Editing Roman army (section)

== Roman army of the mid-Republic (c. 300 – 107 BC) ==
{{main|Roman army of the mid-Republic}}
[[Image:Altar Domitius Ahenobarbus Louvre n3bis.jpg|thumb|Levy of the army, detail of the carved [[relief]] on the [[Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus]], 122–115 BC.]]
The central feature of the [[Roman army of the mid-Republic]], or the Polybian army, was the manipular organization of its battle-line. Instead of a single, large mass (the [[Phalanx formation|phalanx]]) as in the [[Early Roman army]], the Romans now drew up in three lines consisting of small units (maniples) of 120 men, arrayed in chessboard fashion, giving much greater tactical strength and flexibility. This structure was probably introduced in c. 300 BC during the [[Samnite Wars]]. Also probably dating from this period was the regular accompaniment of each legion by a non-citizen formation of roughly equal size, the ''[[Ala (Roman allied military unit)|ala]]'', recruited from Rome's Italian allies, or ''[[socii]]''. The latter were approximately 150 autonomous states which were bound by a treaty of perpetual military alliance with Rome. Their sole obligation was to supply to the Roman army, on demand, a number of fully equipped troops up to a specified maximum each year.

The [[Second Punic War]] (218–201 BC) saw the addition of a third element to the existing dual Roman/Italian structure: non-Italian mercenaries with specialist skills lacking in the legions and ''alae'': [[Numidian cavalry|Numidian light cavalry]], [[Cretan archers]], and [[Balearic slinger|Balearic slingers]]. From this time, these units always accompanied Roman armies.

The Republican army of this period, like its earlier forebear, did not maintain standing or professional military forces, but levied them, by compulsory conscription, as required for each campaigning season and disbanded thereafter (although formations could be kept in being over winter during major wars). The standard levy was doubled during the [[Samnite Wars]] to four legions (two per consul), for a total of c. 18,000 Roman troops and four allied ''alae'' of similar size. Service in the legions was limited to property-owning Roman citizens, normally those known as ''iuniores'' (age 16–46). The army's senior officers, including its commanders-in-chief, the Roman consuls, were all elected annually at the People's Assembly. Only ''[[equites]]'' (members of the Roman knightly order) were eligible to serve as senior officers. {{Lang|la|Iuniores}} of the highest social classes ({{Lang|la|equites}} and the First Class of commoners) provided the legion's cavalry, the other classes the legionary infantry. The {{Lang|la|proletarii}} (those assessed at under 400 {{Lang|la|drachmae}} wealth) were ineligible for legionary service and were assigned to the fleets as oarsmen. Elders, vagrants, freedmen, slaves and convicts were excluded from the military levy, save in emergencies.

The legionary cavalry also changed, probably around 300 BC onwards from the light, unarmoured horse of the early army to a heavy force with metal armour (bronze [[Cuirass|cuirasses]] and, later, chain-mail shirts). Contrary to a long-held view, the cavalry of the mid-Republic was a highly effective force that generally prevailed against strong enemy cavalry forces (both Gallic and Greek) until it was decisively beaten by the Carthaginian general [[Hannibal]]'s horsemen during the Second Punic War. This was due to Hannibal's greater operational flexibility owing to his Numidian light cavalry.

The Polybian army's operations during its existence can be divided into three broad phases. (1) The struggle for hegemony over Italy, especially against the Samnite League (338–264 BC); (2) the struggle with [[Carthage]] for hegemony in the western Mediterranean Sea (264–201 BC); and (3) the struggle against the [[Hellenistic]] monarchies for control of the eastern Mediterranean (201–91 BC). During the earlier phase, the normal size of the levy (including allies) was in the region of 40,000 men (two consular armies of c. 20,000 men each).

[[File:Marius Chiaramonti Inv1488.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Gaius Marius]], to whom later historians would misattribute [[Marian reforms|putative reforms]] of the Roman army]]
During the latter phase, with lengthy wars of conquest followed by permanent military occupation of overseas provinces, the character of the army necessarily changed from a temporary force based entirely on short-term conscription to a standing army in which the conscripts, whose service was in this period limited by law to six consecutive years, were complemented by large numbers of volunteers who were willing to serve for much longer periods. Many of the volunteers were drawn from the poorest social class, which until the Second Punic War had been excluded from service in the legions by the minimum property requirement: during that war, extreme manpower needs had forced the army to ignore the requirement, and this practice continued thereafter. [[Maniple (military unit)|Maniples]] were gradually phased out as the main tactical unit, and replaced by the larger [[Cohort (military unit)|cohort]]s used in the allied ''{{Lang|la|alae}}'', a process probably complete by the time the general [[Gaius Marius|Marius]] assumed command in 107 BC. (The so-called "[[Marian reforms]]" of the army hypothesised by some scholars are today seen by other scholars as having evolved earlier and more gradually.)

In the period after the defeat of Carthage in 201 BC, the army was campaigning exclusively outside Italy, resulting in its men being away from their home plots of land for many years at a stretch. They were assuaged by the large amounts of booty that they shared after victories in the rich eastern theatre. But in Italy, the ever-increasing concentration of public lands in the hands of big landowners, and the consequent displacement of the soldiers' families, led to great unrest and demands for land redistribution. This was successfully achieved, but resulted in the disaffection of Rome's Italian allies, who as non-citizens were excluded from the redistribution. This led to the mass revolt of the ''{{Lang|la|socii}}'' and the [[Social War (91–88 BC)|Social War]] (91-88 BC). The result was the grant of Roman citizenship to all Italians and the end of the Polybian army's dual structure: the {{Lang|la|alae}} were abolished and the {{Lang|la|socii}} recruited into the legions.