roman army, 5 ws
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The Roman Army
Who? What? Where? When? Why?
Roman Army
What? Why? Who?Where??When?
What was theRoman Army?
• Force behind one of the greatest empires of the ancient world
• Began 3,000 years ago with tribe called Latins
• Grew into city of Rome
• Romans built up a great army
• Conquered many lands around the Mediterranean Sea.
• World’s first superpower.
When was the Roman Army?
• Emperor Trajan ruled the Roman Empire from AD98 until AD117
• Emperor Hadrian ruled from AD117 until AD138
Why was there a Roman Army?
• fought to defend their land against invaders
• fought to take land from their enemies
• fought to extend their empire by conquering other lands, which they divided into area called provinces
• fought to strengthen and defend the frontiers of their empire
So far…
What? When? Why?
Where was the Roman Army?
Frontiers: (1) Rivers
• Rivers Rhine, Danube, Tigris and Euphrates
• Rivers were good frontiers. Why?
• Hadrian made the river Rhine the frontier from Bonn to the sea. He fortified the river.
• The river Danube was similarly
fortified from Regensburg to the Black Sea
• These fortifications stretched for a bout 450 kilometres.
Frontiers: (2) Sahara Desert
Frontiers: (3) Hadrian’s Wall• Solid barrier
• Intimidating reminder
• 118km (73 miles) long, 2.5 metres thick, 5 metres high
• Defended by 80 small mile-castles, 1.6 metres kilometres apart, and about 160 lookout turrets
• Stone-built & turf-built
• Ditch to the north
• Vallum to the south.
• Remained occupied until 410
• 16 auxiliary army forts built along the wall
Worksheet
Who were the Roman Army?• 107 BC Marius made the army a permanent
force
• Both infantry and cavalry
• 2 types of soldier: (1) Auxiliary. (2) Legionary.
• All legionaries were Roman citizens aged between 17 and 46 years old, and nearly all legionaries were infantry.
• Recruitment depended on how long a province had been under Roman rule.
• Legionary recruits usually came from the province which contained the legion’s base
• Auxiliaries never stationed in their homeland
• Normally enough volunteers to keep the army going
• Soldiers had to swear a solemn oath