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Velites |
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OriginsVelites (Sing. Veles) appear as a troop type throughout the Punic Wars of the third and second centuries BC. They disappear from history at the end of the second century BC when, as citizen soldiers, they would have served as more heavily-equipped legionaries. Their role on the battlefield would have been taken by non-citizen, foreign fighters from then on.The velites (pronounced well-ih-tays) were skirmishers, armed with a short sword (gladius) or dagger and several small javelins known as verutum. At this point in the Republic (up until the end of the second century BC), soldiers generally paid for their own equipment. Given that each veles tended to be from the poorer brackets of Roman citizenry, he would only have been able to afford light armour. This may have included greaves and limited body armour for some, but virtually all would have worn a bronze helmet and carried a basic round shield. Their armour and weaponry made them the most mobile of all the Roman infantry of the time. Since they where easy prey for close combat units the velites did not form their own line; maniples of hastati and principes had a certain number of velites assigned to them, and they came under the command of the centurions of these units with 80 velites per maniple respectively, the triarii however did not have them since they fought right at the back away from the front line. In this sense, despite not being part of the main formation, they were regular soldiers. During battle the velites would engage the enemy with their javelins before retiring behind the hastati and principes. They are recorded in the sources as wearing wolf-skins over their helmets, in order that their centurions would recognise their own men when calling them back behind the line. The success of the Roman army is frequently attributed to its heavy infantry. However, as with irregular infantry with which velites had much in common (that is, fighting in loose formation), their effectiveness is often overlooked; the velites were highly effective in turning back war elephants, on account of discharging a hail of javelins at some range and not presenting a "block" which could be trampled on or otherwise smashed - unlike the close order infantry behind them. At the Battle of Zama in 202 BC they proved their usefulness, and were no doubt critical in helping to herd Hannibal's war elephants through the formation to be slaughtered. The velites of the Roman Republican army at its height in the 2nd century BC were possibly soldiers who would have comprised the earlier rorarii and accensi classes, these being comprised of the supposedly unreliable and otherwise poor combatants of the original fifth class Phalanx. In Polybius's "Rise of the Roman Empire", he states that the velites were usually the youngest of the soldiers. Though they still owned land, the velites were usually the poorer of the Roman military accepted classes, until the time of Gaius Marius, when the property qualification was dropped for military service. At this point, all fit and healthy citizens could serve in the legions, the poorer of which would have assistance in being equipped with weapons and armour. The wealth of the individual soldier and his position within the rank and file thus became increasingly irrelevant, and equipment and training became more standardised for service as a legionary. From this time, up until the establishment of the Roman Empire under Augustus and beyond, the Roman Army increasingly made use of foreign irregulars as skirmishers. The velites would slowly have been either disbanded or re-equipped as more heavily-armed legionaries from the time when Marius and other Roman generals reorganised the army in the late second and early first centuries BC. Their role would most likely have been taken by irregular auxiliary troops as the Republic expanded overseas. NotesReferencesPrimary SourcesPolybius Rome at the End of the Punic WarsSecondary Sources(none yet)External links(none yet)See also Military of ancient Rome (Latin: militia) relates to the combined military forces of Ancient Rome from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. ..... Click the link for more information. The structural history of the Roman military describes the major chronological transformations in the organisation and constitution of ancient Rome's armed forces, "the most effective and long-lived military institution known to history". ..... Click the link for more information. The Roman army was a set of land-based military forces employed by the Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic and later Roman Empire as part of the Roman military. For its main infantry constituent and for much of its history, see Roman legion; for a catalogue of individual legions, dates ..... Click the link for more information. This is a list of both unit types and ranks of the Roman army from the Roman Republic to the fall of the Roman Empire. The distinction between rank and unit type doesn't seem to have been as precise as in a modern-day army, in which a solider has a ..... Click the link for more information. This is a list of Roman legions, including key facts about each legion. This article primarily focuses on Principate (early Empire, 30BC - 284AD) legions, for which we have substantial literary, epigraphic and archaeological evidence. ..... Click the link for more information. Auxiliaries (from Latin: auxilia = supports) formed the standing non-citizen corps of the Roman army of the Principate (30 BC - 284 AD), alongside the citizen legions. ..... Click the link for more information. AManius Acilius Glabrio -- Manius Acilius Glabrio (consul 191 BC) -- Manius Acilius Glabrio (consul 91) -- Titus Aebutius Helva -- Aegidius -- Lucius Aemilius Barbula -- Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir) --..... Click the link for more information. The Roman Navy (Latin: Classis) operated between the First Punic War and the end of the Western Roman Empire. HistoryBy periodEarly Republic..... Click the link for more information. campaign history of the Roman military is the account of the Roman military's land battles, from its initial defence against and subsequent conquest of the city's hilltop neighbours in the Italian peninsula, to the ultimate struggle of the Western Roman Empire for its existence ..... Click the link for more information. The following is a List of Roman wars fought by the ancient Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic and Roman Empire, organized by date. 4th century BC
