Revisionist History of Roman Legions

Revisionist History History today can be either greatly exaggerated or underrated by movies and other presentations of major events in history. Movies give an account of the historical past a “Hollywoodized” look to make the viewer more fascinated and entertained by the story. Movies such as Centurion, Last Legion, and The Eagle are in fault “Hollywoodizing” the historical factors and truth. The theme behind the given movies is the mysterious Ninth Legion, and how this legion seemed to vanish from record (historical and archaeological) in AD 108. “Modern scholars can be credited with developing the story that this legion was destroyed and then ignominiously forgotten, likely sometime during either the reign of Trajan or Hadrian.” Whether defeated, disappeared, or complete annihilation of Rome’s Ninth Legion stationed in Britain the military would not leave it to ruin.
A station that has been defeated would gather up their skirts and retaliate; they would not let a legion’s destruction go unpunished, Romans were not known to back down from a fight. They were most commonly instigators and would definitely not try to hide or run away from a defeat. Multiple situations and battles during Roman history prove their military’s persistence and their ability to overcome a defeat and retaliate. Historical sources relate that in 390 BC, several Gallic tribes from Transalpine Gaul region invaded Italy from the north. Rome was then attacked and destroyed. In the event of an ambush or a major defeat of the Roman army, news of the account would be immediately sent to surrounding campaigns, to Rome, as well as other cities. In turn the camps and the cities would send aid to the fallen legion, and attack the enemy. In this case the citizens who left for protection manage to raise an army under Camillus. The military waited until the Gauls divided their army in order to obtain food while the other half was left to keep the city secure. The Gaulish army collecting food was destroyed making the left standing army in Rome easy to kill. In other words Camillus used the placement of the Gauls strategically to defeat them and take back their city.
During the greater part of Roman’s history was their attention on expanding their empire. Legions were set in place to protect the barrier/boundary of Roman Empire, and they controlled the boarders. If one was to be defeated, the enemies creating a threat of invasion in the empire would be put in their place. The military would advance to the area in question and plan an attack. This idea was behind the first of the Punic Wars. Carthage, Syracuse and Rome all sought to control Massena, Sicily for trade and material goods. Rome was looking to expand its boarders as well as using Sicily to export its wealth and trade, placing Massena under Roman protection. This action caused the leading to the Punic Wars. With the empire expanding and provinces are being created and wealth is being sifted into the Roman treasury. Rome begins to receive more money as a way to pay tribute from other provinces and people start ‘donating’ (so to speak) able bodied men to join the legions, which in made it easy to raise armies and campaign.1 Rome’s refusal to run away from a fight and hid was their advantage in military reforms, which practice new tactics and strategies to become better than their opponent. After the sack of Rome by the Gauls, Rome engaged in military campaign of a yearly basis and created the main military unit of group of legions. Fallowing this war military tactics changed, and moved away from the Greek Phalanx style of fighting, instead adopted weaponry closer resemblance to the Gauls, as well as their ability to cross vast distances with speed. The legions were tough; they trained to march for long distances while carrying not only enough food for two weeks, but also their heavy armor, a shield, helmet, two javelins, a dagger, and a short sword.2 The difficulty between the military advantaged of Carthage and Rome was Carthage’s strong navy and Rome’s strong infantry. With Carthage’s upper hand to reach the shores of Italy faster the Roman military had to adapt and change tactics. Rome began building warships and developed a boarding advice corvus, turning the naval battle into an infantry battle. Roman’s legions were organized, strong and disciplined. They were well trained to come up against any conditions they had to face. They were able to adapt strategies and tactics, the adopted styles of fighting from opponents who were lucky enough to overcome them and perfected it. A strong military is nothing without its commanders or generals to lead. Emperors would ensure the legions fierce training by personal inspecting and staying with the camp, such as Trajan and Hadrian. Hadrian visited camps to ensure discipline, but also continued military reforms, and created a distinction between the legions and auxiliary.
The mystery behind a disappearing legion can be labeled as ridiculous in the sense of the Roman army’s nature to be fierce and at times honorable. Throughout history, sources inform that Romans where never seen to be cowards but used influence of others (Greeks and Carthaginians) to aid in their already strong and over powering military. They were able to adapt strategically and tactically to better themselves to overcome enemies while keeping their boarders and home safe from threatening invaders. From reforms, the legions were able to come as aid for fellow foreign allies, or take revenge on those who were in the wrong. From expansion the empire Romans military grew dramatically in numbers. Rome’s military defeated many in its history and can be considered one of the best. Men were not only protecting their brothers in arms, but also their empire, they were warriors who never backed down from a threat or a fight.
Bibliography

Crookham, Alan. The Power of the Roman Army, Yahoo Contributor Network, Nov 27, 2007 http://voices.yahoo.com/the-power-roman-army-664193.html Gray, David E., Why was the Roman Army so Dominate in the Ancient World? Yahoo Contributor Network Oct 16, 2008
Http://voices.yahoo.com/why-was-roman-army-so-dominate-ancient-1907600.html?cat=41

Valdivielso, Michael. Fall of Rome, Visitor Contributions Articles written by Visitors to the Site. http://www.roman-empire.net/articles/article-003.html