Essay 2 - Grade: 85.1% PDF

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Alex Cunningham English 102 Ayah Wakkad April 24, 2018 The Roman Gladius The gladius holds a significant cultural impact in the ancient world. It was a feared weapon in both the arena and battlefield. Although it was used by many different countries and empires, it had the biggest impact on the Roman Empire. This brings up the question: is the Roman version of the gladius one of the main reasons the Roman Empire rose to power? To answer this question, this essay will go over the history and rise of Rome, the history concerning the gladius and its battlefield use, and Rome’s military history and strategy. The rise of Rome began in the 6th century B.C. It started as a large collection of city states that were ruled by two consuls. They were rulers who had the same powers as a monarch, but they were elected and only served one-year terms (Schroeder). This was to prevent one man from having too much power. The consuls divided its citizens into six different classes based on wealth and social standing. Using their large population and class system, as well as many strategists, the Roman Empire could take rise using one of the largest, most effective, and deadliest armies in the ancient world. A large reason for Rome’s rise to power was its military. In Roman times, it was looked greatly upon to be a Roman soldier. In 100 B.C., the army changed its method of recruitment. Before it was based and wealth; the elites were given charge of a many men while the poor were

responsible for their own equipment. They were part time soldiers who were levied (also known as legio which gave way to the name of the legion) by the government (Mandal). Due to the poor economy of early Rome, military operations were kept very short and decisive and many soldiers were compensated very poorly for their service to the empire. In 4th century B.C., Rome was inspired by the tactics of the Etruscans. They had their men fighting in “maniples”, which is a mass of men with spear and shield, as well as their sword as a side arm. In turn, the Romans were able to defeat their enemies in turn and expand. According Titus Livy;s book, “History of Rome”, there were three primary classes of the main fighting force. There were the hastate (the poor), the principes (one’s who were experienced and part of the middle class), and the triarii (the rich and veteran members). There were also other smaller classes such as the equites (the richest of citizens) who were cavalrymen and the velities who were the poorest and lightly armored. After the slaughter of Roman soldiers in the Battle of Cannae (which marked 55000 deaths (Livy)), Rome overhauled their military to focus on having a standing army as well as provided its soldiers with equipment, which allowed the poorer soldiers become more professional and effective(Mandal). With this overhaul and the use of larger shields with a short gladius on the frontlines, Rome was able to trample any adversary it had and paid for its army with the loot it had taken. “After throwing the pila, the Roman legionary charged with a gladius in his hand…The Roman sword was one of the symbols of the military imperium; element of virility, military virtues, and perservance”(D’Amato). This quote describes when the gladius was used in battle. This is significant because many battles during that time were close quarters fights after their spears were thrown. The gladius was primarily used for stabbing, so it made sense for the soldiers to use their large scutum shields to defend themselves and quickly attack then retreat

behind the shield. This combined with the superior formation that the Romans used, made them a very deadly and formidable foe. Through the articles, there seems to be three different answers on what helped Rome rise to power: Its economy, its geography, and its military. The Roman gladius obviously falls within the military aspect of the arguments. From the economic aspect, Rome rose to power for multiple reasons (Schroeder). They used a standardized currency, the denarius, to facilitate trade across their growing borders and since it was standardized, it encouraged more economic transactions. Another reason is that they traded across the Mediterranean Sea. This expanded their political influence since Rome and another country could help each other out with trading different exotic resources that weren’t readily available in their respective countries. From a geographical standpoint, Rome started out on the Italian Peninsula. Most of the northern border was covered in mountains which across the center of the country down to the coast. This allowed Rome to focus on certain choke points on where they could possibly be invaded. Also, due to the geography of the land, Rome did not have many natural harbors and the few that were there were controlled and protected. There was also lots of volcanic soil and arable ground, which could be used to grow ample food for the country’s growing population. This allowed the country to keep its people well fed and support growing birth rates (Anderson). From a militaristic standpoint, the military allowed the country to grow rapidly and contribute to the economy. It’s superior standing army and effective formations as well as deadly equipment bolstered the countries militaristic views and allowed them to expand across the southern border of the European continent by 100 B.C. (US Military Academy). Talking about their equipment, soldiers were supplied with a large rectangular shield, a pila (a spear), and, of course, the gladius. In Schroeder’s article, he contributes most of Rome’s success to the combination of all these aspects

as well as some luck considering the Huns nor the Goth had not formed during that time, so there was no real formidable risk from an adjacent country that could have possibly invaded during Rome’s earlier times. One outlook missing from Schroeder’s article is that of the geographical standpoint that Anderson mentions. Although, I’m sure Schroeder does believe this had some help to the Roman Empire, it didn’t hold enough significance to mention in his article. The Roman gladius served as the perfect weapon for the Roman soldier in a solid formation. They were cheap to produce as well perfect for the types of attacks that the formations were mostly made for: quick stabbing attacks. Although the Roman’s borrowed the design of the gladius from the Spaniards, Rome quickly altered the sword and their formations to work around the sword and its uses. After researching the topic extensively, I do believe the gladius cannot solely be attributed to the Roman Empire’s success. That honor should be attributed to its strong economy, political system, and every aspect of its military. The Roman also had a good deal of luck which was mentioned before. If a stronger or more stable country was nearby to Rome during its early times, there wouldn’t be a need for this essay as Rome would probably never had existed past B.C. times. In this essay, my audience is mainly someone who is a history or ancient weapon buff. This is because this essay pertains mainly to the history and usage of the ancient Roman gladius. Anyone who is not interested in Roman history or ancient weapons would probably lose interest within the first paragraph. Another question for another time is to ask: If the gladius had never existed, would its army have been as effective using an alternative weapon or formation?

Works Cited

Bishop, M. C. “The Gladius: The Roman Short Sword”. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2016 The Success of the Roman Republic and Empire, sites.psu.edu/successoftheromans/the-rise-ofrome/. Schroeder, Steven. “The Roman Republic.” Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/ancient-medieval/romanempire/a/roman-republic. Mandal, Dattatreya. “Evolution Of The Ancient Roman Soldier Over A Millennium.” Realm of History, 5 Dec. 2017, www.realmofhistory.com/2017/07/13/evolution-ancient-romansoldier/.Livy, Titus. History of Rome. Harcard University Press, 1984. DAmato, Raffaele. Arms and Armour of the Imperial Roman Soldier from Marius to Commodus, 112 BC - AD 192. Frontline Books, 2009. Anderson, Mike. “Geography and the Beginning of Rome.” Mike Anderson's Ancient History Blog, 23 Mar. 2009. “Map of 2nd Century Roman Expansion.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, US Military Academy, www.ancient.eu/image/131/....