The location of the Roman legions. Last legion

V.A. Bogomolov

This issue is based on the three-volume “Military History” by Razin and the book “On the Seven Hills” by M.Yu. German, B.P. Seletsky, Yu.P. Suzdalsky. The issue is not a special historical study and is intended to help those involved in the manufacture of military miniatures.

Brief historical background

Ancient Rome - the state that conquered the peoples of Europe, Africa, Asia, Britain. Roman soldiers were famous all over the world for their iron discipline (but not always it was iron), brilliant victories. The Roman generals went from victory to victory (there were cruel defeats), until all the peoples of the Mediterranean were under the weight of a soldier’s boot.

The Roman army at different times had different numbers, the number of legions, and various structures. With the improvement of military art, weapons, tactics and strategy changed.

In Rome, there was universal conscription. In the army, they began to serve as young men from the age of 17 and up to 45 in field units, after 45 to 60 they served in fortresses. Persons participating in 20 campaigns in the infantry and 10 in the cavalry were exempted from service. Duration of service also changed over time.

At one time, due to the fact that everyone wanted to serve in the light infantry (weapons were cheap, they were purchased at their own expense), the citizens of Rome were divided into categories. This was done under Servius of Tullia. The 1st category included people who owned property that was valued at no less than 100,000 copper assets, the 2nd category had at least 75,000 aces, the 3rd category had 50,000 aces, the 4th had 25,000 aces, and 5 -mu - 11.500 aces. All the poor were in the 6th category - proletarians, whose wealth was only offspring ( proles) Each property rank exhibited a certain number of military units - centuries (hundreds): 1st category - 80 heavy infantry centuries, which were the main fighting force, and 18 horsemen centuries; only 98 centuries; 2nd - 22; 3rd - 20; 4th - 22; 5th - 30 centuries of lightly armed and 6th category - 1 centuria, a total of 193 centuries. Lightly armed warriors were used as a convoy of servants. Due to the division into categories, there was no shortage of heavily armed, lightly armed infantrymen and horsemen. The proletarians and slaves did not serve, since they were not trusted.

Over time, the state took over not only the maintenance of the warrior, but also withheld it from the salary for food, weapons and equipment.

After a grave defeat at Cannes and in a number of other places, after the Punic Wars, the army was reorganized. The salary was sharply increased, the proletarians were allowed to serve in the army.

Continuous wars demanded a lot of soldiers, changes in weapons, construction, training. The army became mercenary. Such an army could be led anywhere and against anyone. This happened when Lucius Cornellius of Sulla came to power (1st century BC).

The organization of the Roman army

After the victorious wars of the 4th-3rd centuries BC. under the rule of Rome fell all the peoples of Italy. To keep them in obedience, the Romans granted some peoples more rights, others less, spreading mutual distrust and hatred between them. It was the Romans who formulated the law "divide and rule".

And for this, numerous troops were needed. Thus, the Roman army consisted of:

a) legions, in which the Romans themselves served, consisting of heavy and light infantry and cavalry attached to them;

b) the Italian allies and the allied cavalry (after giving the Italians the rights of citizenship that flowed into the legion);

c) auxiliary troops recruited from the inhabitants of the provinces.

The main tactical unit was the legion. At the time of Servius Tullius, the legion numbered 4,200 and 900 horsemen, not counting 1,200 lightly armed soldiers who were not part of the legion combatant.

Consul Mark Claudius changed the structure of the legion and weapons. This happened in the 4th century BC.

The Legion was divided into maniples (in Latin - a handful), centuries (hundreds) and decuries (tens), which resembled modern companies, platoons, squads.

Light infantry - Velites (literally - fast, mobile) marched ahead of the legion in the loose side and started a battle. Upon failure, it retreated to the rear and to the flanks of the legion. In total there were 1200 people.

Gastati (from the Latin “Gasta” - spear) - lancers, 120 people in the maniple. They made up the first line of the legion. Principles (first) - 120 people in the manipulation. The second line. Triarii (third) - 60 people in the maniple. Third line. The Triaries were the most experienced and experienced fighters. When the ancients wanted to say that the decisive moment had come, they said: "The matter has come to the Triaries."

Each maniple had two centuries. There were 60 people in the Century of Gastat or Principles, and 30 people in the Centuries of Triarii.

The Legion was given 300 horsemen, amounting to 10 Turm. Cavalry covered the flanks of the legion.

At the very beginning of the application of the manipulative order, the legion went into battle in three lines and, if an obstacle arose that the legionnaires were forced to flow around, thus breaking the battle line, the maniple from the second line was in a hurry to close the gap, and the place from the second line was taken by the manipul from the third line . During the battle with the enemy, the legion represented a monolithic phalanx.

Over time, the third line of the legion began to be used as a reserve, deciding the fate of the battle. But if the commander incorrectly determined the decisive moment of the battle, the legion expected death. Therefore, over time, the Romans moved to the cohort system of the legion. Each cohort totaled 500-600 people and, with an attached horse detachment, acting separately, was a miniature legion.

The command staff of the Roman army

In tsarist times, the king was the commander. In the days of the republic, the consuls commanded, dividing the troops in half, but when it was necessary to unite, they commanded in turn. If there was a serious threat, then a dictator was chosen, to whom the chief of the cavalry obeyed, in contrast to the consuls. The dictator had unlimited rights. Each commander had assistants who were assigned to separate parts of the army.

Separate legions were commanded by the stands. There were six of them per legion. Each pair commanded for two months, replacing each other every day, then giving way to the second pair, etc. The centurions were subordinate to the stands. Each centurium was commanded by a centurion. The commander of the first hundred was the commander of the manipul. The centurions had the right of a soldier for misconduct. They carried with them a vine - a Roman rod; this tool was rarely left idle. The Roman writer Tacitus spoke of a centurion whom the whole army knew under the nickname: “Give another!” Following the reform of Mary, a companion of Sulla, the centurions of the triaries gained great influence. They were invited to the military council.

As in our time, in the Roman army were banners, drums, timpani, trumpets, horns. The banners were a spear with a crossbar, on which hung a cloth of plain material. Manipulas, and after the reform of the Maria cohort, had banners. Above the crossbar was an image of a beast (wolf, elephant, horse, wild boar ...). If the unit performed a feat, then it was awarded - the award was attached to the flagpole; this custom has survived to this day.

The icon of the legion under Mary was a silver eagle or a bronze. Under the emperors, it was made of gold. The loss of the banner was considered the greatest disgrace. Each legionnaire had to defend the banner to the last drop of blood. In difficult times, the commander threw the banner into the thick of the enemies in order to induce the soldiers to return him back and scatter the enemies.

The first thing the soldiers taught was to relentlessly follow the badge, the banner. The standard bearers were chosen from strong and experienced soldiers and were highly respected and respected.

According to the description of Titus Livius, the banners were a square cloth, tied to a horizontal bar, mounted on a pole. The color of the panel was different. All of them were monochromatic - purple, red, white, blue.

Until the Allied infantry merged with the Romans, it was commanded by three prefects, chosen from among the Roman citizens.

Great importance was attached to the quartermaster service. The head of the quartermaster service is a quaestor who was in charge of fodder and food for the army. He monitored the delivery of everything needed. In addition, each centuria had its foragers. A special official, like a captenarmus in the modern army, distributed food to soldiers. At the headquarters there was a staff of scribes, bookkeepers, cashiers, who gave soldiers salaries, priests-fortunetellers, military police officials, spies, signaling trumpeters.

All signals were given by a pipe. The sound of the trumpet was rehearsed by curved horns. When changing the guard, they blew the fuqin pipe. The cavalry used a special long pipe bent at the end. The signal for the collection of troops for the general meeting was given by all the trumpeters gathered in front of the commander's tent.

Training in the Roman army

The training of the fighters of the Roman manipulated legion primarily consisted in teaching the soldiers to go forward on the orders of the centurion, filling in the gaps in the battle line at the moment of a collision with the enemy, in a hurry to merge into the general mass. Performing these maneuvers required more difficult training than training a warrior who fought in the phalanx.

The training also consisted in the fact that the Roman soldier was sure that he would not be left alone on the battlefield, that his comrades would rush to his aid.

The emergence of legions divided into cohorts, the complication of maneuver required more complex training. It is no accident that after the reform, Maria, one of his associates, Rutilius Rufus, introduced a new training system in the Roman army that resembled a training system for gladiators in gladiatorial schools. Only well-trained soldiers (trained) could overcome fear and get closer to the enemy, attack from the rear a huge mass of the enemy, feeling only a cohort nearby. Only a disciplined soldier could fight like that. Under Mary, a cohort was introduced, which included three maniples. There were ten cohorts in the legion, not counting light infantry, and from 300 to 900 horsemen.

Fig. 3 - Cohort battle order.

Discipline

The Roman army, famous for its discipline, unlike other armies of that time, was entirely in the power of the commander.

The slightest violation of discipline was punishable by death, as well as failure to comply with the order. So, in 340 BC the son of the Roman consul Titus Manlius Torquat during reconnaissance without the order of the commander-in-chief entered into battle with the head of the enemy detachment and defeated him. He spoke about this in the camp with enthusiasm. However, the consul condemned him to death. The sentence was carried out immediately, despite the pleas of all the troops for mercy.

In front of the consul there were always ten lictors carrying bunches of rods (fascia, fascinus). In wartime, an ax was inserted into them. A symbol of the power of the consul over his repaired. First, the offender was cut with rods, then his head was chopped off with an ax. If part or all of the army showed cowardice in battle, then decimation was carried out. Decem translated into Russian means ten. So did Crassus after the defeat of several legions by Spartacus. Several hundred soldiers were flushed and then executed.

If a soldier fell asleep at the post, he was put on trial, and then he was beaten to death with stones and sticks. For easy trivialities they could flog, demote, transfer to hard work, reduce salaries, deprive of citizenship, sell into slavery.

But there were rewards. They could increase their ranks, increase their salaries, reward them with land or money, were exempted from camp work, and were awarded with insignia: silver and gold chains, brastets. The award was held by the commander himself.

The usual awards were medals (faler) with the image of the face of a god or commander. The highest marks of distinction were wreaths (crowns). Dubovy was given to a soldier who saved a comrade - a Roman citizen in battle. Crown with battlement - the one who first climbed the wall or rampart of an enemy fortress. A crown with two golden noses of the ships - the soldier who first stepped on the deck of the enemy ship. A siege wreath was given to the commander who lifted the siege from the city or fortress or liberated them. But the highest award - a triumph - was given to the commander for an outstanding victory, while at least 5,000 enemies were to be killed.

The triumphant rode on a gilded chariot in a purple robe embroidered with palm leaves. The chariot was harnessed by four snow-white horses. In front of the chariot they carried military booty and led prisoners of war. The triumph was followed by relatives and friends, songwriters, soldiers. Triumphal songs sounded. The cries of "Io!" and “Triumph!” (“Io!” Corresponds to our “Hurray!”). The slave, who stood behind the triumph on the chariot, reminded him that he was a mere mortal and that he would not be conceited.

For example, the soldiers of Julius Caesar, in love with him, following him, made fun of and laughed at his bald head.

Roman camp

The Roman camp was well thought out and fortified. The Roman army was said to carry a fortress. As soon as a halt was made, the construction of the camp immediately began. If it was necessary to move on, the camp was abandoned unfinished. Even broken for a short time, differed from the one-day more powerful fortifications. Sometimes the army remained in the camp for the winter. Such a camp was called winter, instead of tents, houses and barracks were built. By the way, in the place of some Roman camps such cities as Lancaster, Rochester and others arose. From the Roman camps grew Cologne (the Roman colony of Agrippinn), Vienna (Windobona) ... Cities, at the end of which there is a "... Chester" or "... Castres", arose on the site of the Roman camps. “Kastrum” is a camp.

The campsite was chosen on the southern dry hillside. Nearby there should have been water and pasture for convoy cattle, fuel.

