3 – Gaius Marius Creates Rome’s First Professional Army
Although Marius often receives credit for performing a complete overhaul of the army, in reality, the process began decades before he finally introduced a professional fighting force to Rome. It was Gaius Gracchus, one of the Gracchi Brothers, who began the process with his Lex Militaris reform in 122 BC. It ensured that soldiers received free clothes and equipment from the state and he also reduced the military service term and installed a minimum recruitment age of 17.
By the end of the second century BC, Rome had already resorted to calling for volunteers amongst Romans who owned no property. Marius finished the job by opening the army to every Roman regardless of how poor they were; the only requirements were being fit and ready to fight. Marius changed everything because he didn’t use poor soldiers merely to plug the gaps as before, he made an entire army out of them.
In the past, conscripts resented the 6-year term, but these poor volunteers routinely signed up for much longer periods of service. At one time, fighting in the military was a duty to Rome. Now, it was a profession, a career with options and this was music to the ears of the poorest elements of Roman society. Rather than struggling to find food to eat, they became part of a collective, received decent pay and got to see parts of the world that would otherwise have remained a mystery to them.
It was a stroke of genius from Marius, and he made sure to supplement his army with experienced recruits by offering special terms to veterans. This new army saved Rome from barbarian invasions and defeated the Germans and the Cimbri. A host of other changes are attributed to Marius, but again, he probably didn’t create the reforms by himself plus he may have merely finished off other reforms.
One of the most crucial changes (supposedly made by Marius) was to alter the legion’s construction from the maniple to the cohort. He abandoned the original three lines of soldiers system and the velites. Under the new system, the army consisted of soldiers with equal weaponry and armor. It was not a brand innovation in Rome as Scipio Africanus occasionally used it when fighting the Carthaginians in the Second Punic War. An obvious reason for the change was the new recruitment method. Previously, men were chosen according to wealth, and this also dictated their place within the maniple. Now, every soldier was supposedly equal, so it made sense to provide everyone with the same equipment.
Changes were also made to the army’s weaponry. One of the iron nails on the pilum was replaced with a wooden pin so it would break on impact. Another masterstroke was to promise legionnaires gifts of land upon their retirement; it was the equivalent of a pension and seen as a reward for a long period of service to the army. When all of these reforms were complete, Rome’s army was arguably the strongest in Europe as it was resilient, flexible and vast.
On the downside, soldiers became more loyal to commanders than to Rome. Despite the new recruitment, a lot of the army was still made up of non-Romans who had no loyalty to the Republic. Their loyalties lay with their commander; if he was a charismatic, ambitious and above all, victorious, general, he usually commanded the unquestioned loyalty and respect of his men. This was a problem that came back to haunt Rome with terrible consequences.