3rd century BC..... Click the link for more information. The following is a list of Roman Battles fought by the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire, and sometimes the Byzantine Empire, organized by date. The list is not exhaustive. ..... Click the link for more information. As with most other military forces the Roman military adopted a "carrot and stick" approach to military, with an extensive list of decorations for military gallantry and likewise a range of punishments for military transgressions. ..... Click the link for more information. The technology history of the Roman military covers the development of and application of technologies for use in the armies and navies of Rome from the Roman Republic to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. ..... Click the link for more information. Roman military engineering (Praefectus fabrum)is a type of Roman engineering carried out by the Roman Army - almost exclusively by the Roman legions for the furthering of military objectives. ..... Click the link for more information. castra,[1] with its singular castrum, was used by the ancient Romans to mean any building or plot of land reserved to or constructed for use as a military defensive position. ..... Click the link for more information. Roman siege engines were, for the most part, adapted from Hellenistic siege technology. Relatively little was done on their part to develop the technology, however the Romans brought an unrelentingly aggressive style to siege warfare (Goldsworthy 2000: 144). ..... Click the link for more information. List of ancient Roman triumphal arches (By modern country) France
Germany
..... Click the link for more information. Roman roads were essential for the growth of the Roman empire, by enabling the Romans to move armies. A proverb says that "all roads lead to Rome." At its peak, the Roman road system spanned 52,819 miles (85,004 km) and contained about 372 links. ..... Click the link for more information. Roman military personal equipment was produced in large numbers to established cows and used in an established way. These standard patterns and uses were called the res militaris or disciplina. ..... Click the link for more information. Rome's military was always tightly keyed to its political system. In the Roman kingdom the social standing of a person impacted both his political and military roles. The political system was from an early date based upon competition within the ruling elite. ..... Click the link for more information. The strategy of the Roman Military encompasses its grand strategy (the arrangements made by the state to implement its political goals through a selection of military goals, a process of diplomacy backed by threat of military action, and a dedication to the military of part ..... Click the link for more information. Roman infantry tactics refers to the theoretical and historical deployment, formation and maneuvers of the Roman infantry from the start of the Roman Republic to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. ..... Click the link for more information. Roman military borders and fortifications were part of a grand strategy of territorial defense in the Roman Empire. By the early second century, the Roman Empire had reached the peak of its territorial expansion and rather than constantly expanding their borders as earlier in the ..... Click the link for more information. State Party '''The template is deprecated. Please use instead. ..... Click the link for more information. Hadrian's Wall is a stone and turf fortification built by the Roman Empire across the width of modern-day England. It was the second of three such fortifications built across Great Britain, the first being Gask Ridge and the last the Antonine Wall. ..... Click the link for more information. light infantry (or skirmishers) were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. Light infantry was distinct from medium, heavy or line infantry. ..... Click the link for more information. The Roman army was a set of land-based military forces employed by the Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic and later Roman Empire as part of the Roman military. For its main infantry constituent and for much of its history, see Roman legion; for a catalogue of individual legions, dates ..... Click the link for more information. Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a republican form of government. The republican period began with the overthrow of the Monarchy c. ..... Click the link for more information. The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage. They are known as the Punic Wars because the Latin term for Carthaginian was Punici (older Poenici, from their Phoenician ancestry). ..... Click the link for more information. Skirmishers are infantry or cavalry soldiers stationed ahead or alongside of a larger body of friendly troops. They are usually placed in a skirmish line to either harass enemy troops or to protect their own troops from similar attacks by the enemy. ..... Click the link for more information. This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia® - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the Wikipedia® encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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Ed Zellner, chief engineer, Premium Midsize Cars, says that the faces of the new vehicles harken to the Velite concept car that made its appearance in the spring of 2004. A lot is riding on the Velite as part of Buick's $3 billion makeover. In June 1988, in London, the High Court of Justice banned the sale of Velite in the U. |
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Velite