Velites
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is part of the series on: Military of ancient Rome (portal) |
|||
| Structural history | |||
| Roman army (unit types and ranks, legions, auxiliaries, generals) |
|||
| Roman navy (fleets, admirals) | |||
| Campaign history | |||
| Lists of wars and battles | |||
| Decorations and punishments | |||
| Technological history | |||
| Military engineering (castra, siege engines, arches, roads) |
|||
| Personal equipment | |||
| Political history | |||
| Strategy and tactics | |||
| Infantry tactics | |||
| Frontiers and fortifications (limes, Hadrian's Wall) |
|||
Velites (Singular: Veles) were a class of infantry in the Polybian legion of the early Roman republic. Velites were light infantry and skirmishers who were armed with a number of light javelins, or hastae velitares, to fling at the enemy, and also carried short thrusting swords, or gladii for use in melee.[1] They rarely wore armour, as they were the youngest and poorest soldiers in the legion and could not afford much equipment.[2] They did, however, carry small wooden shields, 90 cm (3 feet) in diametre for protection and wore a headress made from wolf skin to allow officers to differentiate between them and other legionaries.[2] Velites did not form their own units in the legion as other infantry classes did; instead each maniple of Hastati, Principes and Triarii had a number of velites assigned to them, though the velites usually formed up at the front of the legion to harass the enemy before battle.[1]
Velites were typically used as a screening force, driving off enemy skirmishers and disrupting enemy formations with javelin fire before retiring behind the lines to allow the heavier armed Hastati to attack.[1] They were normally the ones who engaged war elephants and chariots if they were present on the field; their high mobility and ranged weaponry made them much more effective against these enemies enemies than heavy infantry. An early Roman legion contained approximately 1,000 velites.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Equipment and usage
Velites were the youngest and poorest soldiers in the legion, and could rarely afford much equipment. They carries a small wooden shield, 90 cm (3 feet) in diametre, and often wore a greave on the leading leg, the leg placed forward of the other in fighting stance.[1] Heavier armour was scarce, though some may have been able to afford a small breastplate for additional protection.[1] Velites usually wore a headdress made from wolf skin to allow officers to distinguish them from other legionaries.[2]
Velites were armed with seven light javelins, or hastae velitares in Latin; like the pila used by heavier legionaries, the long iron tips were designed to bend on impact to prevent them being thrown back.[4] According to Polybius the javelins were a metre long and two centimetres in diametre. The iron point at the end was 20 cm long, and thin enough to allow it to bend on impact, preventing the enemy from throwing it back. Like other legionaries they also carried gladii for use in melee.[4][2]
Rather than forming their own units, a number of Velites were assigned to each maniple of Hastati, Principes and Triarii. They usually formed up at the front of the legion before battle to harass the enemy with javelin fire and to prevent the enemy doing the same before retiring behind the lines to allow the heavier infantry to attack. After battles, they were often used to pursue fleeing enemies in "cleanup operations".[5] Velites were usually the ones who engaged war elephants and chariots when they were present, their high mobility and missile weaponry making them much more effective against these target than other legionaries.[4][2]
[edit] History
Velites were descended from an earlier class of light infantry, Leves, dating from the Camillan legion of the 5th century BC, who had a very similar role to the velites; to act as a screening force, harass the enemy before battle and pursuing routing enemies.[3] They were also the poorer and younger soldiers in the legion, though the Rorarii and Accensi classes were considerably poorer and were eventually done away with, having insufficient equipment to be effective soldiers.[6] Leves were likewise armed with a number of javelins, but carried a spear rather than a sword. Like the velites, leves did not have their own units, but were attached to units of Hastati. Principes and Triarii did not have leves attached.[6]
Velites were first used at the seige of Capua in 211 BC, and were made of citizens who would normally be too poor to join the legions, who were trained to ride on horseback with the Equites and jump down at a given signal to fling javelins at the enemy. After the siege, they were adopted into the legions as a force of irregular light infantry for ambushing and harassing the enemy before the battle began in earnest.[7]
All citizens of Rome who had sufficient property were elegible for military service, and when the Consuls decided to levy a legion, citizens would assemble in the forum to be selected by casting lots. Once 4,200 men had been selected, they were divided up into the separate military classes of Velites, Hastati, Principes and Triarii according to age and wealth. The Velites were the younger and poorer men of the legion, who would not be able to purchase the heavier equipment needed to serve as Hastati.[8][5]
With the reforms of Gaius Marius, the velites were done away with. All legionairies would use the same equipment, which would be purchased and issued by the state rather than supplied by the legionaries themselves from now on. The role of irregular light infantry would now be filled by foreign auxilia.[3] The army would become much more professional, citizens enlisting as a career rather than being quickly levied for various campaigns. They would serve a set number of years service before retiring with a pension.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e unrv.com (php). Gear and Tactics. Retrieved on 2008-05-12.
- ^ a b c d e Murray, John; Smith, William (1875). A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, 496. ISBN 0893411663.
- ^ a b c d Murray, John; Smith, William (1875). A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, 497. ISBN 0893411663.
- ^ a b c fordham.edu (html). Polybius, History, book 6. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
- ^ a b roman-empire.net (html). The Roman Army: The Roman Legion (2nd century BC). Retrieved on 2008-05-14.
- ^ a b roman-empire.net (html). The Roman Army: The Early Legion (4th century BC). Retrieved on 2008-05-14.
- ^ Murray, John; Smith, William (1875). A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, 509. ISBN 0893411663.
- ^ Murray, John; Smith, William (1875). A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, 499. ISBN 0893411663.
