Information About ™Maniple (military Unit) |
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Maniple (Latin: ''manipulus'') was a tactical unit of the Roman Legion , consisting of two Centuria e within a single Cohort . It was also the name of the military insignia carried by such unit. Maniple members, seen as each others brothers in arms, were called ''commanipulares'' (singular Commanipularis), but without the domestic closeness of the much smaller Contubernium . HISTORICAL ORIGIN In 390 B.C., the Gauls sacked Rome after defeating the Roman Republican army at Allia River . One of the weaknesses of the Roman army that the Gauls had exposed was the inflexibility of their Hellenic style Phalanx Formation that they inherited from the Etruscans. To overcome this sort of limitation, the army was split up into subsets called Maniples (it translates roughly to English as 'handfuls') that could perform actions with more independence from one another. During the Roman Republic , the army was organized into three lines, the '' Hastati '', the '' Principes '', and the '' Triarii ''. Each of these lines was divided into maniples of 120, 120 and 60 men, respectively. Thus, the legion proper consisted of about 3,000 men. The three lines of infantry were divided by experience and fighting ability, with the youngest soldiers in the ''hastati'' making the first engagement. Where resistance was strong this rank would dissolve back through the Roman line and allow the more experienced soldiers in the ''principes'' to fight. In turn, the ''principes'' could yield to the hardened ''triarii'' if necessary. There were also very light troops called '' Velites ''. Armed with light armour and Javelin s, they stood in front of the line to launch missiles first and screen the army's formation and size from the eyes of the enemy, but then they moved off when the battle began. The velites were not separated into maniples. After the Marian Reforms of the legion, the maniple existed, but as sub-unit within the Cohort structure, with the cohort being the primary tactical unit, although cohorts could be broken down into maniples should the terrain or tactical situation call for smaller, more flexible units.
DRILL AND FIGHTING FORMATIONS No part of drill is more essential in action than for soldiers to keep their ranks with the greatest exactness, without opening or closing too much. Troops too much crowded can never fight as they ought, and only embarrass one another. If their order is too open and loose, they give the enemy an opportunity of penetrating. Whenever this happens and they are attacked in the rear, universal disorder and confusion are inevitable. Recruits should therefore be constantly in the field, drawn up by the roll and formed at REFERENCES A primary source for later Roman military organisation and tactics is ''Epitoma rei militaris'' (also referred to as De Re Militari ), by Flavius Vegetius Renatus
EXTERNAL LINKS # The Military Institutions of the Romans (De Re Militari) Translated from the Latin by Lieutenant John Clarke (1767) |
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