Roman Expansion
Last Updated 10/13/207

Romans were afarid that the Etruscans would try to get Rome back.
To protect their boundaries, the Romans conqured or made alliances with their neighbors.
Rome went to war with the Samnites in 295 BC and defeated them.
By 290 BC, Rome had control of all of central Italy.
275 BC,Romans ruled the whole peninsula.
By 146 BC, Rome ruled the Mediterranean world. 
Then it took over the Greek cities to the south. 
By the middle of the 3^rd century, Rome controlled all of the Italian peninsula.

The Roman Army
The Romans were able to gain territory because they had a strong army.
The Roman Army was organized into about 30 legions.
A legion was made up of 5000 heavily armoured infantry foot soldiers. 
They were subdivided into ten cohorts, lead by a legatus.
The basic unit was made up of 80 men and was called a century.
There were 59 centuries in a legion.
Staff officers were called tribuni.
Senior non-commissioned officers were centurions.
Cavalry was supplied by the auxillaries and organized into 500 man units.
The army used catapults to throw rocks.
Engineers constructed siege towers and scaling ladders.

Roman Legion
Legion had advantages over the phalanx.
It was smaller and could move faster.
Phalanx fought as a group and attacked from only one direction.
Each member of a legion depended on his own fighting ability.
Groups of a legion could split off and attack from the sides and rear.
Roman legions often carried dragon flags.
Long pieces of cloth that when held in the wind gave the appearance of a dragon.

Roman Forts
Romans surrounded their camp with a moat and a dirtwall with pointed poles sticking out.
Each soldier carried a pointed pole as part of their equipment.
It only took a couple of hours to build a camp.
There was a walkway for the sentries and blockhouses.
The fort would also contain granaries, workshops and a plave for soldiers to sleep.
The bathhouse was built outside of the fort.

Headquarters
The headquarters was in the middle of the camp.
It would contain a large room big enough to hold the entire legion.
It also contained administrative offices and a strong room to hold valuables.
There was also shrine dedicated to the emperor and a place to store legion standards.



Roman Standards
Roman legions carried three or four standards to identify themselves.
The most famous of these was the Roman eagle.
It was a disgrace if the enemy captured the eagle.
They carried a portrait of the emperor made from metal.
They also carried the name and number of the legion.
Famous victories would be included on the stamdards.

Commander's House
The commander’s house would be built next to the headquarters.
It was built around a central courtyard.
It contained it’s own bathhouse.

Soldiers
During the early years all male citizens were required to serve in the army.
Soldier were expected to carry weapons, camp tools and provisions for two weeks.
A Roman soldier's weapons were a short double-edged iron sword for stabbing.
They had a throwing spear called a pilum.
He wore armour made from iron.
He wore a metal helmet on his head.
A soldier carried a large rectangular shield which curved around his body.
The Roman army was so successful because of discipline and hard training.
The first to climb the wall of a city they were attacking received a gold crown.
If you killed a man in battle you received a cup.
If your company ran, every tenth man was clubbed to death.

Roman Rule
The Romans were mild rulers.
The Romans gave the peoples of the conquered territories certain rights. 
All were required to send taxes and troops to Rome.
the conquered people were expected to serve in the Roman army.
Rome settled soldiers on the captive lands in permanent settlements.
Some were allowed to become citizens.
The Romans began a lava block road building project to connect all of their territories.