The camp was a square, later a rectangle, whose length was one third longer than the width. First of all, the place of the praetorium was planned. This is a square area, the side of which was 50 meters. Here the tents of the commander, altars, a tribune were set up to address the commander's soldiers; there was a trial and a gathering of troops. To the right was the quaestor's tent, to the left - the legates' tent. Tents of stands were placed on both sides. In front of the tents, a street 25 meters wide passed through the entire camp, another 12 meters wide crossed the main street. At the ends of the streets were gates and towers. Ballistics and catapults stood on them. (the same throwing gun, received the name from the projectile, the ballist of the metal core, the catapult - arrows) On each side in right rows stood the tents of the legionnaires. From the camp, the troops could march without hustle and bustle. Each centuria occupied ten tents, manipul - twenty. The tents had a prefabricated skeleton, a gable prefabricated roof and were covered with leather or a rough cloth. The tent area is from 2.5 to 7 square meters. m. There was a decurium in it - 6-10 people, two of whom were constantly on guard. The tents of the Praetorian Guard and cavalry were large. The camp was surrounded by a picket fence, a wide and deep moat and a shaft 6 meters high. Between the shafts and tents of the legionnaires there was a distance of 50 meters. This was done so that the enemy could not light the tents. An obstacle course was arranged in front of the camp from several contralation lines and barriers of pointed stakes, wolf pits, trees with pointed knots and woven together, forming an almost impassable obstacle.

Leggings were worn by Roman legionnaires from ancient times. Under the emperors were abolished. But the centurions continued to wear them. Leggings had the color of the metal from which they were made, sometimes painted.

In the time of Mary, the banners were silver, in the days of the empire, gold. The sheets were multi-colored: white, blue, red, purple.

Fig. 7 - Weapons.

The cavalry sword is one and a half times longer than the infantry sword. One-edged swords, handles were made of bone, wood, metal.

Pylum is a heavy spear with a metal tip and a rod. Tip with notches. The shaft is wooden. The middle part of the spear is wrapped tightly to the coil with a cord. One or two brushes were made at the end of the cord. The tip of the spear and the shaft were made of soft forged iron, and to iron, made of bronze. Pylum was thrown on enemy shields. The spear that had stuck into the shield pulled him to the bottom, and the warrior was forced to drop the shield, since the spear weighed 4-5 kg \u200b\u200band dragged along the ground, as the tip and rod bent.

Fig. 8 - Skutums (shields).

Shields (scutums) acquired a semi-cylindrical form after the war with the Gauls in the 4th century. BC e. Skutums were made of light, well-dried, aspen or poplar boards tightly fitted to each other, covered with linen, and bovine skin on top. At the edge, the shields were bordered with a strip of metal (bronze or iron) and stripes were laid with a cross through the center of the shield. In the center was placed a pointed plaque (umbon) - the top of the shield. Legionnaires kept in it (it was removable) a razor, money and other small things. On the inside there was a belt loop and a metal bracket, the name of the owner and the number of the century or cohort were written. The skin could be dyed: red or black. They put their hand into the belt loop and grabbed the brace, thanks to which the shield hung tightly on the arm.

Helmet in the center is earlier, later on the left. The helmet had three feathers 400 mm long; in ancient times, helmets were bronze, later iron. The helmet was sometimes decorated in the form of snakes on the sides, which at the top formed the place where the feathers were inserted. In later times, the only decoration on the helmet was a comb. At the top of the head, the Roman helmet had a ring into which a strap was threaded. The helmet was worn on the back or on the lower back, as they wear a modern helmet.

Roman velites were armed with darts and shields. The shields were round, made of wood or metal. Velita were dressed in tunics, later (after the war with the Gauls) all legionnaires began to wear pants. Some of the Velites were armed with slings. At slingers on the right side, over the left shoulder, bags for stones hung. Some velites might have swords. Shields (wooden) covered with leather. The color of the clothes could be anything but purple and its shades. Velites could wear sandals or walk barefoot. Archers in the Roman army appeared after the defeat of the Romans in the war with Parthia, where the consul Crassus and his son died. The same Crassus who defeated the troops of Spartacus near Brundisy.

Figure 12 - Centurion.

The centurions had silvered helmets, had no shields, and wore a sword on the right side. They had greaves and, as a distinctive mark on the armor on their chests, had an image of a vine twisted into a ring. During the time of the manipulative and cohort formation of the legions, the centurions were on the right flank of the centuries, maniples, and cohorts. The cloak is red, with all the legionnaires wearing red cloaks. Only the dictator and high commanders had the right to wear purple cloaks.

Animal skins acted as saddles. The Romans did not know the stirrups. The first stirrups were rope loops. The horses were not forged. Therefore, horses were very cherished.

References

1. Military history. Razin, 1-2 t. T., Moscow, 1987

2. On the seven hills (Essays on the culture of ancient Rome). M.Yu. German, B.P. Seletsky, Yu.P. Suzdal Leningrad, 1960.

3. Hannibal. Titus Livy; Moscow, 1947.

4. Spartak. Raffaello Giovagnoli; Moscow, 1985.

5. Flags of the states of the world. K.I. Ivanov; Moscow, 1985.

6. The history of ancient Rome, edited by V.I. Kuzishchina; Moscow, 1981.

Publication:
  Library of the Military Historical Commission - 44, 1989

This chapter will focus not so much on the mysteries of the disappearance of the Roman legions, although to some extent about them, as on the Roman army as a whole. More precisely, about one big mystery: why exactly the Roman army was able to subdue and for a long time retain such vast territories in the Empire that could not be subordinated and retained by any other conquerors.

What should be noted first when it comes to the Roman army? It was the army and its experienced commanders who were the builders of the Roman Empire, and it was the army that contributed to the formation of the so-called Pax romana - the Roman world, which united and introduced hundreds of peoples of Europe, Asia and Africa to the ancient culture. It can be said without exaggeration that the Roman state was based on swords and shields of Roman legions. And so it went on for a thousand years, from the foundation of Rome by Romulus and Remus until the time of the last emperors of the Western Empire. And then there was Byzantium - the Eastern Empire, which lasted another thousand years, most of which were also carried out in wars with numerous enemies. That is, Rome fought constantly. Of course, these wars did not always end with the victory of Roman weapons. Rome knew defeat. But always, like a mythical phoenix, it was reborn again and again, while its citizens were full of patriotism and Roman pride and ambition outweighed the thirst for profit and the pursuit of luxury. As soon as the Romans lost their inherent warlike spirit, and transferred military service to the shoulders of the conquered peoples, the Empire began to decline. But while the army was Roman, imbued with the proud and warlike spirit of Rome, the state flourished and became rich.

To understand what is the reason for the invincibility of the Roman army, you need to first trace its development and organization.

Starting from the earliest years of its history, Rome waged endless wars, during which a unique military system was born, which had a huge impact on the military art of other peoples of the Ancient World, and indeed on all military affairs in general. The mobility, discipline and endurance of the Roman legions made it possible to create a huge power and effectively repel the attacks of enemies on its borders. No state of antiquity could compete with Rome for the vastness and success of conquests. No one but the Romans defeated so many and varied enemies. The power of Rome was experienced by neighbors - Sabines, Etruscans, Greeks and Spaniards. The Roman legions defeated the seemingly invincible peoples - the Macedonians, Carthaginians and Parthians. They conquered the warlike tribes of the Celts, Germans and Dacians. The freedom-loving Sarmatians and Alans paid tribute to Rome. Therefore, the Roman military organization is rightfully considered the best of those that existed before the era of firearms, and many of its elements are used in the armies of different countries to this day.

In addition, the Roman army was also a powerful political force, more than once finding itself at the epicenter of internal Roman politics and dictating its will to the government and commanders who fought for power. In the history of the Roman Empire, there was even a whole century (almost the entire 3rd century AD), when the army itself put forward and deposed rulers. In historical literature, this time is commonly called the "era of soldier emperors."

The army also played an important role in peacetime. On the newly conquered lands, whether it be the deserts of Africa or the forests of Germany, Roman soldiers who lived in their fortified camps approved the Roman way of life, introduced local residents to it. With the hands of soldiers, roads and water pipes were built, wild lands were ennobled, deserts were irrigated, and swamps were drained. On the site of military camps in the border provinces, cities arose - the future centers of European civilization.

The formation of the Roman army and its component - the legion - occurred in the semi-legendary period of the kings.

Initially, the entire army of the Roman community was called the legion, organized, according to the law of King Servius Tullius, as follows: the legion, like the entire population of Rome, was divided into cavalry and 5 ranks of foot soldiers. The cavalry was composed of representatives of the most prosperous families, who, at their own expense, could support a horse and acquire everything necessary for a rider warrior. Over time, these noble families became the basis for the most numerous class of wealthy Romans - horsemanship. The first class required full heavy weapons: helmet, round shield, greaves, armor, sword and spear. The second and third classes supplied infantry equipped somewhat easier. The fourth class supplied light infantry - the Velites. Fifth-class citizens were armed only with slings and had a supply of throwing stones. It should be noted that the division into military ranks occurred not only on the basis of property status, but also by origin, that is, taking into account the person’s belonging to a certain estate - patricians or plebeians. Each class was organized into units of 100 people, called the Centuries.

In the tsarist period, the army consisted of royal vigilantes, called celers, who served under the tsar constantly, and detachments of the city militia, assembled only in the event of a large-scale war. Tribal ties ensured the unity of soldiers in battle. The battle itself often boiled down to the simple combat of combatants, as, for example, in the famous battle of Horatiev and Kuriatsiev. But over time, changes took place in the organization and tactics of the Roman army. They were mainly associated with the widespread dissemination of Greek culture on the Italian peninsula. Adopting from the Greeks some features of the political system, the Romans, of course, could not ignore the military organization. Already at the end of the tsarist period, Servius Tullius, imitating the Greeks, organizes a foot phalanx, which acquires a crucial role on the battlefield. Equestrian squads of the clan aristocracy and martial arts tactics give way to the infantry, sufficiently trained and disciplined to operate in a closed system, which successfully opposed the disparate detachments of the clan aristocracy of the peoples neighboring Rome.

At the end of the VI century BC. e. imperial power was abolished and Rome became a republic. The king was replaced by two consuls, who were elected for a period of one year. The consuls had great power, limited within the city by the city assembly - comitia. But outside the city walls, the power of the consuls was unlimited. As a rule, in the event of war, one consul remained in Rome, and the other commanded the troops. But over time, both consuls began to take part in military campaigns, leaving in Rome their deputy city prefect. This often led to disastrous consequences, since the consuls, in the case of joint command of the army, had to change after a certain period. If the consuls were at odds with each other, or even hated each other, then this, of course, affected their orders in the army. An order issued today by one consul could be canceled tomorrow or replaced by another, completely opposite. This led to confusion in the actions of the troops and adversely affected the combat effectiveness of the legions. A vivid example of such an inept strategy was the war of Rome with Hannibal, who very skillfully used the differences in the Roman high military authorities during his campaign in Italy.

The military discipline of the Romans was based not only on the soldier's awareness of his civic duty, but also on coercion and was supported by rods of liquors. Disobedience was punished with all severity, up to the death penalty. One of the most cruel forms of punishment in the Roman army was decimation. Decimation was applied to detachments and entire formations of the troops, whose soldiers committed heavy misconduct during the conduct of hostilities. Namely: they deserted, escaped from the battlefield, did not provide assistance to the dying comrades-in-arms (if they could, but did not want to save them), abandoned their banners and badges during the retreat, and, due to their own indiscretion, allowed the death or capture of the commander, etc. In this case, the guilty unit without weapons, banners and armor was lined up in front of the army and the stands of the legion read out the verdict to them. Then the lictors counted out every tenth and publicly cut them with rods, after which they were beheaded. After this gloomy procedure, a unit that stained itself with shame, as a rule, disbanded, and its number was deleted from all lists. To the credit of Roman weapons, it should be noted that such measures were used very rarely.

Service was required to carry every Roman citizen. To perform military service in the field army, young men and men aged 17 to 45 were selected. Veterans of 45-60 years served in the city and played the role of a strategic reserve. Those persons who participated in 20 military campaigns while serving in the infantry or in 10 campaigns while serving in the cavalry were exempted from military service. The poor (proletarians) were not allowed to military service, as they did not have the means to acquire the necessary equipment and weapons. Subsequently, they gained the right to serve in the army and formed light infantry.

