Roman - The History Files

The Cornuti

The Cornuti Seniores were often brigaded with the Brachiati Seniores. The Cornuti were one of the First Palatina unit, founded by Constantine somewhere around 310 AD. They may have originated from the Auxiliaries on the Rhine frontier, and maintained the old-style Palatina structure. The Cornuti are organized into 80-man centuries, and consist of 4 Pedites units and 2 Lanciarii units. This totals a Numerus of 480 men.

The Cornuti (“horned”) was an auxilia palatina unit of the Late Roman army, active in the 4th and 5th century. It was probably related to the Cornuti seniores and the Cornuti iuniores.

According to some scholars, they are depicted on the Arch of Constantine, as the Germanic soldiers who are shown wearing horned helmets. On the relief representing the Battle of Verona (312) they are in the first lines, and they are depicted fighting with the bowmen in the relief of the Battle of the Milvian Bridge.

*Roman legionaries of the late Republic.*

Roman sources are uninformative about details of legionary training during the Roman Republic, in large part because they and their audience took the topic for granted. A key problem with trying to reassemble training regimes for the Republic is that the most detailed source that survives dates from four centuries after the Republic. There are a number of features, however, that we can piece together.

Polybius, our best source for the second-century army, suggests that the best training focused on weapons training, care of weapons and armor, and maneuvers by both small and large units. He does not suggest how the Roman military accomplished this regime. On enlistment, a new recruit was called a tiro and was assigned to his unit. Socialization into the society of the legion and expectations began immediately, as did introduction to discipline through routine duties and training.

The practical Romans had only to make one or two refinements to Greek models and then put the machines to use. Artillery machines came in several different sizes, the determining factor being the size of the bolt to be shot or the weight of the stone to be projected. Vitruvius explains how this affects the proportions in manufacturing catapultae and ballistae, including a ready-reckoner relating weight of the stones to the proportions of the machine “so that those who are not skill ed in geometry may be prep a red beforehand and not be delayed in thinking the matter through at a time of danger” (De Architectura 10. 10.-11). The bolts or stones were placed in the central channel, and the bowstring was pulled back onto the trigger, the only difference being that the bowstrings for stone-throwing machines were broader, approximating to a sling that encompassed the stone ball, with a loop at the back for the trigger.

Late Roman artillery at the Saxon shore.

The legionaries were well equipped with artillery: a figure of around 60 machines per legion is found in both Josephus (Jewish War 3.166) and Vegetius (2.25). The machines were of various sizes: Trajan’s Column shows both man-portable boltthrowers (manuballistae, cheiroballistrae) and those mounted on a mule-drawn carriage (carroballistae) (Scenes 65-66). Range and accuracy were impressive: at Hod Hill in Dorset, a hill-fort probably captured by Legio II Augusta in ad 43, 17 bolt-heads have been found, still embedded in the chalk where they struck. Eleven had hit Hut 37 (dubbed by archaeologists the “Chieftan’s Hut”), landing in a ten-meter circle, including four that landed in a three-meter circle, all from an estimated range of 170 meters. Of the six other shots it is likely that some at least were initial ranging shots, from which the firers corrected their aim. A reconstructed cheiroballistra has achieved similar results. Although crucial in sieges and assaults, artillery was used in field battles too: at Cremona in ad 69, an “enormous ballista,” of the Fifteenth Legion threw “huge” stones at the Flavian army; only by disguising themselves with the shields of fallen Vitellian troops did two bold individuals put it out of action, by cutting the twisted cord springs which provided its torsion (Tacitus, Hist. 3.25) – a key vulnerability of such machines.

The Roman Theatre of Carthago Nova and Cathedral ruins of Cartagena.

Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus spent the winter of 210–209 BCE strengthening ties with the local tribes and gathering intelligence on his intended target. Novo Carthago was the primary port of entry for whatever assistance came from Carthage: it held the treasury, it contained a massive armory, and it was where the hostages held to assure the cooperation of the Spanish tribes were kept. Further, it was the primary manufacturing center, especially for weapons. On the surface, Scipio’s attacking the main Carthaginian base seemed rather foolish given his relatively small force.

The art of generalship does not age, and it is because Scipio’s battles are richer in stratagems and ruses—many still feasible today—than those of any other commander in history that they are an unfailing object-lesson to soldiers.

—B. H. Liddell Hart

As with Hannibal, details of Scipio’s early years are extremely sketchy. He was born into Rome’s upper crust, descended on both his father’s and mother’s side from the Cornellii, a family from whom consuls had been elected for 150 years. Other than that, little can be confirmed. Even Polybius, who wrote at length on Scipio’s military career, glossed over his youth. He was well educated and admired Greek culture, which in his day was not a respectable characteristic, as the Greeks were viewed as a declining and somewhat profligate society; he must, however, have absorbed some of the Greek rationality in thinking, given the innovations he brought to the battlefield.

The Cornuti

Roman Training

Roman Artillery II

Roman Artillery I

Novo Carthago

Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus