What seperates the Roman Farmer-Soldiers from other Farming People tha

[Pisces Axxxxx]

I published this (rather long) question about why Farmer soldiers were so unconditioned for military tasks as basic as marching on Yahoo Answers last week.

 

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Aralsuo439x7.UU0QCiD_tYjzKIX;_ylv=3?qid=20130206060935AA6bSuI

 

You noticed I posted that in addition to the Confederate Army example, that the Romans were also Farmer-Militia during their early days but fought with such tenacity and discipline that they were on par with a regular Army in the ancient world.

 

So I am curious. What separated the Romans from other Farming Peoples that relied on a Militia that made them so successful in repelling invasions and later conquer nearby neighbors as opposed to the typical poorly trained militia forces mentioned in above question?

[caldrail]

Farmers or not, the Romans had a long history of raiding right back into the bronze age, and possibly earlier than that. Military virtue was part of the culture so I guess that had something to do with it. They didn't always have an easy time of it mind you. Like most warrior peoples, they tended to laud their victories and merely mention their defeats (unless some dramatic tragedy was part of it). For instance, Quintilius Varus gets star billing for his complete inability to spot the ruse and his subsequent loss of three legions (and honourable suicide), whereas another major defeat a few years ago is barely mentioned. Marcus Lollius, anyone?

 

Were the Romans so different? Not really, although they were probably more militaristic than some, more disciplined than others, and rapacious traders the moment they spotted an opportunity.