According to the established signal, all those liable for military service should have gathered on the Field of Mars. This signal was the red flag, which was hung on the Capitol. In the event of a particularly dangerous situation, two flags were hung - red and green. Evasion of military service was punished very strictly, up to the sale of slavery.

At first, the Roman legion numbered 4,200 infantry and 300 horsemen. But over time, this norm ceased to be observed, and the number of the legion could reach 6 thousand people. So, in the battle of Cannes, the Roman legions consisted of 5 thousand infantry. Since each warrior acquired weapons at his own expense, it was diverse. Subsequently, measures were taken to introduce uniform weapons by determining what equipment citizens who belong to different property classes should have. As already mentioned, initially the legion acted as a phalanx, 8-16 rows deep, but over time, taking into account the fact that the phalanx was very vulnerable in rough terrain, the Romans revised their tactics. Thus, combining the best elements of the Greek and Macedonian phalanx with the local ones that appeared among the peoples of the peninsula, the Romans invented their own unique battle order, combining the striking power of the phalanx and the ability to quickly disperse and rebuild. Such a construction of the legion was called "manipulative order", according to the name of individual detachments of warriors - maniples. In addition to close combat, practiced by the Greeks and Macedonians, the Romans perfectly mastered the art of long-range combat. No wonder the most common weapons of the Roman legion infantry for several centuries was pilum - a heavy throwing spear.

The youngest and poorest warriors - Velites - were armed with a sword, 6 darts 2 meters long each, a bow with a supply of arrows and slings for throwing stones. An ordinary dart darted at a distance of up to 25 meters, and equipped with a belt loop flew 80 meters. The Velites constituted the lightly armed infantry, numbering 1,200 soldiers who were not included in the combat calculation of the legion.

The next class and age were Gastat (spearmen), who were armed with a sword, heavy throwing spears - pilums and full protective weapons. The shield at first was round, borrowed from the Greeks, - hoplon, and then half-cylindrical in shape about 1.25 meters high and about 0.8 meters wide - the famous scutum. The wooden skeleton of the shield was covered with leather and was trimmed with an iron strip at the edges. During the campaign, the legionnaire carried a shield in a case behind his back, and on his chest hung a helmet decorated with a sultan of three straight feathers of red or black color up to 40 centimeters long. To protect the body, a leather shell served with metal scales sewn onto it (lorica squamata) or chain mail borrowed from the Celts (lorika hamata). Later, during the time of Augustus, the most common armor of the Roman legionnaires was the lorica of the segmentate - plate armor recruited from metal strip segments. A woolen tunic was worn under the carapace, and a cloak was thrown over it - a sagum, which was fastened with a buckle on the right shoulder. The legionnaire wore leather sandals without socks - caligi, lined with iron nails.

The third group - principles, were armed as well as gastatis. Gastatov and principles were 1200 in the legion.

The eldest were called the Triaries; instead of pilum, they had a simple spear-gastu. The triaries totaled 600 people. These were the most experienced war veterans who served as a kind of reserve. They entered the battle only at the most critical moment and, as a rule, decided the outcome of the battle. “It came to the Triaries,” said the Romans, when the situation in the battle was not in their favor.

The weapons of the legionnaires improved over time. Previously, the spear was the main weapon, and the sword performed an additional function, but since the First Punic War, a short (half-meter, since it was most convenient for the Roman pedestrian system, in the cramped hand-to-hand fighting) double-edged sword - "gladius hispanorum", borrowed from the Spanish tribes, suitable for cutting and chopping, as well as a throwing spear pilum become the favorite weapon of the Romans.

Legionnaires wore the sword on the right, as they held the shield in their left hand. The generals walked without shields, so they wore the sword on the left.

Throwing spear pilum, made of strong heavy wood, with a sharp iron tip (pilum length - 1.5 meters, weight - up to 4 kilograms). The main difference between the pilum and the ordinary spear was its extremely long iron part, usually reaching a meter. Pilum, falling into the enemy’s shield, could not be cut like a simple spear. The opponent’s sword could not reach the pylum shaft, and, as a rule, they threw a shield with a spear that fell into it.

Light infantry (velites) were armed with throwing weapons (most often darts). The Roman cavalry was armed with a Gasta spear and a long double-edged chopping spat sword (from the 1st century A.D.).

The old division of the legion into hundreds was replaced by division into categories and maniples. Each legion was divided into 30 maniples, the manipula into two centuries. The place of each soldier in the ranks was determined depending on the age category, taking into account the property status. Each category occupied a certain place in the legion, which was now divided into 3 lines: in the first - 1,200 gastatis (10 maniples of 120 people), in the second - 1,200 principles (10 to 120) and in the third - triarii, 600 people (10 maniples of 60 people). Lightly armed were distributed between the manipulations in groups of 40 people each.

The cavalry of the legion was divided into 2 large detachments of ala (wing), which, in turn, was divided into 10 turms, 30 riders in each. It was usually placed on the flanks of battle formation.

The introduction of maniples was a very important transformation. Such a system provided considerable freedom of maneuver and allowed each maniple to operate autonomously, which made the legion an extremely combat-ready unit. The battle usually began as follows: a moving metal formation in the ranks of the enemy darts, and then engaged in hand-to-hand combat. A great advantage of the Roman battle order was this combination of hand-to-hand combat with preliminary dart throwing.

The first to enter the battle was the light infantry, which was built before the formation of the legion. Then the Gastatians entered the battle, letting in light infantry in the intervals between the manipulations. If the enemy showed strong resistance, then manipulations of principles entered into the intervals of the first line, thus creating a continuous formation, in extreme cases, the triaries entered the battle. If necessary, the Roman legionnaires made up the so-called “tortoise” (testudo) - a special type of system formed with the help of closed shields. This battle order was used in sieges of cities and in open areas, against enemy cavalry.

The famous Roman fortified camp also appeared during the Republic. During the period of long wars of conquest of the end of the Republic and the beginning of the Empire, he became a constant phenomenon.

In addition to legions consisting exclusively of Roman citizens, the Roman army also had the so-called allies - “socions”, recruited from the conquered tribes and communities of Italy. They were auxiliary troops. 5,000 foot soldiers and 900 allied horsemen relied on one legion.

The discipline was of great importance. In the campaign, the soldier was completely subordinate to his superior. Discipline was supported by severe penalties. The consul, and even more so the dictator (commander, elected in case of special danger and having unlimited powers) could, at their discretion, put the offender to death. Along with punishment, there were rewards. The commander who won won the right to triumph. The highest mark of distinction was a wreath. Warlords received laurel wreaths. The warrior, the first to climb the wall of an enemy fortress, received a golden wreath, made like a fortress wall with towers - the “crown of muralis”. For the salvation of the Roman citizen, a wreath of oak leaves was laid on the head of the distinguished person - the “Civic crown”.

All more or less significant formations in the Roman army had their own banners and standards. The main banner of the legion was introduced from the time of the consulate Mary (107 BC) “aquila” - the eagle of the legion. The eagle figurine was made of silver, later gold, and was mounted on a pole that was carried by a standard carrier-aquifer. The cohorts had their own standards - signatures on which insignia received by the division, award wreaths and sack medals could be placed. Cavalry units had small multi-colored banners - vexillum.

The bosses, depending on the rank, had special decorations and signs on helmets and armor. The centurion wore a silver-plated helmet; on his armor, which were somewhat archaic, there were usually signs of military distinctions - snappers and torques. A symbol of the power of the centurion was a rod of vine - vitis to punish the guilty. The commander wore a purple or black cloak - paludaumentum and had rich weapons made in the Hellenistic style. Military musicians, as well as warriors who wore badges and standards, were distinguished by lion or wolf skins draped over their armor.

The military system, which was based on high training, discipline and faith in the effectiveness of the offensive, led the Roman army to undeniable superiority over the armies of other states. But the growing needs of Rome for professional soldiers could no longer be met by recruiting militias on the basis of qualifications. Several brutal defeats inflicted by the barbarian Germanic tribes to the Roman consuls at the end of the 2nd century BC. e., testified to the need for deep reform of the army. The overdue military reform was carried out by Gaius Marius. He was a native of the province, from an early age he served in the army, distinguished himself in a number of battles by his courage, which attracted the attention of military leaders. Over time, thanks to his abilities, Mari became consul and commander. In 104 BC e. he defeated the army of the African king Yugurta, and also won a tremendous victory over the German tribes of Teutons and Cimbrias who raided northern Italy under the Aqua Sextievs.

The current situation forced the pragmatically minded Roman, ignoring the sentimental attachment to old customs, to adapt military force to the realities of the time. When he was consul, Marius established a strict military system that remained effective until the early years of Christian history. And although Caesar also owns a lot of improvements and improvements, the armies at the head of which he fought were essentially the very formations that were created by Mary.

The old qualifications and class distinctions between militia ranks were abolished - as were differences in age and experience, leading to the emergence of gastati, triarii, and principles (although the terms themselves continued to exist). Such an innovation made both the exchange of units and individual soldiers feasible, as well as greater flexibility and maneuverability, and also led to an increase in the effectiveness of military recruitment.

To change the old principles of recruiting legions, when only citizens who owned land were accepted into the army, Mari began to recruit everyone who wanted, paying attention only to their suitability for service. Having recruited, the soldier was supposed to serve for 16 years, during which he received state support and salary; after the resignation, the veteran was allocated a land plot. In addition, Mari promised that he would share military booty with the soldiers. Thus arose a professional, well-trained and hardened army. The army began to enlist in large numbers the poor and destitute citizens of Rome, who hoped to improve their financial situation through salaries and military booty. But the greatest incentive for the poor to enroll in the Mariana Legions was the hope of becoming landowners at the end of their service. At first, the Senate disapproved of Maria’s innovations, but, having appreciated all the benefits of such a set, the reduction in the number of poor people in Rome (which would naturally reduce the city’s expenses for their maintenance), the emergence of a combat-ready professional army, and, most importantly, believing in Mary’s firm promise not to to use public lands in Italy (the so-called “ager publicus”) to distribute land to veterans, he gave his approval for the reform.

Mari made the cohort the main combat unit - the manipula remained only its internal structural element. 10 cohorts - from 400 to 500 people each - continued to make up the legion.

For battle, the cohort was built in a line - 8-10 rows in depth and about 50 people along the front. In a closed formation, used in maneuvering and throwing darts, the interval between the soldiers was about a meter. Such a construction did not allow to swing the sword, and therefore, in open combat, an open system was used, where this distance was twice as long. To ensure a quick transition from a closed system to an open one, before the start of the battle it was necessary to keep the interval between cohorts equal to the width of the cohort itself.

Thanks to this, with the legion, built in two or three lines, Mari was able to: 1) maintain the traditional flexibility and maneuverability of the legion with a chess construction, but already a cohort, not manipul; 2) to keep the traditional interval between legionnaires hand-in-hand with a sword during hand-to-hand combat; and 3) at the same time to adapt this flexibility to the usual phalanx, which allows the formation of a continuous front in close combat. It was a simple but brilliant practical improvement, preserving all the positive qualities that were inherent in the old legion.

Zealous follower Maria, an outstanding politician and commander Gaius Julius Caesar, also reorganized his legions, but on new principles. The size of the legion ranged from 3,000 to 4,500. Each legion included “artillery”: 55 arcballists, 10 onagers and catapults for throwing heavy stones. The siege technique was especially developed. The legion convoy (500 mules) grew, which carried camp supplies and utensils.

A large role began to play on foot auxiliary troops, including archers from the island of Crete and the famous slingers from the Balearic Islands. Cavalry from Roman citizens was replaced by mercenaries - Germans, Spaniards, Numidians. Each legion had 200-300 horsemen. In addition, in the army of Caesar there were 4-5 thousand horsemen of friendly Gallic tribes.

