Technological history of the Roman military

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This article is part of the series on: Military of ancient Rome (Portal) 800 BC - AD 476
Structural history
Roman army (unit types and ranks, legions, 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)

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. The rise of Hellenism and the Roman Republic are generally seen as signalling the end of the Iron Age in the mediterranean. However, if one follows the definition used in archaeology of the Iron Age is the stage in the development of any people where the use of iron implements as tools and weapons is prominent, then Roman technology, including that of the Roman military, can still be seen as largely Iron Age in technology. Although their iron-working was enhanced by a process known as carburization, the Romans are not thought to have developed steel production, and broadly speaking the 1300 years of Roman military technology did not see radical change in technological level. Metals used for arms and armour included primarily iron and brass. For construction, the army would use wood, earth and stone. The later use of concrete in architecture was not widely mirrored in Roman military technology, except in the application of a military workforce to civilian construction projects.

1 Origins and development
2 Roman implementation of technology
3 Notes
4 External links

[edit] Origins and development

Much of what is described as typically Roman technology, as opposed to that of the Greeks, comes directly from the Etruscan civilization, which was thriving to the North when Rome was just a small kingdom. The Etruscans had perfected the stone arch, and used it in bridges as well as buildings. A great part of later Roman technologies were taken directly from Greek civilization.

After the absorption of the ancient Greek city states into the Roman Republic in 146 BC, the highly advanced Greek technology began to spread across many areas of Roman influence and supplement the Empire. This included the hugely advantageous military advances the Greeks had made (most notably by Dionysus of Syracuse), as well as all the scientific, mathematical, political and artistic developments.

However, the Romans failed to make many significant technological advances. Roman science was virtually non-existent, especially compared with Hellenistic science. Romans knew enough history to be aware that widespread technological change had occurred in the past and brought benefits, and military innovation was always valued, but ongoing research and development was not native to the Roman culture. Romans thought of themselves as practical, so small-scale innovation was common (such as the development of the ballista into the repeating ballista) but the Romans as a people apparently lacked the drive for or practice of abstract thought necessary to make profound new developments. A reliance on a plentiful slave labour force and a lack of a patent or copyright system have both been cited as reasons that there was little social or financial pressure to automate or reduce manual tasks.

The apparent period in which technological progress was fastest and greatest was during the 2nd century and 1st century BC, which was the period in which Roman political and economic power greatly increased. By the 2nd century, Roman technology appears to have peaked.

[edit] Roman implementation of technology

Whilst the Romans did not advance military technology significantly, they did adopt and implement it on a massive scale. From a few early models of ballista from Greek city-states the Romans adopted and improved the design, eventually issuing one to every century in the legions.

To facilitate this organization, an engineering corps was developed. An officer of engineers, or praefectus fabrum , is referenced in armies of the Late Republic , but this post is not verifiable in all accounts and may have simply been a military advisor on the personal staff of a commanding officer ^[1]. There were legion architects (whose rank is yet unknown) who were responsible for the construction of war machines who would also assure that all artillery constructions in the field were level. Ensuring that constructions were level was the job of the libratores , who would also launch missiles and other projectiles (on occasion) during battle ^[2]. The engineering corps was in charge of massive production, frequently prefabricating artillery and siege equipment to facilitate its transportation ^[3]