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ManuelKrommenacker β Samnite Wars
#ambush #armor #army #battle #blood #combat #early #falcata #fight #hoplite #roman #rome #shields #soldier #swords #violence #warriors #wars #weapons #scutum #antic #antiquity #river #samnite
Published: 2019-05-18 16:06:07 +0000 UTC; Views: 50430; Favourites: 803; Downloads: 0
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Comments: 38
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I was absolutely impressed by the Samnites the first time I read about them in a book about Roman history by Issac Asimovmany years ago.Β
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I love the art. And I can't help but see a few ironies here. The fact these Romans are using a weapon in few centuries would abandon and later fear in Carthaginian and Lusitanian hands. That these men fought as individuals rather than a cohesive unit. That history repeats, they were Greek influenced from start to finish from City-state to Republic, to Empire to collapse (both times.) Still, great job.
And can't wait for the description of this scene.
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the Romans can say thank you to the Samnites, it is thanks that they conquered the world!
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Well the Romans' great strengths were their political system and their pragmatic view of warfare in every aspect (social, tactical, logistical and strategical....). It is true to say that early Roman military took much from the Samnite way of fighting and conducting war after the first conflicts with them.
Romans before that time fielded a clanky super-heavy hoplitic phalanx (with the big round Hoplon shield, called Clipeus by the Latins) and a tiny corps of heavy-cavalry made out of the wealthiest citizens, pretty much in the most archaic Greek fashion. This was even before the Camilian system based on the revenue of each citizens: either you had the revenue to be a fully equiped hoplite, either you didn't go to war, you couldn't access the cursus honorum, and you hadn't access to the loot (so no hope of getting richer). The Camilian system introduced the idea that different styles and amount of equipment were deemed adequate for each classes of revenue within the citizen pool, from the poor to the most wealthy (the poorest were still exempted of military service though). All these differently equiped classes were supposed to work together on the battlefield. This lead over the years to the classical velites/hastati/principes/triarii distinction within the Roman army. But this was a very slow process and several other classes of troops existed along (the Rorarii and Acensi, more or less heavily equiped, acting perhaps as reserves or servants) depending on the equipment they could bring on the mustering ground or the social specificities of these different groups of citizens. But the equipment of the Roman army didn't change in a day from an Hoplitic fashion to the Roman legionary. It was a very progressive transition.
Romans were surprised by how the Samnite fought in rough terrain, using manipular system, wielding swift shortswords along with lighter proto-scutum shields with horizontal grip (allowing them to carry several javelins in the left hand). All that while being more lightly protected in terms of armor, as they relied more on their agressive fighting style and tactial positioning. The Samnite proto-scutum shield (with several variants) is most probably born from tweaks made by the Samnites to the Celtic oval shield (this kind of metallic umbo and wooden reinforcement is typical of the Celts), as these people were in contact in Italy. The swords (ensis) used by the Samnites or the Latins were quite similar to those of the Greeks (Xiphos, Kopis) with some additions (the Gladius Hispaniensis was of use way more earlier than we think usually, there are direct written references of it in the early Rome, or some short swords of Celtic design).Β
The Romans acknowledged the tactical superiority of the Samnites by putting the manipular system in the center of their reforms, making their army far more flexible and easy to command, while allowing a lot more of independance and initiative to each manipule. Yet the equipment transition was more something tied to the less rich citizens being able to join the army within different classes of wealth. They just looked upon how the wars were fought then, while citizens a bit less wealthy than the Triarii picked a cheaper yet more effective Samnite style panoply, then the citizens from the class under copied this style while discarding a cuirass for a small pectoral protection or ditching the greaves and so on... The less favored citizens admitted still had to bring a couple of javelins (yet another Samnite/Celtic feature) and a knife, a small shield (Parma) for the most fortunate.
So yes, the Romans owe a lot to the Samnites in terms of warfare, but the Greeks faced the Samnites for as long as the Romans and yet never learned from it. The Romans simply never ceased to snatch effective things and tactics from their foes and adapt, transform them to their own advantage and almost all the time outperform these in their own design. In that way, the Romans don't have to thank anyone for anything, because they conquered the world thanks to their adaptability and pragmatism.Β
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Β I'd say that superb work of art says it all!Β
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Thanks a lot! Cheers!
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Β Thank You for posting your works to be appreciated!
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You should consider patreon so you get paid for the art, ya know, also, lots of historical book companies would prob kill to have such high quality art made for their books.
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I'm definitely considering the patreon option, my friend! Not sure how to contact publishers though, in my understanding of how things are handled is edition is that they task the art department to contract artists, but that's just my experience so far...
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Interesting that the Samnite Wars were 300 years before Julius Caesar, yet he would have been familiar with the weapons used then. That would compare to warfare of 1719 and the contrast with the weapons of our time.
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I wish it was!
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painting and digital mix!? Not bad. It's amazing!
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It's digital painting only
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I would soooooo watch a film about this. Always wanted to see the triarii in action.
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Yes, though the early times of the Roman Republic is unfortunately not what appeals the most to the public! While films about the Civil Wars and the Empire are countless! I would love such a setting as well.
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But I hope we get such. Especially about the Kingdom of Rome and the early Roman Republic.
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Awesome job! It's nice to see some artwork about the Samnite Wars.Β
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Thanks a lot! Yes not something that much covered I figured...
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If somehow they manage to survive and escape this one!Β
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Thanks! I'm glad you're feeling it somehow!
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