The battle order of the legion consisted of three lines: in the first line - 4 cohorts, in the second and third - 3 cohorts. The second line was actually a line of support, the third line was a general reserve, which was used for decisive maneuver against the front or flank of the enemy or to repel his blow. To lengthen the front, the legion was built in two lines and very rarely in one. The battle order of the legion became more stable. The reserve was institutionalized in the construction of the legion. The “turtle”, which used to be used to storm fortresses, also became a defense against external cavalry attacks.

The skillful organization of the marching movement of troops contributed to their successful actions. They came out from the camp at dawn, and sometimes at night, in order to avoid ambushes, special attention was paid to camp guards.

In the midst of a possible enemy attack, the march was performed in battle order. Legionnaires took off their camp luggage and made weapons for battle. The convoy in this case was placed in the middle of the marching order.

The commander’s headquarters appeared, which became a school for training military leaders. The headquarters consisted of legates and stands. Legates - assistant commanders appointed by the Senate and commanding large detachments of troops or individual units of the battle formation. There were six military stands in the legion; they carried out the orders of the commander and legates, commanded small detachments and participated in the military council. Young volunteers were assigned to the headquarters, performing the duties of adjutants - the tribune of angustiklavia. There was also a personal guard of the commander, who became the prototype of the Praetorian guard organized under the emperor Octavian Augustus.

The middle commanding staff of the army were the centurions who led the centuries. The commander of the first Century led the manipulation. The cohort was commanded by the centurion of the Centuries of the Triaries. 6 centurions of the first cohort of each legion participated in the military council.

The reorganization carried out by Caesar increased the combat effectiveness of the legions. In addition, the legions went through a battle school in Gaul, where they fought with warlike tribes. It was the legions of Caesar that became the backbone of the future imperial army, founded by Octavian Augustus.

The Roman army under Augustus grew to 75 legions (501 thousand people), but by the end of the reign was reduced to 25 legions of 6 thousand people in each and approximately the same number of auxiliary troops.

The total army reached 300-350 thousand people.

Almost all the troops were on guard of the borders of the external provinces. In addition, Augustus created the Praetorian Guard — 10 cohorts of 1,000 each — a personal imperial guard capable of controlling Rome and Italy, while maintaining the appearance of a lack of regular troops near the capital. Soldiers of this new army were recruited for 20 years, and upon retirement they received land. In addition to the Praetorians, city troops were formed in Rome (the so-called “cohortes urbi”), which performed police, security and fire functions in the city. The status of the praetorian or soldier of the urban cohort was slightly higher than that of a regular legionnaire, the service life was shorter, and the salary was longer.

The command staff was subordinate to Augustus. The whole army should have been aware that it was controlled by the emperor himself and that the career of each soldier depended on him alone. At the end of the civil wars, as August had promised, the soldiers, forced to serve longer than their due date, finally received land in the newly founded colonies or significant monetary rewards and returned to their homes.

Under Augustus, the transition to a permanent mercenary army was completed. Legions were replenished by Roman citizens, mainly Italian residents. This process was already difficult under Augustus. There were fewer and fewer volunteers. In exceptional cases, it was necessary to resort to forced recruitment and even to recruit into the legions of slaves released into the wild and endowed with the rights of citizenship.

In the eastern provinces, troops were replenished for the most part by Roman citizens living there. Along with the main troops, there were auxiliary forces that were attached to individual legions. The auxiliary troops were mainly composed of provincials. The Legion was subordinate to the legate with the rank of prophetor, who ruled the province, or he was commanded by a special legate. The top command line included military stands. Legates and military tribunes were appointed from the senatorial estate; the prefects who commanded the auxiliary troops, who were in charge of weapons, camps, army supplies, etc., came from horsemen. The middle commanding staff included centurions, who were nominated from well-trained soldiers. Particularly distinguished centurions could count on being ranked as a horseman and further promotion.

Ordinary legionaries entered the army at the age of 17 to 20 years. Everyone who entered the army was bound by an oath of allegiance to August. Discipline was supported by severe measures: corporal punishment, assignments for hard work, the transfer of entire units to other provinces.

The Roman military leaders tried not to leave their soldiers in idleness and occupied them with constant work. First of all, they were forced to perform various military exercises.

Gymnastics developed body flexibility; forced to march (6-7 kilometers per hour), while trying to ensure that the soldiers strictly abided by the order; They taught them to run, jump, and swim, they taught them how to wield a variety of weapons - sword, dart, bow, sling, trained to shoot at the target, fencing.

The enemy was represented by a block of wood, dug firmly into the ground, 6 feet high; a warrior approached him, covered by a shield and armed with a sword, and consistently delivered blows to him. He tried to hit first in the head, then in the legs, made mock attacks from the side, attacked from the front, trying not to open up, dodged imaginary blows to the right and left, or stepped back, in accordance with the method of defense that the imaginary enemy used in this case. The same block served as a target for throwing darts, as well as for stones and bullet slings.

Riders, in turn, were trained to jump on a horse with or without weapons, practiced this even earlier than the study of riding proper began.

The exercises of individual warriors were followed by exercises in groups. Warriors produced what we now call company or battalion exercises: they marched with a battle formation, doubled ranks, deployed them, were built in a square, round or wedge. They were also accustomed to those movements by cohorts and centuries, the main difficulty of which was to remain closely united around their badge. Sometimes they were divided into two groups, which went one against the other.

Three times a month they held a march. Marines made 15 kilometers with full armament and luggage, partly at an ordinary step of 6 kilometers per hour, partly accelerated at 7 kilometers. During such exercises, maneuvers were often arranged.

In addition to these exercises, warriors were often engaged in earthworks. They had to deal with a shovel and a hoe no less than with a weapon. This remark is true of all Roman legions. For example, let's talk about legio III Augusta, located in Africa in the Lambes camp. Here are the works that he had to perform.

The first work of this legion was the construction of the camp itself. Now, upon arrival at the place, the soldiers set to work. The camp was built by 129, when Adrian landed in Africa; after that, the soldiers had to correct the camp several times, namely: in the years 172-175, in the 177-180s and in the 267th, after a large earthquake. Also, the soldiers had to spend water in their camp, clean the Ain-Drin spring and build the Neptune temple near it, as well as the Septisonium and Nymphaeum; they connected the camp with neighboring cities, mainly with the city of Lambes, using large, well-paved roads, built a praetorium in which the head of the legion lived, thermae and many other structures; finally, these same warriors decorated Lambéz with his best buildings: the triumphal arches, the temples of Aesculapius, Isis, Serapis. In the ruins of this city, all the soil is covered with bricks and tiles, on which the number of this legion is in the form of a stamp, and which belongs to different eras, from the II to the VI century. The activities of the legionnaires and allied units were not limited to Lambes. They built and maintained fortresses and outposts on the border; conducted roads: from Tevest to Gabes in the early years of the Empire, from Tevest to Carthage in 128 and others; they threw bridges across the rivers, tried to make secluded posts inhabited in areas extremely unhealthy and wild; they built houses and barracks for themselves, worked on sources in order to adapt them to their needs, and sometimes built amphitheaters near their camp. Warriors were even used to found cities - centers of civilization in the newly reconciled areas: for example, the city of Timgad owes its very existence to the 111th Legion of Augustus.

Other parts of the African army were engaged in the same work in Mauritania. We see warriors of the navy conducting an aqueduct in the vicinity of Butia in 147–152; in 184–192, military units rebuild the destroyed towers and build new ones in the vicinity of Omal; in Ain-Khkur, in the heart of Tingitan, an Asturian cohort is building a praetorium (main apartment); elsewhere in the cohort of sycambras they are instructed to complete a certain construction, the purpose of which is unknown. Here, even more so than in Numidia, the work of the soldiers was necessary in order to equip the country with roads and all kinds of structures, since the natives were the only inhabitants of this country due to the fact that the colonization of Roman citizens did not go further than the coastline. If we take into account that all these works were carried out during periods of rest that remained with the African troops in the intervals between the uprisings of the natives and the raids of the neighbors, it becomes clear what kind of working life the Roman discipline required from a warrior. It would, however, be a mistake to think that their life was as harsh as it once was. The time has already passed when the warrior was sleeping on the ground with a stone under his head. Placed in a permanent camp, he lived comfortably, had a folding bed, mattress, pillows. He owned even slaves who usually performed the most difficult work. This was also patronized by the state, which gave some soldiers a double or one and a half share so that they could contain the “messenger”, sometimes joining for this with one of the comrades. In addition, ordinary warriors often had savings that they could make from the income of their personal property, from salaries, and especially from imperial gifts. It was the so-called peculium castrense. With this money, a warrior could not only freely provide himself with various amenities and entertainment, but also buy a slave who facilitated his work. However, it should be noted that very few soldier slaves are mentioned in the inscriptions.

Another important prerequisite for the victorious wars waged by Rome during the time of Caesar, Augustus and other emperors of the 1st – 2nd centuries AD e., there was a well-organized command. And this, as a rule, is not the merit of senior commanders - governors, legates, prefects or tribunes, but immigrants from among ordinary soldiers - the centurions. According to modern military terminology, the Roman centurion of the times of Caesar or Augustus can be equated with the rank of army captain. Just as the Roman state rested on the shoulders of the army, so the army rested on the shoulders of the centurions. The centurion's belonging to the times of the Republic and the early Empire to the poor common people determined his position among the soldiers. He is a soldier, brother to soldiers, their immediate superior, who lived with them all the time and almost like them; he led them into battle, taught military affairs, found fault with every hole in his tunic and with every uncleaned plaque on his belt, unashamedly, launched a vitis, a symbol of his power, and, without hesitation, died for his soldiers. He was an intermediary between them and the highest authorities, who, through the centurions, passed their orders and in difficult moments counted, first of all, on their help. It was the backbone of the Roman army; old servants, who turned gray in battles and campaigns, decorated with awards and scars, they enjoyed influence among the soldiers and respected by the high command. Julius Caesar knew his centurions by name. A soldier usually had to pull his soldier’s strap for decades before he received the title of centurion. It was not given for nothing, or only for the length of service: military deeds, good knowledge of military affairs, and well-known mental giftedness were required. Polybius, one of the prominent historians of antiquity, in search of an answer to why the Romans conquered almost the entire world then known in less than a century, who carefully studied the military affairs of the Romans, left the centurion ideal, which was developed in the Roman military circles of that time on the basis of a long military experience: “They demand from the centurion that he doesn’t rush headlong to where it’s dangerous, but he knows how to dispose of it, he is steadfast and serious, he doesn’t get involved at the wrong time and he doesn’t start it in time, but he can withstand it atisk overcomes the enemy and die for the homeland. " If the centurions, of which there are references in the sources, are measured by this standard, then it turns out that almost all of them are more or less suitable for it. But there were cases when, even in the heat of battle, even a centurion lost its obligatory prudence and turned from a sober, calculating boss into a reckless daredevil who, not remembering himself, walked on his own and led the soldier to certain death. So the centurion Fabius climbed onto the walls of the Gallic city of Gorgovii, not realizing that he was waiting for an undoubted and meaningless death. The centurion was sometimes reckless in his courage, but he was always impeccably brave. Caesar, noting the losses in his troops, always emphasized the losses in the composition of the centurions: they are invariably very large. Near Dirrachia, 960 soldiers and 32 centurions died;

near Farsal - 290 soldiers and 30 centurions, that is, half, if not more, of the centurions laid on the legion, and 1/25 of the soldiers, dropped out. The old centurion Krastin, who said goodbye to Caesar before the Battle of Farsal, said, "Dead or Alive, but today you will thank me, Emperor," knew what he was going on, and went without hesitation. After the battle of Dirrachia, Caesar was shown the shield of the centurion of Stceva: he was broken in one hundred and twenty places. According to Roman ideas, personal courage was not enough for the centurion. They demanded that he “know how to dispose of”, cleverly and soberly figured out how to inflict more damage to the enemy with the least losses of his soldiers. He had to be clear about the situation in a combat situation, take advantage of the misses of the enemy and immediately rush to help where it was needed. He must think quickly, be on the alert all the time, make the right decisions swiftly. Caesar generously awarded Stcev and far advanced him up the ranks not only for the unbridled courage that his broken shield testified to: Stseva managed to defend the fortifications entrusted to him so that the Pompey soldiers could not take possession of him. Krastin at the Battle of Farsal “rendered the greatest service to Caesar” not only because he “fought very courageously” and carried away “selected warriors of his own century”, but also by the fact that he commanded these soldiers skillfully. When the Gauls in Novioduna unexpectedly threw themselves at a small Roman detachment stuck in the city, the centurions quickly organized a defense and "gathered all their unscathed." Caesar, very prudent in everything related to the conduct of the war, trusted the experience and military estimate of his centurions so much that, without hesitation, he ordered them to choose a place for the camp in one of the most formidable moments of the Gallic war, before the battle with the Belgians: a responsible task, on the successful execution of which depended both the success of the battle and the life of the soldiers. Thus, the Roman centurion was to be a brave soldier, a zealous master, a strict mentor for young people, as well as a tactician and strategist. Naturally, having in its ranks such professional "dogs of war" as we would call the centurions today, the Roman army was several orders of magnitude higher than all the opposing armies.

