The greatest story in the world, period 2 (of 3) : $b The further story of the Old World up to the discovery of the New — John Shaqi
The greatest story in the world, period 2 (of 3) : $b The further story of the Old World up to the discovery of the NewHutchinson, Horace G. (Horace Gordon)
History
The greatest story in the world, period 2 (of 3) : $b The further story of the Old World up to the discovery of the New
Hutchinson, Horace G. (Horace Gordon)
World history
given first; then to all Italian free men; and soon it was extended
widely through the Empire. We notice how St. Paul, at Cæsarea,
claimed his right, as a free man of the Empire, to make appeal to the
Emperor himself at Rome, and how that right could not be disallowed.
Now one of the rights that "citizenship" had carried with it in the
early days was the right, and the duty, of being called up for
military service in defence of the Empire and to fight its foes. The
"legion" about which we hear so much in this great story, first came
into existence in this way. It was a collection (the word "legion"
itself is a form of the last two syllables of col-"lection") of the
citizens to fight for their city.
As the Republic grew and began to take possession of more and more
lands far away from its centre, there was need of armies of quite a
different kind from this. The citizens of the first legion went on
military service, when called upon; but they looked forward to going
back to their farms, or whatever their business was, as soon as the
fighting was over. The increasing power of the Republic and the
increase of the territory and peoples over which it ruled, made it
necessary that the government at Rome should have an army, or several
armies, ready to take the field when required. {10} And thus a Roman
"standing army," as we should call it, came into existence; its
soldiers were men who had no other business than soldiery; the
military life was their profession, by which they earned their
livelihood.
But the name of legion was still used, although it was used for
something very different from that to which the name had been given
at first. It grew to be used for what we might call "a division," of
an army. The number of soldiers in a legion differed slightly from
time to time, but for the most part it was about 6,000, nearly all
foot-soldiers. They were heavily armed, with heavy throwing spears,
short, double-edged swords and long thrusting spears. Their general
way of battle was to discharge the throwing spears in a volley and
then to charge in and destroy the enemy, already sorely vexed by the
heavy javelins, with the short swords.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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