Triarii
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The Triarii is a type of Roman legionary.
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[edit] Origins
The Triarii (Latin singular triarius) was the third standard line of infantry of the Roman Republic's army and perhaps the greatest fighters pre-Republican generals had at their command. Its name is related to the Latin word tres ("three"), ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *trei-. When suffering defeat, the first and second lines, the Hastati and Principes, fell back on the Triarii to attempt to reform the line and allow for a counterattack or withdrawal of the other lines. Because falling back on the Triarii was an act of desperation, "falling on the Triarii" ("ad triarios rediisse") became a common Roman phrase indicating one was in a desperate situation. To be the officer of the triarii was an honor. It made the individual one of the best men in the legion. A triarii officer's pay would be superior to the other middle-class officers and he would be given a horse for the long marches, which was quite important.
Unlike the Principes and Hastati, by the time of Polybius a legion contained only 600 Triarii. These were divided into 10 maniples of 60 men and each maniple was sub divided two centuries of 30 men. The Triarii were the veterans of the Roman army, making them perfectly suited for reinforcing the two front lines of the formation which were Hastati and Principes. They were armored much like the rest of the Roman Republican army, with whatever they could afford (typically more than the poorer Hastati and Principes).
When the Principes and Hastati of the Republican army were rearmed with javelins, the Triarii retained their long spears and scuta and continued to fight as a phalanx. If the initial attacks of the javelin- and sword-armed troops could not break an enemy, the Triarii served as a strong point around which the army would regroup (in the same manner as in much later centuries squares of musketmen were to provide a defensive screen for reforming cavalrymen). They also were responsible for holding off cavalry charges with their spears. Although relatively often the Triarii were not deployed on the battlefield at all, but were left to guard the camp.
The term Triarii, together with the terms Principes and Hastati, survived into Imperial times, each denoting a third part of a cohort. However, by this time these names were merely honorific, the cohort being uniformly armed and equipped.
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
[edit] Primary sources
none
[edit] Secondary sources
- Connolly, Peter (1998). Greece and Rome at War. London: Greenhill Books. ISBN 185367303X.
- Goldsworthy, Adrian (2003). The Complete Roman Army. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05124-0.
