28:
468:
546:
roughly two thirds of all archers were on foot and one third were horse archers. Mercenary foot archers already served with the Roman republican army, but horse archers were only introduced after the Romans came into conflict with
Eastern armies that relied heavily on
563:. Since the time of Augustus however, Romans and Italians were also levied as dedicated archers. In the early 1st century BC horse archers were already in widespread use and even supported Roman campaigns against the Germanic tribes in the
628:, the main effective field arm of Roman armies was cavalry, many of them armed with bows. After the fall of the Western empire, Eastern Roman armies maintained their tradition of horse archery for centuries.
615:
were. The use of bows as primary weapons probably originated in the East in the later 4th and earlier 5th centuries to help the Roman army counter
Persian and Hunnic bow-armed cavalry.
496:
755:
704:
Coulston, J.C. "Roman
Archery Equipment. The Production and Distribution of Roman Military Equipment". Ed. M.C. Bishop. Oxford: B.A.R. International Series, 1985. pp. 202-366.
489:
274:
170:
607:, were in the Eastern empire or in Africa. Possibly some of the other cavalry regiments there carried bows as back-up weapons, but were not the dedicated
86:
62:
228:
482:
148:
737:
589:
By the 5th century, there were numerous Roman cavalry regiments trained to use the bow as a supplement to their swords and lances, but the
730:
637:
586:
tradition. It has been suggested that most Roman composite bows may have been asymmetric, with lower limbs shorter than the upper.
374:
36:
673:
Jeffrey L. Davies: "Roman
Arrowheads from Dinorben and the 'Sagittarii' of the Roman Army", Britannia, Vol. 8. (1977), pp. 257-270.
52:
130:
244:
205:
156:
725:
Roman
Military Equipment from the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome (Paperback). M.C. Bishop, J.C. Coulston. Oxbow Books 2005.
642:
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81:
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Pallas armata, Military essayes of the ancient
Grecian, Roman, and modern art of war vvritten in the years 1670 and 1671
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appear to have used the bow as their primary rather than supplemental weapon. According to the
733:
726:
560:
448:
314:
303:
530:
in the title of an infantry or cavalry unit indicated a specialized archer regiment. Regular
425:
414:
329:
48:
608:
552:
548:
419:
397:
340:
564:
434:
404:
365:
749:
571:
409:
381:
309:
535:
319:
210:
713:
543:
539:
350:
125:
115:
71:
570:
The normal weapon of Roman archers, both infantry and cavalry units, was the
619:
335:
583:
575:
582:" (with wooden bows), which may have been made in the northern European
100:
523:
190:
669:
667:
686:. London: Printed by M.W. for Richard Chiswell (1615-1686). p. 47
661:
G. L. Cheesman: "Auxilia of the Roman
Imperial Army", (1914)
716:
Vegetius, Epitoma rei militaris, book 1, chapter 15
756:Infantry units and formations of ancient Rome
490:
8:
714:http://www.intratext.com/IXT/LAT0189/_PG.HTM
555:, whose mounted archers were decisive for
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483:
279:
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175:
67:
22:
551:in the 1st century BC, most notably the
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114:
70:
43:
7:
542:during the early empire. During the
14:
638:Roman military personal equipment
466:
26:
578:recommended training recruits "
1:
643:List of Roman army unit types
622:'s histories and Maurikios's
361:Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes
275:Frontiers and fortifications
18:Sagittarius (disambiguation)
87:Decorations and punishments
772:
682:Knight, Sir James Turner.
15:
522:) is the Latin term for
390:Claustra Alpium Iuliarum
375:Danube–Iller–Rhine Limes
45:Military of ancient Rome
559:'s major defeat in the
516:(Latin, plural form of
473:Ancient Rome portal
695:Tacitus, Annales 2.16
356:Neckar-Odenwald Limes
171:Technological history
346:Lower Germanic Limes
245:Strategy and tactics
180:Military engineering
82:Unit types and ranks
16:For other uses, see
341:Lauter Valley Limes
605:equites sagittarii
596:Notitia Dignitatum
534:units of foot and
442:Limes Tripolitanus
63:Structural history
738:978-1-84217-159-2
561:Battle of Carrhae
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458:
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449:Limes Mauretaniae
304:Limes Britannicus
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229:Political history
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618:By the time of
609:mounted archers
580:arcubus ligneis
549:mounted archery
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426:Limes Sarmatiae
420:Anastasian Wall
398:Pannonian Limes
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366:Wetterau Limes
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603:, especially
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536:horse archers
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528:sagittariorum
525:
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415:Trajan's Wall
413:
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410:Limes Moesiae
408:
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382:Norican Limes
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625:Strategikon
574:, although
526:. The term
519:sagittarius
320:Saxon Shore
649:References
613:sagittarii
601:sagittarii
591:sagittarii
544:Principate
540:Roman army
513:Sagittarii
351:Main Limes
620:Procopius
611:that the
553:Parthians
532:auxiliary
336:Alb Limes
750:Category
632:See also
584:self bow
576:Vegetius
131:Admirals
106:Generals
37:a series
35:Part of
557:Crassus
524:archers
101:Auxilia
92:Legions
736:
729:
234:
191:Castra
126:Fleets
53:AD 476
49:753 BC
39:on the
294:Walls
288:Limes
211:Roads
734:ISBN
727:ISBN
116:Navy
72:Army
752::
666:^
567:.
51:–
498:e
491:t
484:v
20:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.