"mercenary numbers in Roman Punic war period?" Topic
10 Posts
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The Epic Gamer | 24 Apr 2022 5:58 p.m. PST |
1200 hastati, 1200 principes, 600 triarii, 1200 velites and 300 equites. How many Numidian cavalrymen, Cretan archers, and Balearic slingers were in a legion though? Was it normally just one of those, all three or a mix? |
robert piepenbrink | 24 Apr 2022 6:48 p.m. PST |
Umm…None? If you take a look at Zama, the Numidian cavalry--allies, rather than mercenaries--are on the flanks, not mixed in with legions. Auxillia generally are not part of the legionary structure, but separate cohorts--and much more common later, when Roman armies weren't made up of wartime draftees. A peripheral period for me, though, and I read Livy a long time ago. If anyone understands it differently, please point me toward a book. |
The Epic Gamer | 24 Apr 2022 7:49 p.m. PST |
How many in an *ala*? I'm assuming it varied quite a bit. |
Prince Alberts Revenge | 24 Apr 2022 8:20 p.m. PST |
From what I understand, the Ala were similar in organization to a legion but a bit larger with a bigger cavalry contingent. They were composed of Italian allies organized in the same manner and equipment as the Romans and were part of the cohort system (2 legions and 2 alae). The Numidians and others you mentioned would not be part of the legions or the ala. |
robert piepenbrink | 25 Apr 2022 4:04 a.m. PST |
Prince Albert's right. Ramsay say 10 turmae--about 900 horse. link But if I were keying an army build on this, I'd try for some more recent research. |
williamb | 25 Apr 2022 7:28 a.m. PST |
As noted in Robert's link, a Roman legion of the Punic wars period fielded 300 cavalry in ten turmae of 30 each. A Latin Ala would have two to three times as many cavalry. Numidians and Spanish were Roman allies. Hannibal brought 4000 Numidian cavalry with him along with Spanish and Gallic cavalry. The Gauls were also allies. IIRC Livy may have mentioned Cretan archers though there is no mention of them in any battle on the Roman side or in Hannibal's battles. Balearic slingers were part of the Carthaginian army though in very small numbers and are not mentioned as part of Hannibal's army. Regarding sources: Livy seems to have used much of Polybius histories for his history. Polybius was a "guest" of the Scipios for a while and is a better and more contemporary source than Livy. |
gavandjosh02 | 25 Apr 2022 2:54 p.m. PST |
williamb is pretty correct – for the 2nd Punic War the Romans used Numidians in Africa; Spanish in Spain; I think one instance where Gallic allies are mentioned in Italy. It would be easier to justify Greek style mercenary light troops in the 1st Punic War fought in Sicily. |
Dagwood | 26 Apr 2022 4:59 a.m. PST |
Greek light troops were supplied by Syracuse in the 1st Punic War, after it switched sides to become a Roman Ally. |
DBS303 | 30 Apr 2022 7:32 a.m. PST |
Just a note of caution – it is usually assumed that the Latin allies are always deployed as alae, one ala to each legion. But there is the oddity of Faesulae in 225BC, where a large force of Sabines and Etruscans – 4000 cavalry and 500000 foot if Polybius is to be believed – were deployed under a praetor as a separate army, and promptly took a beating from the advancing Celts. |
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