The Roman Cavalry: From the First to the Third Century AD

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After the Marian reforms (107 BCE) and the establishment of the legions, each legion had 300 cavalrymen. These were divided into ten squadrons of 30 cavalrymen each. Mark Antony, a staunch supporter and General of Caesar went on to become part of the second Triumvirate after Caesar’s murder.

Finally, a throw-away remark someone made about the First Cohort of Hamian Bowmen made me think for a moment. It’s not clear quite why the garrison of Hadrian’s Wall should include a unit of archers. Someone suggested that perhaps they were stationed there to provide a source of fresh meat for the rest of the garrison by hunting. If this was the case, then presumably a few would be stationed at each fort – maybe this is why an archer’s tombstone was found at Vercovicium (Housesteads) on Hadrian’s Wall, when they were actually based at Magnis (Carvoran) on the Stanegate.

During the Civil War, Pompey raised a huge army from his strongholds in the eastern provinces. These included cavalry units from Greece and Thrace, as well as those from further afield in Anatolia and Syria. Roman cavalry were equipped along much the same lines as auxiliary infantry, with iron mail armour, bronze helmets, and a mix of stout spears and light javelins they could throw. They also carried an oval shield similar to that borne by the auxiliary infantry. Roman kingship: The Roman monarchy, although an autocracy, was not hereditary and based on "divine right", but elective and subject to the ultimate sovereignty of the people. The king ( rex) was elected by the people's assembly (the comitia curiata originally) although there is strong evidence that the process was, in practice, controlled by the patricians. Most kings were non-Romans brought in from abroad, doubtless as neutral figures who could be seen as above patrician factions. Although blood relations could and did succeed, they were still required to submit to election. [8] The position and powers of a Roman king were thus similar to those of Julius Caesar when he was appointed dictator-for-life in 44 BC. That was why Caesar's assassin, Marcus Junius Brutus, felt a moral obligation to emulate his claimed ancestor, Lucius Junius Brutus, "the Liberator", the man who, Roman tradition averred, in 509 BC, led the coup that overthrew the last king, Tarquin the Proud, and established the republic. [9] Ritner, R.K. (1998): "Egypt Under Roman Rule: the Legacy of Ancient Egypt". In Cambridge History of Egypt, Vol I. Ed. C.F. Petry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. The royal cavalry may have been drawn exclusively from the ranks of the patricians ( patricii), the aristocracy of early Rome, which was purely hereditary, [5] [ full citation needed] although some consider the supporting evidence tenuous. [6] [ full citation needed]. Since the cavalry was probably a patrician preserve, it probably played a critical part in the overthrow of the monarchy. Indeed, Alfoldi suggests that the coup was carried out by the Celeres themselves. [7] [ full citation needed] However, the patrician monopoly on the cavalry seems to have ended by around 400BC, when the 12 centuriae of equites additional to the original six of regal origin were probably formed. Most likely patrician numbers were no longer sufficient to supply the ever-growing needs of the cavalry. It is widely agreed that the new centuriae were open to non-patricians, on the basis of a property rating. [8] As can be seen from the table, there are several different kinds of units. Superficially at least, the infantry cohorts resemble those of the legions – in particular the cohors quingenaria are very similar to the ordinary cohorts of the legions except that the legionary cohort seems not to have had an overall commander – meaning that it was not capable of independent action, unless the legate appointed ‘someone’ to take command – perhaps one of the tribunes or a senior centurion?

There is some debate about the strength of the turma between 30 and 32 men. 30 was the size of a turma in the Republican cavalry and in the cohors equitata of the Principate (early empire) auxilia. Against this is a statement by Arrian that an ala was 512 strong. This would make an ala turma 32 men strong. Personally, I suspect it simply comes down to whether one counts the commander and standard bearer, or just the troopers, in the total. Imperial cavalry (30BC – 476AD) [ edit ] Roman cavalry from a mosaic of the Villa Romana del Casale, Sicily, 4th century ADDuncan-Jones, Richard. 2016. Power and Privilege In Roman Society. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Alternatively, they could themselves move to the sides and perform an enveloping manoeuver against an opponent.