Under Emperor Trajan, some changes were made to the organization of the legion. Its number increased to 6,100 infantry and 726 horsemen. The first cohort was twice as large as the rest. Each legion included light and auxiliary troops. In this era, a new division of the centurium also appears - the contubernial ("tent") or a department of 10 people, with the dean ("ten's manager") as the head. The prefect commanded the Legion, and the tribunes commanded the cohorts. The centurions gradually lost their role and became something like sergeants or warrant officers of modern armies. Providing the army with food and military equipment was carried out by special supply bodies. The full rations of soldiers consisted of bread, lard and wine vinegar. In sparsely populated border regions, soldiers had to get their own meat by organizing hunting teams. Clothing, weapons and military equipment issued by the state were repaired in special camp workshops - factories. Changed weapons and tactics. Heavy weapons were discarded, the old training system fell into disrepair, luxury in the army increased and its strength and endurance decreased. Numerous types of lightly armed troops were created, which had various throwing weapons. The characteristic features of the Roman infantry disappeared. The heavy armor was abandoned, the heavy spear was replaced by the light one: the legion, organized into cohorts, again began to look like a clumsy phalanx, and since the characteristic feature of the infantry of this period was a general unwillingness to reach hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, the bow and darts were no longer used not only for battle in a loose formation, but also for line infantry in a closed battle formation. The battle order of the Roman army returned to the phalanx, but now this system was more suitable for defense than for an offensive. Augustus already reduced the distance between the cohorts and canceled the third line of battle formation. In each line, 5 cohorts were built. The depth of the battle formation was 8 lines. After Augustus, the return to the phalanx was fully completed. The Legion still consisted of 10 cohorts. But the cohorts were not located next to each other, as before; the first 5 cohorts were 4 forward rows, the last 5–4 rear rows. The entire legion was built in 8 ranks, of which the first 4 were armed with light pilums, and the last were armed with spears: the 9th and 10th ranks were archers who were not included in the calculation of the legion. Behind the phalanx were onagra, on the flank - arcballists (both of them - throwing machines). The best heavily armed warriors stood out in reserve. The cohorts lost their independence and could not maneuver in battle.

Despite the predominantly defensive nature of the military activities of Augustus and his successors, over the century after his death, the Empire expanded markedly. Renouncing some of the eastern conquests of his predecessor Trajan, Adrian decided that this expansion should stop; The empire is already too large to effectively succumb to political or military rule. As a result, he replaced Augustus' idea of \u200b\u200bdefense through legion mobility with a program of tight border protection. It was by no means his intention to change the mobility inherent in the Legion or its tactical flexibility. Rather, he sought to erect man-made barriers that would replace the natural boundaries - rivers and mountains. This was to make it difficult for the hordes of barbarians to penetrate the territory of the Empire and facilitate the fight against them.

Limes in Germany and the Hadrian Wall in Britain were tall earthen mounds topped with log palisades. Roman units were not constantly stationed along them - for this, many soldiers would be needed. Rather, these structures provided protection and shelter to the Roman patrols and made it difficult for the barbarians to secretly cross the border. Even more important is the fact that they impeded the easy flight of the barbarian detachments, many of which, precisely under the walls, were overtaken and killed by the imperial troops. Pursuing the same goal - to complicate the barbarian invasions, Adrian enlarged the Danube and Rhine river flotillas, and also developed and expanded the already existing reconnaissance network, spread outside the Empire in the territories of the barbarian tribes. As an example of imperial leadership and the sensible application of politics to strategy, Emperor Marcus Aurelius made little change. Nevertheless, he increased the army by two legions; auxiliary forces also had a large number. Septimius Severus added three more legions, one of which was stationed in Italy, making up the first mobile reserve of the imperial army. During the reign of the North, the total number of troops reached about 400 thousand people. In addition, Septimius improved the living conditions of the soldiers. He also amended the shaft of Hadrian. In Northern Britain, during his reign on the Hadrian's Wall, instead of a log palisade, a stone wall was erected 5 meters high and 2.5 meters thick.

Around this time, cavalry began to play an important role in the Roman army. In this connection, horse-drawn infantry inevitably appeared, which provided the infantry units with greater mobility, as well as the possibility of rapid movement of combined forces over long distances. As the main support, the legion was replaced by heavy cavalry - horse archers and cataphracted spearmen ("shells"). Originating in Persia, this type of cavalry then spread to the Macedonian and Syrian forces, and subsequently found distribution among the Romans, especially under Adrian and Septimius Severus. The body of the cataphractium was protected by a scaly shell, the head - a helmet with a visor; scaly iron or bronze armor was also worn on the horse. The main weapon of the cataphractarium was a spear, and the additional weapon was a bow and a sword. Foreign cataphractaria, who served in the Roman army, were often called Klibanarii. The heavy infantry was now assigned a secondary, passive, protective role, which provided the basis for cavalry and light infantry maneuvers. For all its vulnerability, the phalanx again entered the scene. Understanding this vulnerability, the Romans, as a rule, kept the new phalanx legion only in positions.

Already during the time of Augustus, vocational training and armament of units formed from barbarians were sometimes used against Rome itself. Demobilized soldiers of auxiliary units and deserters took an active part in raids across the border, sometimes even forming their own units according to the Roman model - the barbarians learned a lot from the experience of their battles against Roman formations. Continued by this improvement of the methods of war by the barbarians played a role in the final defeat of Rome. One of the main reasons for the decline in the combat readiness of the Roman armed forces was the old system of withdrawing units from any of the sections of the border to replenish the armies engaged in large wars. Naturally, the possibility for such a purpose to remove the entire legion from the defense system, or at least a large part of it, was rarely presented, since this would in a dangerous way expose one or another section of the border. Therefore, small units were withdrawn from various legions, cohorts and numerals, and special units called vexillations (war banner) were formed from them. At first, the system of vexillations proved to be quite satisfactory. As soon as the threat was eliminated, special forces disbanded and units returned to their permanent locations. However, during a turbulent period, from approximately 235 to 290, vexillations were so often transferred from one border to another that the personnel of the units were mixed up. This was only one of the circumstances that forced the emperor Diocletian, who ruled in 284-305, to form a reserve. For this, the army was divided into two main components - constantly housed border units and mobile troops. About two-thirds of the total armed forces were border troops. The emperors kept mobile troops near the centers of the territories under their rule. They received a fee slightly larger than the border troops, which subsequently more than once became the cause of the riots. Legions of mobile forces were reduced to 1 thousand people. This provided greater flexibility. The legions of the border forces maintained their former strength - 6 thousand people. In auxiliary units, both in mobile and in border troops, there were 1 thousand people. Now, not only in the auxiliary troops, but also in the legions, barbarians served mainly. As a result, by the year 375, most of the barbarian warriors had been romanized and perfectly mastered with Roman weapons and tactics. In the Roman service, the barbarians thought of themselves already as the Romans. Nevertheless, although the barbarians did not seem to mind fighting their brothers, when such orders were given by the Roman commanders (who themselves were most often barbarians), this created numerous opportunities for conspiracy, rebellion, and mass desertion. The increasing number of barbarian tribes that were allowed to settle on the lands of the empire led to the abolition of the tendency laid down by Trajan to avoid the formation of auxiliary units on a tribal basis. More and more tribal auxiliary units (the so-called federals), led by their own leaders, poured into the army, preserving their own weapons and methods of warfare. Thanks to the universal romanization of barbarian warriors, this did not have a significant impact on Roman tactics. Contrary to popular belief about the unreliability and venality of the Roman army during the late Empire, it turns out that the Romans had no reason to complain about their army. Only isolated cases of betrayal and desertion on the side of the enemy are known. So, in the year 354, some Alemann commanders of the Roman army were suspected of giving out the military plans of the Romans to their fellow tribesmen and thereby frustrating the operation that was being prepared against them. In 357, a deserter from the scutarians, Roman shield-bearing soldiers, called on the Alemans to attack, telling them that Emperor Julian had only 13 thousand people. However, not a single ancient writer, including Ammian Marcellin, an experienced in military affairs, has a hint that the barbarian detachments were unreliable, even when they fought against their countrymen. It is known that the Germans, forcibly planted by the Romans on the ground (years), often refused to flee to their free fellow tribesmen for fear of being killed or resold back to the Romans. In addition, the tribes were constantly at war with each other, and this struggle was aggravated by frequent intra-tribal disputes between various clans fighting for power. The emperors, skillfully acting on the long-established and proven principle of “divide and rule”, achieved diplomatic means no less effect than purely military. An example is the action of Valentinian I, who entered into an alliance with the Burgundians and set them on the Alemanni (about 370 years), taking advantage of the ensuing feud between these tribes for the possession of salt deposits. The barbarians themselves during their long service in the Roman army lost close ties with their people and gradually assimilated with the Romans. They all studied Latin, the official language of the army, and often forgot their native language. Barbarians who reached high command posts did not return home after the end of the service, preferring to spend their last years among the comforts of Roman civilization than to live in unsafe and miserable native places.

In some parts of the Empire, when it turned out to be impossible to replenish the ranks of the army with volunteers, a kind of military service was introduced. Large landowners were required to provide recruits (recruits). The conditions of service of these recruits were less burdensome than those of regular soldiers.

By the beginning of the 4th century, Roman cavalry comprised about a quarter of the average Roman army; this figure was much higher in the vast eastern deserts - in battles with Persians and Arabs, cavalry became a decisive force. The value of throwing weapons also increased. It was easier for warlords to keep the legions in line, somewhat reminiscent of an ancient phalanx. The old pilum was converted into a throwing spear. Usually he was thrown at the enemy, freeing his hands before the legion entered into hand-to-hand combat with the enemy infantry. Now the Roman legions were more and more like their opponents. The tactics and strategy of the Roman army became more archaic, and the army itself less organized.

Luxury in the army increased, but at the same time its combat effectiveness decreased. Thus, gradually, along with the whole Empire, its army fell into decay.

Considering the history of the Roman army, we are used to talking about its victories, certainly admiring the discipline and training of the legionnaires or the outstanding talents of the commanders. But besides victories, there were defeats. These defeats, which occurred for various reasons, be it the incompetence of the command, the inexperience of ordinary soldiers or other unfavorable conditions, as a rule, fell out of the circle of interests of ancient authors, who, being quite patriotic, tried to shut up or downplay their scale in every way. An exception to the rule can only be the grand defeat of the Romans during the war with Hannibal. Ancient historians willy-nilly had to mention the devastation under Trebius or Cannes, since they all occurred on the territory of Italy, but here "you can’t hide the sewn in a bag." In addition, according to the same authors, the stronger the enemy, the more significant the victory of Rome should appear to the descendants.

But there were other defeats, no less devastating than during the war with Carthage, about which the ancient historians deliberately kept silent or tried to present them as insignificant border incidents in favor of the "Senate and the people of Rome." Over time, these tragic events for Rome were completely covered with a veil of mysteries and secrets. Therefore, from the point of view of historical justice, it would be very useful to recall some “black spots” in the history of victorious Roman weapons.

