Roman Equipment

[Spartan19]

Ok, sorry if this has been adressed, but I have a few very broad questions.

 

1. The gladius-inspired by Spanish swords-when were they implemented, and what was used before them? Where they issued to the republican troops, or were they bought, as such with other equipment?

 

2. The shield-Ive seen both the oval shield used by Hastati&Princepii in the Republican era and the later rectangular shield called the scutum, which was which? Were the republican shields issued or bought?

And when did they come about?

 

3. Would the republican army have been dressed and equipeed the same during battles? Broadly I know their equipment was purchased, but was it required that they have certain helmets, or armor, or collored clothing etc...?

 

Sorry if Im coming off as coarse, just these things are really bothering me, I cant seem to find anything about it elsewhere.

Thanks for the help.

[PerfectimusPrime]

Ok, sorry if this has been adressed, but I have a few very broad questions.

 

1. The gladius-inspired by Spanish swords-when were they implemented, and what was used before them? Where they issued to the republican troops, or were they bought, as such with other equipment?

 

2. The shield-Ive seen both the oval shield used by Hastati&Princepii in the Republican era and the later rectangular shield called the scutum, which was which? Were the republican shields issued or bought?

And when did they come about?

 

3. Would the republican army have been dressed and equipeed the same during battles? Broadly I know their equipment was purchased, but was it required that they have certain helmets, or armor, or collored clothing etc...?

 

Sorry if Im coming off as coarse, just these things are really bothering me, I cant seem to find anything about it elsewhere.

Thanks for the help.

1. hmm... I don't remember...

 

2. The oval shield was used by all of the three lines Hastati, principes, and triarii.

 

3. The hastati had a throwing spear (was it pilum or a dart back then?), oval shield, sword, bronze helmet, and somesort of armour. The principes was armed pretty much the same, if I remember correctly. They had better equipment because they were richer. The triarii had a long battle spear in stead of the throwing spear that the two earlier lines had. Helmets were all bronze, but you could buy whatever armour you wanted.

[Lacertus]

Legions were armed a stabling sword (gladius hispaniensis). They lenght were 24-26 in. First such swords appear in Spain. It's a sort of Celt sword with sharped and elongated tip. they were accepted in the army in time of second Punic war.

Shields of heavy warriors (Hastati&Princepii) were 4 foots hight and 2.5 foots widht, were curved and oval in form. They were manufactured from wood and covering by a leather. Such shields Romans took over Celts. (Shield=scutum, it's same)

Equipment in legions were same. That was indispensable condition. The legioner, who has different weapon as helmet other form or shield big size or other cloth, was severely punished.

The manufacture of weapon was profitable business in Rome.

[Jimbow]

The legioner, who has different weapon as helmet other form or shield big size or other cloth, was severely punished.

 

 

Where do you get that from, and which period are you talking about? Considering some items could be passed from one generation to another I find "severe punishment" difficult to swallow. By "different weapon" do you mean the difference between a spear and a pilum, or a Mainz gladius and a Pompeii gladius? The only scenario I can really think of for severe punishment to be given would be if new segmentata were issued and the legionary sold it to make some money, wearing his old hamata instead. But even then it's not really known how the transition came about, or *exactly* when and over how long a period.

 

Jim.

[Dominus]

To respond to the original questions:

 

Soldiers through most of the Republic, with some exceptions, were required to outfit themselves. That stems from the era of the Kings. Only landowners qualified for service in the army, and only they could really afford expensive military equipment. Occasionally, like Punic War II (post-Cannae), armies would be outfitted at State expense. Gaius Marius made military service available to any citizen of any class, needing armies to fight the Teutones and Cimbri. From then on, armies were equipped by their generals or the State.

 

1. The gladius was around in the Republican era, but I forget when we (oops, Rome!) adopted the Spanish design.

 

2. The large Roman shield were all called "scuta" (plural) or "scutum" (singular). Gaius Marius changed the design to a shorter, rectangular form so that soldiers could march with more equipment and less support.

 

3. Things were more uniform during the Imperial period, primarily because everything was mass-produced in factories. However, there would have been significant differences in the appearance of Legions in different parts of the empire because they relied on different arms factories. Also, soldiers could, and often did, pay for fancier equipment. This was probably more true during the Republican period. Types of equipment were standardized. But with an army composed of citizenry, I doubt everyone had identical, uniform equipment.

 

Hope that helps, Spartan.

 

Ave atque vale for now!

[Lacertus]

Where do you get that from, and which period are you talking about? Considering some items could be passed from one generation to another I find "severe punishment" difficult to swallow. By "different weapon" do you mean the difference between a spear and a pilum, or a Mainz gladius and a Pompeii gladius?...

It said Polibius about Punic wars. Scipio Emilian punished a legioner during siege of Numancia who had the sheild bigger size. I meant this only.