Hastati

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The Hastati (sing. Hastatus, from hasta) is an early type of Roman legionary. The weapons and tactics of the hastati were used during Rome's campaigns to secure its position in Italy and its conquests abroad.

1 Origin and History
- 1.1 Prior to 387 BC
- 1.2 387 BC And Onwards
2 Notes
3 References
- 3.1 Primary Sources
- 3.2 Secondary Sources
4 External links
5 See also

[edit] Origin and History

[edit] Prior to 387 BC

In their earliest form, the hastati were a type of spear unit carrying, as their primary weapon, a hasta, a short sword (gladius) as their secondary weapon for thrusting in close combat and an oval shield (aspis) for protection. Their armor consisted of the standard bronze helmet of the Roman Army at the time, decorated with large plumes, a bronze heart protector (breastplate), or chain. The soldiers armored themselves, buying whatever they could afford. Hastati were of the youngest soldiers some only boys of age 16 at their coming of age.

According to Polybius, there were normally 1,200 hastati in a legion. These were divided into 10 maniples, each of which was conventionally composed of 120 men. A maniple was composed of two centuries, each of which contained 60 men and had its own Centurion, standard-bearer and second-in-command. In theory a Legion was composed of 1,200 Velites, 1,200 Hastati, 1,200 Principes, 600 Triarii and 300 Equites. However, in practice a Legion could be significantly smaller due to casualties previously taken.

As the first battle line before the more seasoned principes (who in turn, preceded the oldest and the most seasoned triarii), the hastati were the first to be thrust into the heat of a battle, supported by the light-armoured auxiliary missile unit called the velites. Each individual Roman soldier within this unit was trained to wait for a chance to push the enemy's sword up with his shield and stab him in the torso. This maneuver would be repeated over and over, until a signal would be given to rotate the ranks.

There were typically seven lines of infantry, so for every few minutes spent on the line, a soldier could expect to have almost half an hour of rest before he once again faced the enemy. Compared to both barbarian peoples and Hellenic infantry in phalanx formation, the Roman soldier could stay in action much longer without suffering fatigue.

[edit] 387 BC And Onwards

The Roman soldiers at the time were organized in feudal fashion, gathered around whichever patrician had employed them. This lack of centralized leadership meant that the Roman front was hectic and often confusing, which made the broad front of the barbarians an even match for the more organized, but less well-led Romans.

The hastati fought in a tight regimented formation, which allowed marginally enough room for thrusting with short swords, (the hasta had been replaced by two throwing spears for throwing before actually fighting) as other weapons require surrounding space for the swing. The barbarians fought in hordes with enough space around each fighter to swing their long sword. This tactic was quite successful against the Hastati with small, relatively weak shields and less space for manoeuvering.

As a result, the hastati were proved ineffective during the Gallic invasion in 387 BC. The Gauls, led by Brennus, wielded longswords and attacked with cavalry and infantry wave assaults. This inadequacy prompted a military reform which saw changes in the way this unit was equipped. The hasta was replaced by two 4-foot long javelins with 9-inch tips (pila, singular pilum), which were thrown at the enemy within range to stop or slow down any infantry charge. The gladius now served as the primary melee weapon when the enemy infantry eventually managed to cross the battlefield to engage the shield wall of the hastati. Most of these innovations were derived from conflicts with the Spanish and Samnite peoples, whose weapons and tactics, when combined with Roman discipline, created a fearsome military machine.