When we enthusiastically talk about the Gallic campaign of Julius Caesar in the 50s BC e., his outstanding victories over Vercingetorix, the capture of the impregnable fortress of Alesia or the landing on the unknown shores of Britain, we forget that at the same time his friend and colleague in the First Triumvirate (joint rule of three people) Mark Crassus suffered one of the most cruel defeats in Roman history, comparable in scale to Cannes. And the blame for this inglorious defeat was the ambitiousness and vanity of just one person - Mark Crassus himself.

The main enemy of Rome in the East was the Parthian kingdom. The Parthians came from the mates, one of the semi-nomadic Dahi tribes that inhabited the north of modern Iran - Hyrcania, and who supplied the Achaemenids to the Persian army (the ruling Persian dynasty, to which all Persian Shahinshahs belonged, such as Cyrus the Great, Xerxes and Darius III) mounted archers. By the middle of the 1st century BC e. they captured Persia and Mesopotamia, becoming the aristocratic elite of the new state. Their king, who came from the Arshakid dynasty, was the head of the seven noble families of the Pahlavs, who ruled each in their own region. The Parthians created an army in which the cavalry played the main role. Noble Parthian warriors, like later European knights, horsemen riveted head to toe in iron - cataphracts, armed with heavy contos spears, constituted the striking force of this army, and their servants were mounted arrows. Having huge pastures, the Parthians acted in the manner of the steppe nomads, using the tactics of false retreats and rapid counterattacks. A large number of spare horses, which were taken for the army, provided her with great mobility.

For the first time, the interests of the Parthians and Rome intersected during the wars of the latter in Asia Minor and Armenia in the first half of the 1st century BC. e. At first, friendly relations were established between them, but they soon deteriorated. Parthians rightly feared the strengthening of Roman power in the region, and besides, they were annoyed by the exorbitant arrogance of the Romans. Rome, in turn, regarded Parthia as another victim of its great empire ambitions. In addition, there were constant rumors in the Senate about the countless riches of the Parthian king.

In 54 BC e. Mark Licinius Crassus, the richest and most influential man in Rome, took control of the province of Syria. Crassus, envious of the success of his triumvirate colleagues, Guy Julius Caesar and Gnei Pompey Magna, dreamed of becoming famous in the military field. He saw such a chance in a victorious war with Parthia, which gave him the opportunity to immediately "kill two birds with one stone": to increase his already huge fortune through military booty and get a longed-for triumph in Rome. The fact is that, despite his victory over the rebellious gladiators of Spartacus, Crassus did not win a triumph - he did not rely on triumph for a victory over slaves. This made him very upset. Triumph needed a truly great victory, and such could be the conquest of Parthia.

The whole campaign of Crassus from the very beginning had the character of a grand adventure. To declare war, the Romans always found a more or less convincing occasion. Crassus considered that in this case no reason is required. That is, his campaign from the very beginning was predatory. In the Parthian campaign, the commander was accompanied by his son Publius Crassus, who established himself well during Caesar's campaigns in Gaul. Publius brought 1,000 selected Gallic cavalry with him and took one of the highest command posts in his father's army.

Autumn 54 years BC e. Crassus set out on a campaign, having under his command seven Roman legions. He crossed the Euphrates and seized a large section of the Parthian territory of Mesopotamia with the cities of Carra, Zenodotius, Nicephorium, Ihna and Batna. A civil war broke out in Parthia at that time, and the Parthians practically did not show resistance. Leaving the garrison in the conquered cities, pleased Crassus returned to winter in Syria. The following year, Crassus decided to continue his conquests. The Armenian king Artavazd, an ally of Rome, invited him to invade Parthia through his territory, where he could successfully use the rugged terrain to defend himself from the Parthian cavalry. In addition, the king offered Crassus assistance in 10 thousand Armenian cataphracts. But Crassus ignored the proposals of the Armenians and continued the campaign in Mesopotamia. Crassus ignored the sound advice of one of his experienced commanders, Guy Cassius Longinus (Caesar's ally in the Gaul war, and then one of his killers), who suggested that he move along the Euphrates, using the river to bring food. Instead, he moved along the caravan route into the depths of the desert, where, according to his calculations, the Parthian army retreated.

The Parthian army, coming forward to Crassus, was a personal army of the head of one of the seven noble families, Surenov, the rulers of the province of Sistan. The real name of this commander is unknown, so Roman historians called him the generic name of Suren. It is known that by that time he was not even thirty years old, but he was already considered an experienced warrior and the second most influential person in Parthia after the king. Surena was accompanied by a retinue of 10 thousand people, including servants, slaves, concubines and drovers of 1,000 camels, as well as his personal squad of 1,000 selected cataphract riders with 6,000 horse archers. In addition, the troops of the satrap (governor) of Sillac, defeated by Crassus last year, joined his army.

The main Parthian army, led by Tsar Orod, went to conquer Armenia, so Crassus no longer had any hope of supporting the promised 10 thousand Armenian cataphracts.

Although Crassus had not commanded troops for a long time (the last time it was in 70 BC, when he defeated Spartacus), he had every reason to feel confident. The Romans had already encountered battles with heavily armed cavalry and horse archers in battle and emerged victorious. But then the legions acted on rough terrain, which gave them an undeniable advantage. Now the Romans were in their native element for the Parthians, among the plain, perfectly suited for horse attacks. In addition, Surena used a tactical trick: to Crassus it seemed that the enemy is small and weak, he ordered the Parthians to build columns, so that the Romans could see only the head units. The Parthian commander also ordered the cataphracts to cover their armor with leather and cloth so that it would not sparkle in the sun. When the Parthians approached the Romans, Surena gave a signal and, under the beat of the drums, the cataphractarians dropped their cloaks, revealing their armor. This was supposed to confuse the legionnaires, but the desired effect did not work. The legions held their ground. The cataphracts retreated. Then the Parthian archers came into action. Surrounding the Romans on all sides, they began to fire thousands of arrows from their powerful bows, which pierced Roman shields and armor. Unable to withstand the hurricane fire, the Romans retreated. Here is how the only, more or less objective historian, Greek Plutarch described it: “The Parthians, taking positions at a certain distance from each other, began to shoot arrows from all sides at once, leading aimless fire, - the dense ranks of the Romans did not allow them to miss, even if "they would want, shooting in volleys from large powerful bows, bent so as to send arrows with great force."

Crassus hoped that over time the Parthians would run out of arrows and he could order his people to go on the attack, but when he saw that the numerous camels of Surena were loaded with nothing more than bags of arrows, he ordered his son, who commanded the right flank, to enter to battle.

Publius led an attack with the support of the infantry of 1,000 Gallic horsemen. The Parthians seemed to take flight. But it was only a cunning maneuver. Fascinated by the pursuit of the enemy, Publius did not notice how, together with his Gallic horsemen, he was alone with the superior forces of the Parthian cataphracts and horse archers. Publius threw the Gauls into a desperate attack. The fight was unequal. Despite the courage shown by the Gallic warriors, almost all of them were killed. Plutarch describes their last battle as follows: “... they grabbed the peaks and pulled the riders off the horses, although they were difficult to budge due to the enormous weight of the armor. Many of them (Gauls) jumped from their horses and, diving under the belly of enemy horses, hit them in the stomach, and those, maddened by pain, stood on their hind legs, dumped riders and fell, crushing their riders and the Gauls themselves. But the Gauls suffered most from heat and thirst, which were unusual, and most of their horses were destroyed, running into the peaks of the enemy. "

The remnants of the Gauls, taking with them the seriously wounded Publius, retreated to the infantry on a hill, where they kept the enemy for some time. In the end, about 500 people survived who surrendered. Publius Crassus and all the commanders of his squad committed suicide.

In the meantime, Crassus moved to help his son, but when he saw Publius's head set on a peak, he became desperate. Parthians again went on the attack with the support of archers. The Romans launched a counterattack, but were driven back by cataphracteries, who carried out a terrible devastation in the ranks of the enemy with their spear-contos. Plutarch says that with such a spear two people in armor could be pierced simultaneously. The battle lasted until nightfall. In the darkness, the Romans retreated to Carra, leaving to the mercy of fate 4 thousand wounded, whom the Parthians killed. The next day, Surena began a siege of the city and the Romans again tried to retreat. During the siege, Surena invited Crassus to negotiate the possibility of a truce. He agreed and rode out to meet the Parthian commander, accompanied by a small escort. It was a trap. The Parthians suddenly attacked Crassus' squad, he was captured and killed. His severed head was brought to the court of King Orod. The Parthian lord at that time enjoyed the tragedy of Euripides "Bacchus", in which he ordered the head of the Roman commander to be used as a props. So ingloriously ended his life Mark Licinius Crassus.

As a result of this defeat, more than 20 thousand Roman soldiers remained on the battlefield, 10 thousand fell into Parthian captivity. Less than 10 thousand people managed to get back. The first war with Parthia was lost by Rome.

After these events, the Parthians tried to invade Roman Syria, but were repulsed. The wars between Rome and Parthia continued with interruptions and varying success until the year 226, when the Parthians were defeated by the Persians, under the leadership of the new Sassanid dynasty. The only truly useful result for these wars for Rome was the appearance at the beginning of the 3rd century AD. e. in the Roman army of its units of heavy cavalry trained to fight with a heavy contos spear and shoot from a tight Parthian bow.

This defeat was not only the starting point of the Roman-Parthian confrontation, it also gave rise to one of the most interesting mysteries of ancient history - the question of Roman legionnaires in ... China.

Rome and China were the two greatest military powers of the Ancient World. The Romans conquered the entire Mediterranean, and in the same way, the Chinese during the Han Dynasty (200 BC - 200 AD) conquered all the best lands of the world around them. If the armies of these two powers were in contact, this could only happen in Central Asia, because the Romans did not move a long distance east of the Mediterranean Sea, and the Chinese rarely moved west of the Pamirs. The possibility of such a meeting has not been established to date, because the only evidence is one strange phrase from a Chinese historical work of the 1st century.

This meeting allegedly occurred due to the fact that in 36 BC. e. the governor of the western border regions (Chinese Turkestan) made, on his own responsibility, an expedition to Sogdiana against the Hun Shanuy Shishi. The Huns (in Chinese Huns) under his leadership occupied modern Mongolia at that time. The pretender to the Hun throne (the lord of the Huns was called Shanuy) bore the family name Luandi, his own name Hutuuzi, and the imperial title Shishiguduhu, so he was usually called Shanyu Shishi. He killed the Chinese ambassador and fled west, where King Sogdiana invited him to drive out the invading nomadic tribes. Inspired by his phenomenal successes, Shanuy Shishi decided to establish an empire in Central Asia. He broke with the king of Sogdiana, killed one of his wives, the king’s daughter and built a capital on the Talas river, collecting tribute from the surrounding tribes, including some of those under the patronage of China. The assistant to the Chinese governor, Chen Tang, saw in this new power a possible danger to the interests of China. He formed an army of Chinese regular troops located in the western border areas, and auxiliary troops from local states, convinced his commander to accompany the expedition and went on a campaign.

The troops successfully made a long trip of several thousand miles to the capital Shishi, which they immediately took by attack. Chen Tang informed the emperor of this brilliant feat. There is an extraordinary remark in this report that at the start of the assault near Shipga there were "more than a hundred foot soldiers, lined up on each side of the gate and built in the form of fish scales." The fact that this strange remark was made on the basis of the description of the drawing gives it exceptional persuasiveness.

"Building in the form of fish scales" is a maneuver, by no means easily feasible. These soldiers had to group together and cover themselves with their shields. This maneuver, requiring simultaneous action on the part of the whole group, especially if it was carried out just before the attack, required high discipline, which is possible only in a professional army. The only professional soldiers of that time, organized into regular units, of which there are data, were the Greeks and Romans - nomadic and barbarian tribes threw themselves into battle in chaotic crowds.

