"Polybian Roman allies?" Topic

For some odd reason I find myself wanting to get some polybian Romans… this is odd because I HATE Rome… But recently, I've felt less contempt for their republican selves, they aren't evil, yet. There are still some good years, and some good fights left in them until the marian reforms.

So I'm looking at this army, and thinking to myself, they HAD to have some kind of allies in all these fights. All the super powers at this time did… Except they all used Galatians.. I think geography might get in the way of that type of friendship.

Who would join the field with the romans at this point in time? Would it be Gauls, Iberians, Celtiberians, Samnites, Ligurians? Who?
Also, in what context?
For example, I don't want my romans to be fighting the macedonians with Iberian allies, when they only used Iberian allies in some obscure battle in Gaul etc.

If you can enlighten me on this topic, I will be eternally grateful.

Thanks
Austin

Don't forget the Numidians! They are my next army I am doing (as well as allies for my Polybians).

In addition to the Numidians in Africa, they had Spanish allies in Spain, Pergamum in Asia, And Aetolians in Greece. Standard Roman Consular army was two Roman legions and two Latin Alae with attached cavalry.

Well, if you think Romans are evil, they are already pretty evil by the Spanish wars. Nasty affairs, with a lot of bad faith bargaining and murdering those who'd negotiated a truce! (Also the sacks of Corinth and Carthage, and, indeed, the treatment of their own veterans ---) Complete bastards, really.

Ligurians, Numidians, Thracians, and all those Italians who – more Roman unpleasantness – are good enough to die in battle, but not to become citizens.

All these allies could in their time field capable armies of their own.

You will have to collect them all.

Lets not forget the Illyrians either.

Most allies were used relatively locally, Spaniards in Spain, Cisalpine Gauls in Italy, and Pergamenes and other Greeks in Greece and Asia. The main exception is that Numidians were brought along in relatively small numbers all over the place, and that cohorts of Ligurians crop up in Greece in 171 and in Numidia shortly before the Marian reforms.

You can find most of the evidence in Polybius, Livy and Appian, who are all easily available in translation on the web. Or it's all in "Armies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars", by, errr, some guy whose name escapes me.

You'd find Cretans everywhere too, methinks.

I agree!

Oh, "Cretans."

Also a few elephants after defeating Carthage