I know the title doesn’t really make sense so let me explain here what I’m asking. Prior to the military reforms of Gaius Marius in 107 BC the Roman Republic armies fought in a very simple yet ingenious way. At this time Roman soldiers were expected to pay for their own weapons & equipment so wealth pretty much dictated which line a man fought in. At the very front of the battle lines were the “velites”. These were the new, young, inexperienced recruits who also happened to be from poor families. They were lightly armed (too poor) but they could move quickly while armed with throwing “darts” called hastae velitares. When the enemy got close the velites would throw their darts (lest they miss out on glory!) then run behind the men behind them. The Hastatii. The “Hastati” were the real “front lines” in the sense that they were meant to fight hand to hand and hold their ground. Like the Velites they were also young, poor and inexperienced but not quite as young and poor and they were armed with a gladius short sword & scutum (shield). Now if the Hastati were overwhelmed by the enemy forces they would retreat behind the “Principes”. The Principes were older, veteran soldiers with experience and had a bit more money and slightly better equipment. Finally if even the Principes were overwhelmed they would retreat behind the last group the “Triarii”. The Triarii were the cream of the crop. They were wealthy (yet not wealthy enough to be part of the “equites”/cavalry) battle hardened veterans in their prime who were both well armed with spear & sword and well equipped with armor & shield. By the time the Triarii entered the fight the enemy was usually exhausted and were quickly mopped up. At this point the Roman Army resembled something similar to a phalanx due to the previous lines all retreating behind each other. There was even a phrase in Ancient Rome “it comes down to the Triarii” which meant carrying on to the bitter end. Apologies for writing so much but I’ve finally come to my question. Does anyone know of any coinage that depicts the maniple system before the Marian reforms? I would love to pick up a coin depicting soldiers in this formation.
