Elton, Hugh (1996). Warfare in Roman Europe, AD 350–425. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-815241-5. This was the main road in the middle and it would have been humming with activity with the soldiers coming out and washing themselves in the morning and at the end of the day. Romulus supposedly established a cavalry regiment of 300 men called the Celeres ("the Swift Squadron") to act as his personal escort, with each of the three tribes supplying a centuria (century; company of 100 men). This cavalry regiment was supposedly doubled in size to 600 men by King Tarquinius Priscus (conventional dates 616–578BC). [1] According to Livy, Servius Tullius also established a further 12 centuriae of cavalry, [2] but this is unlikely, as it would have increased the cavalry to 1,800 horse, implausibly large compared to 8,400 infantry (in peninsular Italy, cavalry typically constituted about 8% of a field army). [3] This is confirmed by the fact that in the early Republic the cavalry fielded remained 600-strong (two legions with 300 horse each). [4] [ full citation needed]

Coulston, Jonathan. 2000. "'Armed and belted men': The soldiery in imperial Rome". In Ancient Rome: The archaeology of the eternal city. Edited by Jonathan Coulston and Hazel Dodge, 76–118. Oxford: Oxbow. And I know it looks a bit odd but that’s because in Roman times people always used to go to the loo at the same time, together so it wasn’t very private. In cavalry, auxiliaries were superior, as they were combat-capable, whereas it seems that the small contingent of legionary cavalry were not (they seem mostly to have served as messengers). In archery, legions seemingly had no capability at all. Because the Senate was limited to 600 members, equites equo publico, numbering several thousands, greatly outnumbered men of senatorial rank. [48] Even so, senators and equites combined constituted a tiny elite in a citizen-body of about 6 million (in AD 47) and an empire with a total population of 60–70 million. [65] [66] This immensely wealthy elite monopolised political, military and economic power in the empire. It controlled the major offices of state, command of all military units, ownership of a significant proportion of the empire's arable land (e.g., under Nero ( r.54–68AD), half of all land in Africa Proconsularis province was owned by just six senators) and of most major commercial enterprises. [67] As you can see we have plastic multi-part Roman Auxilia and they come with a stunning metal command group of Centurion, Optio, Cornicen and Signifer.Get yourself some auxilia (or numerii!) – it’s the perfect excuse to relieve the (elite) monotony of wall-to-wall legionaries! Variety is the spice of life and all that. Seriously though, the Romans used auxilia, and if we want to be true to the period, so should we. In my view, they don’t just add colour, they also make your army more capable – without them you’re not going to have much in the way of cavalry, light infantry or missile-armed troops.

Esposito, Gabriele (2018-10-30). Armies of the Late Roman Empire AD 284 to 476: History, Organization & Equipment. Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1-5267-3038-1

TYNESIDE FINDS

The period following the end of the Latin War (340–338 BC) and of the Samnite Wars (343–290) saw the transformation of the Roman Republic from a powerful but beleaguered city-state into the hegemonic power of the Italian peninsula. This was accompanied by profound changes in its constitution and army. Internally, the critical development was the emergence of the Senate as the all-powerful organ of state. [17]

In the Regal era the Roman cavalry was a group of 300 soldiers called celeres, tasked with guarding the king. Later their numbers were doubled to 600, then possibly 1,800. All of the cavalrymen were patricians. In the Republican era, the general name for the cavalry was Equites and these united consisted of the equestrian class and the First Class, with a group of 300 cavalrymen in every legion. They were divided into 10 groups of 30 men. Each group elected three leaders known as decuriones. Later the Roman cavalry stopped using Roman citizens as cavalrymen and relied on Auxilia and foreign recruits. Cllr Paul Hodgkinson, Cotswold District Council Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Health and Emma Stuart, Corinium Museum Director. In addition to the regular auxiliary units, there were a number of units which had particular functions. In the days of the Roman Republic, there were just three types: Balearic slingers, Cretan archers and Numidian light cavalry. A family's senatorial status depended not only on continuing to match the higher wealth qualification, but on their leading member holding a seat in the Senate. Failing either condition, the family would revert to ordinary knightly status. Although sons of sitting senators frequently won seats in the Senate, this was by no means guaranteed, as candidates often outnumbered the 20 seats available each year, leading to intense competition. Equestrians exclusively provided the praefecti (commanders) of the imperial army's auxiliary regiments and five of the six tribuni militum (senior staff officers) in each legion. The standard equestrian officer progression was known as the " tres militiae" ("three services"): praefectus of a cohors (auxiliary infantry regiment), followed by tribunus militum in a legion, and finally praefectus of an ala (auxiliary cavalry regiment). From the time of Hadrian, a fourth militia was added for exceptionally gifted officers, commander of an ala milliaria (double-strength ala). Each post was held for three to four years. [53]As hoplite warfare was the standard early in this era, cavalry might have not played a substantial role in battle except for chasing after routed enemies. [11] Republican cavalry (338–88BC) [ edit ] North face of the Mausoleum of Glanum, southern France, showing a cavalry battle, c. 40 BC Recruitment [ edit ] At the Battle of Turin the emperor Constantine I destroyed a numerous force of enemy cataphracts; he manoeuvred his army in such a way that his more lightly armoured and mobile cavalry were able to charge in on the exposed flanks of the cataphracts. Constantine's cavalry were equipped with iron-tipped clubs, ideal weapons for dealing with heavily armoured foes. [7] Development [ edit ] Historic England is the public body that helps people care for, enjoy and celebrate England's spectacular historic environment. They protect, champion and save the places that define who we are and where we've come from as a nation. Historic England care passionately about the stories they tell, the ideas they represent and the people who live, work and play among them.

It is widely accepted that the Roman monarchy was overthrown by a patrician coup, probably provoked by the Tarquin dynasty's populist policies in favour of the plebeian class. [Note 2] Alfoldi suggests that the coup was carried out by the celeres themselves. [10] According to the Fraccaro interpretation, when the Roman monarchy was replaced with two annually elected praetores (later called "consuls"), the royal army was divided equally between them for campaigning purposes, which, if true, explains why Polybius later said that a legion's cavalry contingent was 300 strong. [11] auxilia were only support troops, incapable of mounting independent operations themselves, only ever helping the legions; According to Talbert, however, the evidence suggests that equites were no more loyal or less corrupt than senators. [61] For example, c. 26 BC, the equestrian governor of Egypt, Cornelius Gallus, was recalled for politically suspect behaviour and sundry other misdemeanours. His conduct was deemed sufficiently serious by the Senate to warrant the maximum penalty of exile and confiscation of assets. [62] Under Tiberius, both the senatorial governor and the equestrian fiscal procurator of Asia province were convicted of corruption. [63] Roman cavalry did not have a stirrup. The device was introduced to Europe by invading tribes, though it is not known which in particular, after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. [42] Tactics [ edit ] Battle tactics [ edit ]By the time of the Second Punic War (218–202 BC), all the members of the first class of commoners were required to serve as cavalrymen. The presence of equites in the Roman cavalry diminished steadily in the period 200–88 BC as only equites could serve as the army's senior officers; as the number of legions proliferated fewer were available for ordinary cavalry service. After c. 88 BC, equites were no longer drafted into the legionary cavalry, although they remained technically liable to such service throughout the Principate era (to AD 284). They continued to supply the senior officers of the army throughout the Principate.