which ballistae fired could be up to six feet long and being hit by one meant almost certain death. Many armies used ballistae, but the ancient Romans developed a much more devastating version of them. The Romans were able to make repeating, automatic, which fired up to 11 shots per minute. This means that in ten minutes, one ballista could seriously injure or kill up to about 100 enemies.

=Ancient Indian Military=

The ancient Indian military was by no means as organized or precise as the Roman legions. Ancient Indian armies were generally sorted into infantry, archers, elephants, and chariots or cavalry. Armor in ancient India did not provide as much protection as Roman armor, but it was better for the heat of India. Many weapons were very prestigious and expensive, so only the wealthiest soldiers could afford them. Even many Hindu gods used weapons. Also, ancient Indians were the first to use elephants in war, so they had much more time than other civilizations to perfect the elephants' use. Finally, it is important to recognize the fact that ancient India was split up into multiple smaller kingdoms for most of its history.

Archers
Archers were the main units in ancient Indian armies. Although they were all classified as archers, bowmen in different parts of India used very different materials to make their bows. In southern India, bows were usually made of bamboo. Bamboo was a good choice because the bows were relatively cheap, quite powerful, and they kept their shapes when they got damp. On the other hand, in northern India, there were composite bows and compound bows. Composite bows were made of a combination of wood and animal horn. These bows were more powerful than bamboo bows, but they were very expensive because they could take up to ten years to make. Also, composite bows were prone to warp in the humid climate of southern India. After a bow warped, it was essentially useless. Compound bows were made of steel. This made them even more powerful than composite bows. Also, they didn't warp, which made compound bows useful in southern India as well. However, steel bows were very expensive, so only wealthier fighter could afford them.

**Chariots**
Even ancient Indians used chariots. However, ancient Indian chariots were very different from chariots in the rest of the ancient world. Ancient Indian chariots were around 6 feet tall and made of wood. This added a lot of protection for the chariot riders, but it made the chariots very heavy. As a, 4-6 horses were required to pull each chariot. Also, instead of going around the outside of enemy lines to shoot arrows and escape, ancient Indian chariots simply charged straight through enemy lines, crushing everything in their paths. On each chariot there was a driver and at least one fighter. The fighter had a bow and arrows for longer ranges and a spear to stab at enemies near the chariot. Each fighter also carried a sword in case an enemy got on to the chariot. Additionally, some chariots had sharp blades on their wheels. These blades could easily cut through enemy soldiers and made chariots very destructive.

Infantry
Ancient Indian infantry was more closely related to Roman legions than most other parts of the ancient Indian army. First, the infantry's main weapon was the //khanda//, or sword. However, these swords were very different from the Roman gladius. Khanda had a blunt tip, which meant that it could not be used to stab an enemy. Also, ancient Indian swords were made using the best steel of the ancient world. Khanda were made using what is called Damascus steel today. This way of preparing the steel created very strong and sharp blades.

War Elephants
Out of all the different kinds of soldiers in the Indian military, war elephants were the most powerful and the most intimidating. First,elephants could grow up to ten feet tall and weigh thousands of pounds. A protected wooden frame was often put on top of war elephants so archers could shoot down on enemies from relative safety. Second, war elephants were the only units in ancient Indian armies which wore metal armor on a regular basis in battles. This was because only elephants could stand the heat of being inside metal armor. Third, war elephants even had weapons on them. Poison dipped blades were often put on the trunk and tusks of war elephants, which made them even more devastating to enemies. One king actually trained his elephants to swing a flail using their trunks while advancing towards the enemy! A flail is a large metal ball attached to a handle by a chain. Although the elephants and their riders could easily destroy an army, their main use was to cause fear. It was hoped that the enemy would become scared to the point that they ran away. Even with all of these advantages, elephants were not invincible or perfect war animals. This is because if a war elephant got scared, it might run back where it came from: its own army! A scared or enraged elephant was as likely to run towards the enemy as it was to run towards its army.

=Comparison Table=


 * Soldier/Unit || Long-Ranged Weapons || Short-Ranged Weapons || Body Armor || Helmet || Shield ||
 * Legionary || heavy //pilum//, light //pilum// || //gladius// || plate armor or chain mail, || Metal || large wooden shield ||
 * Auxiliary || Varied; usually sling or bow || varied; often sword or spear || plate armor, chain mail, or leather || metal or leather || maybe; smaller than legionnaire's shield ||
 * War Machines || large bolt, boulder || N/A || N/A || N/A || N/A ||
 * Infantry || none || varied; usually //khanda// || leather, silk || cloth wrapped around head || small, wooden ||
 * Archer || Bow; either steel, composite, or bamboo || dagger or sword || leather, silk || cloth wrapped around head || none ||
 * Chariot || Bow || Spear, sword || leather, silk || cloth wrapped around head || none; chariot provided protection ||
 * Elephant || none || blade, possibly poison tipped, flail || metal plate armor || metal || none ||

=Bibliography=

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“Military History of Ancient India.” __www.allempires.com__. 2006. April 26, 2011. [].

Flanagan, John. __The Emperor of Nihon-ja.__ Australia: Random House, 2010, p. 17-19, 26-33, 49-61

“The Military of Ancient India.” [|www.ancientmilitary.com]. April 29, 2011. []

Windrow, Martin. __The Roman Legionary__. New York: Franklin Watts, 1984.

Londhe, Sushama. “War in Ancient India.” __[|www.bibliotecapleyades.net].__ May 1, 2011. [].