2 – Scipio Africanus Saves Rome & Reforms the Army
Scipio was a soldier and witnessed first-hand the devastation suffered by the Roman army at the hands of Hannibal, the outstanding Carthaginian general, at Lake Trebia in 217 BC and Cannae in 216 BC. Roman losses at Cannae are still among the worst ever suffered by any army in one day in history. Despite his youth, Scipio showed exceptional leadership ability and quickly sought to change the way the Roman army operated.
He became commander of the Roman army in Spain at the age of 25 and began training his men harder than any Roman leader before him. Before his intervention, Rome relied heavily on the fighting superiority of its legionaries to win battles. Scipio knew that a continuation of this policy spelled disaster, so he studied Hannibal’s tactics and created his own movements to outfox his rival. A succession of wins, following by total victory over Hannibal at Zama in 202 BC, proved Scipio right. From that moment on, Rome would not only have brave and fearsome soldiers; they would have clever and innovate generals too.
The Roman Legion underwent a slight change during the second century BC. The hastati were still the first line of attack, but now they wore bronze breastplates or chain mail coats. Interestingly, they also had 18-inch black and purple feather plumes on their helmets to make them appear larger and thus intimidate their opponents. They carried a pilum (a wooden spear with an iron tip) and a shorter javelin than before. The new Javelin bent on impact so enemies could not use it.
The other lines now carried a long spear called a hasta instead of the pilum. The accensii and rorarii no longer existed and these men now joined the ranks of the velites. Overall, the legion was slightly more mobile, and the iron helmet was replaced by a bronze helmet made of thicker metal than the first incarnation. The cavalry force consisted of 300 men divided into groups of 30; each of which was commanded by three decuriones.
During the second century BC, the Roman army was no longer a ‘seasonal’ force; it was a full-time army due to the creation of a provincial empire. Victories at Cynoscephalae in 197 BC and Pydna in 168 BC significantly increased the amount of territory held by Rome. The result was a need for an increased army but finding the numbers proved problematic. As Rome began to conquer land in the east, wealthy citizens were intent on making, even more, money through the new trading routes. The last thing they wanted was to be called up for military service.
The days when Rome could rely upon members of the countryside to join the army were gone. Spain was the most unpopular destination for soldiers due to the large number of violent uprisings along with terrible leadership. The enlistment process was changed in 152 BC as men were chosen by lot and forced to serve for six years. Nonetheless, Rome still needed more men and started relying on allied forces. In 133 BC, Scipio Aemilianus conquered Numidia, and Iberian soldiers made up almost 70 percent of his army.
A major problem faced by Rome was the issue of competent leadership. While Scipio Africanus’ innovative tactics were adopted by generals, it was becoming increasingly difficult to find high-quality commanders towards the end of the second century BC. The wealthy classes had more opportunities to make money than ever before, and corruption plagued the flourishing republic. The Gracchi Brothers tried to change things by using land distribution to help recruit, but their murder spelled the end of that particular experiment.