The shields of the Macedonian phalanx warriors were small and round, so it was pointless to cover them, while the Roman legionnaires had large quadrangular shields that could easily be joined together and thus created protection against shells. Therefore, in order to explain the construction “in the form of a fish scale” when building advanced units in a battle formation, we must assume here the similarity of Roman tactics and Roman legionnaires in the depths of Central Asia.

It is known that the Parthians sent the captives of the Carra Romans to Margiana (a region in Central Asia where modern Merv is located) to protect their eastern borders. We do not know how many of these 10 thousand people have reached this place. The distance from Carr to Antioch in Margiana is about 1,500 miles, and it is unlikely that the prisoners were well treated during this transition. Roman and Greek accounts of their fate no longer contain any indication. According to Horace, these Romans married women from the barbarian tribes and served in the Parthian army.

The Chinese saw warriors lined up in front of the city of Shishi "in the form of fish scales," at a distance of about 500 miles from the Parthian border and 18 years after the defeat of Crassus. These Roman legionaries are accustomed to lead the lives of professional soldiers and, perhaps, willingly took the opportunity to serve in mercenary troops. When Shishi arrived in Sogdiana at the call of the king, accompanied by Sogdian nobility and several thousand pack animals, the caravan caught a severe frost, so only three thousand people from the entire expedition were saved. He could not expect support from the Huns - they were under the control of the legitimate Shanuy, his rival and half-brother, who was supported by the Chinese. By his arrogant behavior, Shishi scared away from himself and many Sogdians. Therefore, of course, he wanted to attract mercenary soldiers not from Sogdian and not from Hunnish territory. In hand-to-hand combat, the Romans were the best warriors in the world and they could be attracted to the side of the famous warrior who promised to become a rival to the hated Parthians. The "Silk Road" from the Chinese border western territories led through the capital of Shishi to Antioch in Margiana (Merv), and the news of the rise of Shisha and the recruitment of troops could quite naturally reach these Roman exiles.

“More than a hundred foot soldiers,” lined up “in the form of fish scales,” were probably some of Crassus' legionnaires who served as hired soldiers with Shanuy Shishi. When the Chinese sent their guns at them, they, of course, repeated the maneuver performed in such cases by the Roman army - they raised their shields, closing them in front of them. Of all the known soldiers and weapons, only Roman legionnaires with their scutum shields could have the appearance of a “fish scale” construction.

The presence of the Romans in this place is confirmed by the presence of a double wooden palisade, which the Chinese discovered around the city walls. The famous researcher of antiquity, Dr. V.V. Tarn, said: “I can’t recall that somewhere you could meet, in literature or archeology, a Greek city with a picket fence around the walls. Apparently, as an obvious rule, there is one wall with a moat around (or with significant fortifications, even with three moats). ” The Romans, however, constantly used the stockade to strengthen the ditches, especially in front of the gates. If there was a bridge above the water, then picket fences were arranged on both sides on embankments above and below the bridges. The double picket fence, which the Chinese burned during the assault on the city, perhaps defended the bridge above the moat around the walls of the city of Shishi. The palisade was a standard form of Roman fortifications, and perhaps the Roman engineers participated in the construction of the city of Chisi. The Huns were nomadic tribes that did not have cities, with the exception of the very few built by Chinese fugitives in northern Mongolia. In Sogdiana, Shishi, of course, tried to get the best technical assistance, and the Roman legionnaires could provide such assistance in fortification.

What happened to these Romans? Chinese sources claim that when the city was attacked, these infantrymen retreated beyond the walls. Undoubtedly, the arrows of the Chinese self-arrows were aimed at them with even greater devastating power than the Parthian arrows in Carrah. The Chinese self-arrows were effective enough to drive the defenders away from the walls, and as a result, the Chinese were able to take the city without difficulty. They burned the palace, executed Shisha himself and seized his head, taking back the credentials of the dead Chinese ambassador. Chen Tang reports that he executed only 1,518 people. Perhaps it was the Huns, because Chen Tang was anxious to maintain good relations with the Sogdians and ensure a safe return. He claims that, in addition, 145 enemies were captured alive and more than a thousand surrendered themselves. These warriors were divided (as slaves) between the fifteen governments of the states of the western border regions, which followed with the expedition as auxiliary units.

A strange number - 145 - captured alive corresponds to the number ("more than a hundred") of the Romans, built outside the city walls. Mercenary soldiers have repeatedly argued that, if necessary, they can stand up for themselves. We can therefore conclude that the Roman legionnaires could advance even further east, into some of the states in East Turkestan. We have no further information about them. It can even be assumed that one of them reached China; this, however, seems unlikely.

Thus, in the capital of the Huns, Shanuy Shishi on the Talas River in Central Asia, the Chinese, quite possibly, met Roman legionnaires from the army of Crassus. These legionaries, apparently, fled from the Parthians and willingly went to the service under the command of the famous warrior who could challenge the Parthians. The Romans may have helped in the construction of the fortifications of his capital. Due to their small numbers and superiority of Chinese weapons, the Romans, apparently, were unable to take an active part in the battle, were captured and transported to Chinese Turkestan.

After the defeat of Crassus at Carra, the Romans waged civil wars for a long time: Caesar fought with Pompey, Anthony fought with Brutus and Pompey the Younger, August fought with Anthony. In these fratricidal wars of the end of the 1st century BC e.

the Roman army crystallized and finally took shape in the form in which it existed until the time of Marcus Aurelius and Septimius Severus. But, despite the series of conquests that expanded the territory of the Empire by many thousands of kilometers, the victorious Roman legions also knew crushing defeats. One of the most famous defeats was the complete destruction in Germany of three selected Roman legions. This event has received a loud name in history "the massacre in the Teutoburg Forest."

In the year 9 A.D. e. the governor of the province, Publius Quentilius Var, led three of his legions to the east bank of the Rhine - XVII, XVIII and XIX, in order to crush the rebellion of the rebellious Germanic tribes, among which the Cherusque tribe was especially militant. Since then, no one has seen these legions. And the following happened: during their movement southwest from Weser to the planned winter camp on the Rhine, 20 thousand legionnaires and 10 thousand people accompanying the legions - slaves, servants, merchants, artisans, women and children - fell into a carefully planned ambush and in a three-day battle they were completely slaughtered by the Germans.

The Roman army did not remember such a defeat since the failure of Crassus' expedition to Parthia. Three well-trained legions made up of veteran soldiers who still remember Caesar's victorious campaigns were defeated by wild Germans. Many factors contributed to this rout. Firstly, the incompetence of Vara, who did not bother to conduct a deep exploration of the territories where the campaign was planned. In addition, at the time of the German attack, the Roman army was stretched into a column, seven kilometers long, in a narrow section, which was most suitable for a surprise attack. On one side stood a forest-covered hill, and on the other swamps stretched. Under such conditions, the legions were deprived of the possibility of maneuver and, as a result, could not form a battle formation. According to the popular version, popular in antiquity, Vara was tricked into luring this road. But, apparently, the story of the traitors-guides simply had to hide the flagrant indiscretion and mediocrity of the high command. In addition, the commander of the Cherusks Arminius commanded the attackers, a former Roman officer himself, who spent many years in the service in the auxiliary forces and thoroughly knew Roman tactics. For his courage and zeal Arminius even earned an unprecedented privilege for barbarians - Roman citizenship and horseman dignity. It should also be noted that many Germans who remained faithful to Rome, such as father-in-law Arminius Segest, often hinted to Vara about the unreliability of the German leader. Arminius possessed outstanding diplomatic inclinations, with the help of which he was able to win over many noble Germans from those Zarein tribes who were conquered by Rome recently, which means that they especially suffer from new orders. It is likely that not all Germans were wild and half-dressed barbarians, as the Romans depicted them, many successfully used Roman weapons and armor, as well as elements of Roman tactics.

Caught by surprise, the Romans tried to create a semblance of a defensive position on a forest hill, but soon it was taken by the enemy. Realizing that everything was over, Var, following the example of Publius Crassus, committed suicide by throwing himself on his sword, and after him committed suicide and other Roman military leaders. When the legionnaires tried to betray the body of the commander to burial, they were attacked by the Germans and repulsed the remains. Cheruschi sent the head of Var to the Marcomaniac leader, Marbod, who, in turn, sent it to Augustus. After cruel torture, the Germans crucified the captured Roman soldiers and officers on crosses, and some were sacrificed to their gods. All three legion eagles fell into the hands of the rebels.

This was a serious blow to Roman pride. Augustus received such a nervous shock that, in a fit of grief and rage, he banged his head against the doorjamb, repeating: “Quentilius Var, return the legions!” The day of defeat was celebrated every year with mourning and sorrow, and the numbers of the dead legions were never assigned to any Roman military unit. The adopted son of Tiberius Germanicus after the victorious campaigns for the Rhine in the years 14-16. e. discovered a place of battle, buried the unburied remains of Roman soldiers and, having conquered the rebellious Germanic tribes, returned two of the three standards of the missing legions to Rome. Arminius continued to lead a guerrilla war for several years, but was eventually killed in a feud.

Until the late 1980s, many historians and archaeologists tried in vain to establish the site of the defeat of Var. Many different guesses were expressed where exactly the legions could be attacked. And only in 1987, thanks to the accidental discovery of an English amateur archaeologist, evidence was found that the battle took place at the northern edge of the Teutoburg Forest, not far from the current town of Osnabruck in Germany. The name was the archaeologist Anthony Clan. Exploring a field near the Teutoburg Forest with a metal detector, he stumbled upon a large number of Roman coins - dinars, and a little later - on several lead balls for a sling. When specialists led by Wolfgang Schlüter arrived at the place of discovery, other finds were found in the surrounding forests and fields that could only be made at the site of a grand battle: the tips of Roman spears, the remains of armor, pieces of padded soles of soldier Kalig sandals, hundreds of silver and copper coins, fragments of household items, even medical instruments. Coins, namely on them it was not difficult to date other finds, belonged to the era of Augustus. On some, the profile of the emperor, his nephews Lucius and Gaius, as well as - very importantly - the profile of the governor Vara were embossed. All coins were minted before the year 9 A.D. e. - the year of the tragic defeat of the three Roman legions. Continuing the research, archaeologists discovered the remains of two fortifications - probably the one that the Romans tried to build, and the fortifications, where the main forces of the Cherusians of Arminius were located. Above the fortifications, no traces of battle were found on the hillsides. This suggests that the battle in the Teutoburg Forest was more likely a massacre than a battle in the full sense of the word. After the defeat of the legions, Vara August, though only after the suppression and submission of all the rebellious tribes, ceased to pursue an aggressive policy, and led the border with the Germans along the Rhine. Octavian Augustus bequeathed to his successors not to undertake any more aggressive campaigns, but to concentrate on the protection and development of existing lands. A wise decision!

But, despite all the reverence experienced by the later emperors for Augustus, they could not strictly adhere to the will. Yes, and did not want to. The growing needs of the Empire demanded new lands and new slaves, and hence new conquests. In addition, each, more or less ambitious emperor, dreamed of adding to his name some high-profile title, such as "Britannic", "Germanicus" or "African".

Rome again began an aggressive policy. In the field of attention of emperors and the Senate came a distant foggy island - Britain. Once formally conquered by Julius Caesar, Britain never entered the sphere of Roman influence. Caesar, who landed here in 55 BC. e., limited himself to a demonstration of Roman power and, defeating the coastal Britons in a short skirmish, forced them to recognize the supremacy of Rome. Then he left for the mainland. Britain remained independent for almost 100 years. But in the year 43 A.D. e. Emperor Claudius finally decided to finally subordinate the island to Rome. And here again a story similar to the rout in the Teutoburg Forest was repeated.

So, in the year 43 C. e. the Roman army of 20 thousand people invaded the British Isles. The internal situation on the islands favored the undertakings of Claudius. The scattered Celtic tribes could not resist the superbly trained army of Rome, and soon the entire southern and central parts of Britain fell into the hands of the Romans.

