Hastati

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The Hastati (sing. Hastatus, from hasta) is an early type of Roman legionary.

The first type was a "spearman" carrying, as his primary weapon, a spear (hasta), as a secondary weapon a short sword (gladius) and for protection an oval shield (parma). Prior to 387 BC this was the standard legionary. However, this type of unit was defeated in several battles by the Gauls, who wielded long-swords and attacked with cavalry and human wave assaults. The Roman soldiers at the time were organized in feudal fashion, gathered around whichever patrician had employed them. This meant that the Roman front was hectic and often confusing, which made the broad front of the barbarians an even match for the more civilized, but less well led Romans.

In 387 BC, Rome was sacked and burned by invaders coming from Gaul and led by Brennus, who had successfully invaded Etruria. The weapons and tactics of the hastati were used during Rome's campaigns to secure its position in Italy and its conquests abroad. The oval shield was replaced with the rectangular shield (scutum), that covered the entire body. The hasta spear was replaced by two throwing javelins (pila, singular pilum) which where thrown against the enemy within range, and the short sword (gladius) which was used for thrusting in close combat. Some of these innovations were derived from conflicts with the Spanish peoples, whose weapons and tactics were matched with Roman discipline to create a fearsome military machine.

The tight, highly regimented formation replaced the looser formation. A tight formation is only possible with spears and thrusting swords, as other weapons require surrounding space for the swing. The barbarians now met a wall of shields. The barbarians fought in hordes with enough space around each fighter to swing his long sword. Earlier this had been quite successful against the spearmen Hastati with small, relatively weak shields. However, the new Roman military system presented first a volley of pila that would stop any infantry charge, and then a wall of shields.

The individual Roman soldier was trained to wait for a chance to push the enemy's sword up with his shield and stab him in the torso. This maneuver would be repeated over and over, until a signal would be given to rotate the ranks and give the front line a rest. There were typically seven lines of infantry, so for every few minutes spent on the line, a soldier could expect to have almost half an hour of rest before he once again faced the enemy. Compared to both barbarian peoples and Hellenic infantry in phalanx formation, the Roman soldier could stay in action much longer without suffering fatigue.

The hastati were armed with a hasta, a spear like the ones used by the triarii, the gladius and a smaller shield, the parma. After a republican reform, the hastatii were issued 4 foot javelins with 9 inch tips, called pila (sing. pilum), along with the standard short sword, or gladius. Their armor consisted of the standard bronze helmet of the Roman Army at the time, decorated with additional large plumes. The Hastati also wore a bronze breastplate, or chain mail if the soldier preferred and could afford it. The armor of the Hastati was up to the person; the soldiers armored themselves, buying what they could afford.

The Hastati were organized into 15 maniples of 120 men per legion. As the first battle line, the Hastati were immediately behind the Velites who tagged on to other maniples instead of travelling on their own and in front of the Principes, which were in front of the Triarii. The Hastati were sent into battle first, and commonly withdrew to the Principes' line to allow for a counterattack.