Roman - TheHistoryFiles.com

Jugurthine War

Marius captured Jugurtha, King of Numidia, and, after parading his captive around the streets of Rome he was thrown into the Tullianum prison, where he is said to have been starved to death. A map of Numidia during the Jurgurthine War. After the Second Punic War, Rome awarded their ally Masinissa, king of the Massyliis […]

Ancient Warfare, Germany, Roman

MARIUS’ VICTORY OVER THE GERMANS

The Battle of Vercellae 101 BC was the Roman victory of Consul Gaius Marius over the invading Germanic Cimbri tribe near the settlement of Vercellae in Cisalpine Gaul. ~ art by Igor Dzis Marius and the Ambassadors of the Cimbri. The Cimbri people were an enigma. Virtually unknown until they appeared around 120 BC during […]

Ancient Warfare, Roman

Danube Bridge

The engineer, Apollodorus of Damascus, used wooden arches set on twenty masonry pillars (made with bricks, mortar and pozzolana cement) that spanned 52-meters each. However, the way it was built — in such a short time (103-105) — is still a mystery and it is thought that the course of the Danube may have been […]

History, Roman

Marjorian’s Barbarian Campaigns (457-461)

PRINCIPAL COMBATANTS: Marjorian’s Roman forces vs. the Vandals and Duke Ricimer PRINCIPAL THEATER(S): Italy, Gaul, and Spain MAJOR ISSUES AND OBJECTIVES: Marjorian sought to reconstitute the Western Empire of Rome and then to defeat the Vandals in their African homeland. OUTCOME: Although Marjorian achieved his reunification objective, treachery destroyed his African invasion plans, and a […]

Ancient Warfare, Battle, Roman

Milvian Bridge – Constantine’s Victory

27 October 312 Forces Engaged Gallic: Approximately 50,000 men. Commander: Constantine. Italian: Approximately 75,000 men. Commander: Maxentius. Importance Constantine’s victory gave him total control of the western Roman Empire, paving the way for Christianity as the dominant religion for the Roman Empire and ultimately for Europe. Historical Setting Rarely has the course of events followed […]

Ancient Warfare, Battle, Roman

Caesar’s War in Pontus (47 B. C. E.)

PRINCIPAL COMBATANTS: Bosporus Cimmerius, under King Pharnaces II, vs. the Roman Legions, under Julius Caesar PRINCIPAL THEATER(S): Pontus (southern coast of the Black Sea in Asia Minor) MAJOR ISSUES AND OBJECTIVES: Pharnaces II attempted to re-create the kingdom of Pontus, which his father, Mithradates VI, had lost to the Romans. OUTCOME: Caesar defeated Pharnaces II. […]

Armies, Roman

Fourth Century Rome – A`New Model’ Army Part II

The army took recruits wherever it could get them, and there are clear signs that many people went to drastic lengths to avoid service. In real terms army pay was of less value than it had been in the first and second centuries, while discipline and punishment remained brutal. Repeated laws punished the practice of […]

Armies, Roman

Fourth Century Rome – A `New Model’ Army Part I

Diocletian and Constantine presided over a major restructuring of the army, alongside their reform of civil administration. Troops were now divided into two distinct grades, the comitatenses and limitanei. The latter received less pay and had lower physical requirements, but were still full-time professional soldiers. The root of the name was the word for military […]

History, Roman

Attila

The Battle of Catalaunian Fields In 451 Attila decided on a complete change of direction. For reasons that we do not completely understand, he chose to leave the Eastern Empire alone and turn his attention to the West. The change demonstrates that Attila was more than a successful barbarian warrior: he, or his advisers (we […]

Ancient Warfare, Roman

Conquests and frontiers – Augustus – Tiberius

Augustus was no great military leader, and had the good sense to recognize the fact. In his early years he relied heavily on Marcus Agrippa, his faithful friend, who had commanded the fleet at Actium. After Actium, Augustus took a personal lead in only one further campaign, the Cantabrian War of 26-25 BC in Spain; […]