By the 60s of n. e. almost all coastal Celtic tribes submitted to Rome, but dissatisfaction with the policy of the conquerors remained. The Roman legions continued their movement inland. In 61, according to Tacitus, "... we had to suffer a severe defeat in Britain." The new governor of the emperor Suetonius is deeply bogged down in the West. The main actions of the army were transferred from Roxeter to Chester. Suetonius planned to capture the “densely populated, which has become a refuge for many of Mona’s refugees, and for this he built a fleet of flat-bottomed ships suitable for sailing in shallow seas and not afraid of pitfalls. The infantry crossed in boats, and the cavalry crossed fords; where it was too deep, the soldiers sailed near the horses. The enemy lined up on the shore - a dense crowd of armed men, in which there were figures of women in black, like furies, with loose hair and torches in their hands. There were druids all around, shouting terrible curses and holding out their hands to the sky. Such an unusual sight frightened the soldiers. As if paralyzed, they froze motionless, exposing their bodies to blows. Finally, encouraged by the commander, prompting each other not to get lost in front of a crowd of women and fanatics, they went on the offensive, crushed and ousted the enemy.

Suetonius placed garrisons at the vanquished and ordered to cut down their sacred groves, where fierce rites were held: after all, part of their religion was the shedding of blood of prisoners on the altars and asking the gods of fate through the interpretation of the meaning of human insides. "

But this hard-won victory on the border of modern Wales was only a prelude to the tragedy ...

Died Prasutag, the leader of the tribe of Hiscenes who lived in eastern Britain. Hoping to maintain power over his family, and tribal lands from the claims of the Romans, he appointed Emperor Nero as his heir. He was to rule the lands of the Icenas together with the two daughters of Prasutag. “But,” says Tacitus, “it turned out the other way around.” His kingdom was plundered by the centurions, and his personal wealth was slaughtered by slaves, as if they had been captured by weapons. The king’s wife, Boudicca (the Romans called her Boadicea), was carved with whips, and their daughters were dishonored. The property inherited from the ancestors was taken from all the leaders of the Itenians, as if the Romans had received the whole area as a gift, and they had thrown relatives of the king into slavery. ” These are the words of a Roman historian who perfectly understood that the tragic events that followed were caused by the Romans themselves.

Boudicca, having assumed supreme power, raised the Itcenes, who had previously been the most submissive Romans tribe, to revolt. Almost all nearby Britons joined the Boudicca. As noted by the prominent English politician and historian W. Churchill: "Hatred, as if escaping from the abyss, corresponded to the severity of the conquest."

In all of Britain there were only four legions, at most 20 thousand soldiers. XIV and XX legions were far in the West and participated in the Welsh campaign of Suetonius, IX was near modern Lincoln, and II - at Gloucester.

The first target of the rebels was Kamulodun (present-day Colchester), an unprotected wall of the Romans and Romanized Britons. Courageous rebels betrayed and omens. The statue of the Roman goddess of victory - Victoria collapsed face down, which was regarded as her attempt to escape. The sea turned red like blood. At night, inhuman screams were heard from the city council and the theater.

Residents of the city: merchants, officials, civilians, artisans and peasants under the protection of a handful of veterans were face to face with a huge army of rebels. Suetonius with his two legions was very far away - almost a month's journey. The nearest IX Legion is 120 miles away. No pity for the Romans. All of them were carved, and the city was burned.

The Ninth Legion moved to the aid of the doomed city. The rebels went out to meet him. The preponderance of forces was so huge that the legion was completely destroyed. Only the legacy Pecilius Cerialial with a handful of horsemen managed to escape. Suetonius realized that his army would not have time to arrive on time and began to fight his way to Londinius (modern London). This city was also inhabited by Roman citizens, mostly retired soldiers, officials and merchants, and Romanized Britons. Londinius also had no fortifications. The townspeople begged Suetonius to defend them, but when he learned that Boudicca, who was chasing Tserial towards Lincoln, turned south, he made a difficult but strategically correct decision to leave the city to its fate. Suetonius moved to join the legions in a hurry to help the XIV and XX, which he left, leaving for Londinius, inviting everyone to leave the city to join him.

The British massacre in London was universal. They did not spare anyone - neither men, nor women, nor old men, nor children. Especially cruel rebels acted with the Romanized Britons, considering them traitors. The city was burned. The same fate befell Verulamia (modern St. Albans) and other settlements of Roman veterans. According to Tacitus: “... at least 70 thousand Roman citizens and their allies were killed in all three cities, because the rebels did not know either capture or sale into slavery, or any exchange method commonly used in war, but in a hurry to kill, cut, crucify, hang and burn. ”

Some modern scholars believe that these numbers are too high, but it is known that the Londinium at that time accommodated at least 30-40 thousand inhabitants, and other cities are not much smaller. If we add to these figures the victims of the massacre that took place outside the borders of cities, then there is no reason to doubt the words of Tacitus.

But Roman training, organization and superiority in the art of warfare, as before - after the Carr or the Teutoburg Forest - ultimately prevailed. Tacitus writes: “And Suetonius, having at his disposal the fourteenth legion and the twentieth veterans, as well as auxiliary troops nearby, which amounted to only about 10 thousand fully armed people, decided ... to give battle. Having chosen a position on the gorge leading to the forest, and making sure that the enemy was just ahead, on an open plain, where there were no places for ambushes, he placed the legions in a closed formation, with lightly armed soldiers on their sides and dense ranks of cavalry on the flanks. ”

The Boudicca army, numbering 80 thousand people, accompanied, according to the tradition of all the barbarian hordes of those times, by women and children, randomly advanced into the middle of the gorge and was immediately attacked by organized legions. The defeat was complete. The fierce and frightened Romans carried out a massacre that was not inferior in cruelty to the one that the British arranged in Roman cities. Like the Britons, the legionnaires did not spare anyone, neither women, nor the elderly, nor children. Tacitus wrote: “It was a glorious victory worthy to be on a par with the great victories of antiquity. Some argue that a little less than 80 thousand Britons remained on the field, while ours lost about 400 people killed and a little more wounded. ” Boudicca, in order not to be captured, took poison, as did the other leaders of the Icenes and their allies.

After these events, the Roman authorities, having satisfied their sense of revenge, finally came to the conclusion that it was necessary to soften their attitude towards the conquered Britons. As British Procurator Julius Classician wrote in his message to Nero: "... it is necessary to replace Suetonius with a new ruler, without malice towards the enemy, who will gently deal with the conquered enemy." The necessary measures were taken in Rome: Suetonius was recalled, and the new ruler Julius Agricola made every effort to bring peace and bloodlessly Romanize the new province. And, surprisingly, he and his successors succeeded. By the time of the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD e. Britain was in the spirit of "more Roman" than Rome itself.

As for the ill-fated IX Legion, after a terrible defeat, it was replenished with German units and participated in the aggressive expedition of Julius Agricola to Caledonia (Northern Scotland - Highland). Having conquered many tribes, Agricola began the construction of the line of fortresses, but did not have time to complete the construction - he was urgently recalled to Rome. The IX Legion was left to guard the conquests in the north. Each year, under pressure from the wild tribes, the Romans moved farther and farther south. In the year 122 BC e. Emperor Hadrian arrived in Britain. His arrival coincided with one mysterious event - the complete disappearance of the entire IX Legion. The legion camp may have been near Kalleva (present-day Silchester) and then at Linda (present-day Lincoln); under Agricole, the legion settled in the new capital of the province, Eborac (modern York), where it remained until its disappearance. The mystery of his disappearance is still not open to scientists. It is known that the entire legion was sent from Eborac to suppress another rebellion of the northern tribes. No one came back. There are many versions regarding his future fate. For example, some suggest that the legion was ambushed, similar to the one that Arminius Varu arranged in the Teutoburg Forest. But not all legionnaires died, some managed to escape to the mountains and even settle there. There is evidence that some Scottish Highland clans proudly said they were descended from the Roman legionnaires of the missing DC Legion. There is also a very fantastic theory, according to which the mysterious tribes of the underground inhabitants of Caledonia stole the entire legion in one night while they were standing in the fortified camp. The most plausible version seems to be the version of the total extermination of Roman soldiers by the tribes of rebel brigants. And the veil of secrecy, apparently, was already created by the Roman authorities in Britain, who, fearing the wrath of Hadrian, tried to give the loss of the legion a mystical aura. Be that as it may, after this IX "Spanish" legion is not mentioned anywhere else.

Speaking of the disappeared legions, one cannot fail to mention another sad episode from Roman military practice. It happened during the long war of Rome with the Dacian tribes. Dacians lived on the territory of modern Romania and Moldova, between the Carpathians, the Danube and the Tisza. In the year 85 e. Dacians led by King Diurpanei invaded the Roman province of Moesia (modern Bulgaria) and plundered it. The governor of the province himself died in battle and his severed head, the Dacians considered their main trophy. Emperor Domitian immediately moved troops to Moesia under the command of the prefect Praetor Cornelius Fusk. The situation seemed so serious that the emperor himself arrived in the army, taking with him even the Praetorian guard. After fierce fighting, Moesia was cleared of the Dacians. Roman troops crossed the Danube, invaded Dacia and moved towards the capital - Sermitogetuze. Dakov by that time was headed by the young, but experienced in military affairs, Tsar Decebalus. He managed to subjugate all the Dacian tribes to his will, subdue the rebellious nobility and enlist the support of neighbors - Sarmatians and Germans.

Thanks to these measures, Decebalus in the first major battle inflicted a crushing defeat on the Romans. The commander of the Roman forces, Prefect Fusk, died, and with it the V Legion of the Lark, formed by Julius Caesar, was completely destroyed. The eagle of the legion fell into the hands of the enemy, many prisoners, carts, throwing weapons, etc. were taken. And although in 102 Emperor Trajan, having captured the capital of the Dacians, returned the eagle of the V legion and part of the Roman weapons captured in that battle, this legion is no longer mentioned in the lists.

Also, one cannot ignore one of the most interesting and mysterious moments in the history of Christianity in the late Empire. Namely, about the death and martyrdom of the Theban legion. This event is associated with the campaigns of Emperor Maximian Herculius, co-ruler of the famous Diocletian, to the north-west of the Empire. According to the testimony of the "Passion of the Martyrs of Auburn" by the Bishop of Lyon, written in the first half of the fifth century AD e., Maximian wanted to exterminate the Christians. The Legion of Warriors, who were called the Thebans, was ordered to march in order to take decisive action in the West against Christians. But the soldiers did not obey, so the legion near Oktodur (modern Martigny) was first decimated twice, and then completely destroyed. Among the leaders of the Theban Legion was a certain Mauritius, in honor of whom the abbey of Saint-Maurice de Agon was even built in 515 in the Rhone Valley in France. The remains of the dead legionnaires were discovered by monks and began to be revered as miraculous relics. The Theban Legion became the personification of the staunchness of Christian warriors and martyrs; in Switzerland, on the Lower Rhine and in Italy, a number of saints were associated with this legion, and the Catholic Church to this day annually celebrates the holiday of finding (finding) their remains on September 22.

Modern scholars dispute the accuracy of the information reported in The Passion, and attribute all events related to the death of the legion to later times, or even consider them to be a fiction of Christians who needed to justify their attacks on Diocletian and Maximian. But how then could the memory of this event survive the centuries, and the Theban martyrs remain revered in many countries to this day? This riddle has yet to be unraveled.

Of course, these are far from all cases of the disappearance or destruction of Roman legions. There were others: many legions at a later time were utterly destroyed by the Parthians and Persians, no less - by the Germans. But what is important to note, regardless of whether this legion was missing or the place of its death is known, they all carried out the aggressive policy of Rome in different parts of the world, and, therefore, were invaders and occupiers in the eyes of local residents. And no matter how beneficial the influence of the "Roman world" on the surrounding "barbarians" was, they were often ready to fully defend their freedom and independence. Therefore, when speaking about the mysterious disappearances of the Roman legions in Asia, Germany, Britain, or Dacia, one must always remember that in Italy itself no disappearances took place, as well as how many tribes and peoples disappeared from the map of the ancient world due to "civilizational" activities Roman legions.

In conclusion, we give a brief history of the most famous missing legions of the Roman Empire.