Hastati

The Hastati were a military unit of the heavy infantry during the Roman Empire .

Origins

Originally the Hastati were one of the five census classes in Rome's military line-up. At that time the civil rights and the assignment to the troops were defined by the income of the citizens. Depending on their income, the male citizens had to procure their own weapons and armor. The Roman legion at that time fought basically like the Greek phalanx , whose main weapon was a long thrusting lance, the hasta . The Hastati were the fewest and therefore the worst equipped soldiers of the main command of the Legion. Since they were mostly equipped with inferior weapons apart from the hasta and usually only had a small breastplate ( pectorale ) as body protection apart from a helmet and a round or oval shield ( Parma ) , they were hardly suitable for close combat after the clash of the battle lines and stood behind the fully armed Principes .

Early republic

In Republican times, the legions went from the fully closed phalanx formation to more variable tactics with formation in maniples and cohorts . The Hastati fighting style was already approaching that of the later legionaries. During most of the republican period the hasta disappeared from the Hastati equipment. They now wore the typical Roman tower shields ( scutum ), pectorals, two javelins ( pilum ), a short sword ( gladius ) and helmet (type Montefortino or Cassis ). But since the Hastati still had lighter body protection, they were more mobile and were now often used in the attack in the first assault and moved to the front row, in front of the Principes. After the first clash, the Hastati then retreated through the gaps in the battle formation behind the heavily armored units.

Late republic and imperial times

After the Marian reform in the 2nd century BC BC, the census division was given up and the equipment of the legionaries standardized. The Hastati were now the youngest and most inexperienced soldiers and were in the first ranks of the battle lineup in the now customary manipular line-up . The Hastati were no longer a separate branch of the army, but only a subdivision of the homogeneously equipped and trained legion. Most importantly, they were now the entry level of a career in the Legion. Recruits were first “transferred” to Hastati and then, depending on their experience and qualifications, to the Principes and Triarii .

Like the other legionaries, the Hastati were equipped with:

Two throwing skewers ( pilum )
Sword ( gladius later spathe )
( Dagger )
helmet
Body armor (especially chain mail ( Lorica Hamata ) and Lorica Segmentata )
sign

number

In the early republic, such as the Punic Wars , 1,200 Hastati were with each legion . Since the Late Republic, the Hastati made up a third of each legion.

literature

Marcus Junkelmann : The Legions of Augustus. The Roman soldier in an archaeological experiment (= cultural history of the ancient world . Vol. 33). 9th expanded edition. von Zabern, Mainz 2003, ISBN 3-8053-0886-8 .