The Roman Army During the Punic Wars

May 15, 2008 - PRLog -- During the Second Punic War and in the decades that followed, Roman armies were stationed in many places, often distant from Rome. Since Roman political and military leadership was closely tied to the tenure of a limited number of annual offices, these far flung campaigns put great burdens on offices and officeholders. First, the number of armies often exceeded the number of consuls and praetors, Rome’s traditional military commanders. Then, some assigned areas of operations were so far from Rome that the time needed for commanders and armies to travel there reduced the amount of actual campaigning which could be undertaken during the magistrate’s year in office. Last but not least, generals operating in ever more distant the¬aters of operation gained greater freedom of action, because they were increasingly far away from observation by other magistrates and by the senate.

Some of these difficulties were met by increasing the number of high officials. During the closing stages of the First Punic War, Roman assemblies elected not only two consuls but also two praetors annually. After the end of that war, the Romans expelled the Carthaginians from Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. Accordingly in 227, Roman voters began to choose two additional praetors to serve as commanders in Sicily and Sardinia respectively, an apparent recognition of the regular need for officials to watch over Roman interests there. After the Second Punic War, the number of praetors was again increased by two to provide leaders for Roman forces in Spain. Within a few years, this arrangement too was modified, and it became the practice to elect four praetors one year, then six the next, alternately. In fact this number of consuls and praetors still did not suffice to provide commanders for all Rome’s armies, but nevertheless expansion of the number of officeholders ceased until the first century B.C. Tenure in these offices, after all, was the primary route to fame and glory, and to continue increasing the number of occupants meant diluting their prestige markedly. To meet the increased demand for commanders, the Romans also resorted to extending the terms of some officials, a procedure known as “prorogation.”

During the Second Punic War, when the need for commanders was high, the practice became more common, and commands were sometimes extended for a year or more. After the war, prorogation became a regular practice. Prorogued officials had a different legal status from those actually in their year of office, and they had no authority in Rome itself, where they held no magisterial rank. Commands were extended in one of two ways. Sometimes, voting assemblies extended the commands of serving officials, or even assigned provinces to private citizens, where they were to serve as promagistrates; on other occasions, the senate did likewise on its own authority. During and after the Second Punic War, it was most common for the senate to act.
More generally in the late third and second centuries, the senate took the lead in the conduct of wars and diplomacy. It received ambassadors from other states and listened to their statements. From time to time, it chose some of its own members to serve as legates (legati; singular, legatus) to go on embassies outside of Italy, or to advise a governor who was winding up a major campaign. The senate also took the primary responsibility for assigning duties to officials.


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