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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, auxiliaries, 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)

See:

• Structural history of the Roman military

The branches of the Roman military at the highest level were the Roman army and the Roman navy. Within these branches the actual structure was subject to substantial change throughout its history.

• Campaign history of the Roman military

Ancient Rome was a state whose history was often closely entwined with its military history over the roughly 13 centuries that the Roman state existed. The core of the Military campaigns of ancient Rome is the account of the Roman military's land battles, from the conquest of Italy to its fights against the Huns and invading Germanic tribes. Naval battles were largely less important, although there are notable exception during, for instance, the First Punic War and others.

The Roman army battled first against its tribal neighbours and Etruscan towns within Italy, and later came to dominate much of the land surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, including the provinces of Britannia and Asia Minor at the Empire's height.

• Technological history of the Roman military

From sticks and stones to ballistae and quinquiremes.

• Political history of the Roman military

From subjects of the state to subjects of the general.

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. Senators in the Republic competed fiercely for public office, the most coveted of which was the post of Consul. Two were elected each year to head the government of the state, and would be assigned a consular army and an area in which to campaign. From Gaius Marius and Sulla onwards, control of the army began to be tied in to the political ambitions of individuals, leading to the political triumvirate of the first century BC and its military resolution. The late Republic and Empire was increasingly plagued by usurpations led by or supported by the military, leading to the crisis of the third century in the late empire.