Peasants

The last option of any desperate army (except perhaps slaves or convicts), peasants are good for increasing your numbers...and not much else. Poorly armed and with little military experience, their morale and discipline are both understandably low. They are cheap to train, however, and their one advantage is an ability to hide well. Peasants should be used as an absolute last resort, or in cases where funds are extremely short.



Town Watch

As the name suggests, the town watch is more of a sentry force than anything else. A militia made up of local townspeople, it is poorly-armed and largely useless against any competent troops. However, when one considers the immense advantages given to the defender in the siege of any fortified town, it is obvious that even the watch can hold off enemies for a substantial amount of time. They are also useful for keeping peasants in line, as can be necessary in towns that have recently been captured, and are not yet entirely resigned to your rule


Velites

The lightly-armed velites, or skirmishers, were the fourth part of the Republican legion. They were also the poorest, as they could not afford even an infantryman’s equipment, but instead were armed only with throwing javelins, which they flung at the enemy before the lines of infantry met. Velites were occasionally used to significant effect, as at Zama where Scipio Africanus used their javelins to drive away charging Carthaginian elephants. Velites disappeared after the Marian reforms, which made the legion a professional army in which men did not have to pay for their own weapons.


Archers

Archers were used more widely by some cultures than others. The Romans, amongst almost all the peoples of the ancient world, were prominent in their disdain for archers (and indeed for almost any kind of ranged weapons). Nevertheless, archers are sometimes necessary (particularly, for example, in sieges), and the legions therefore recruited them from amongst the poorer sections of society, and from allies. They are not armoured and thus almost useless in hand-to-hand combat.

Hastati

The Roman legion was made up of three kinds of infantry, the first of which were the hastati. Normally the youngest men of the legion, they were armed with two throwing javelins (pila – of shorter range than those of velites) and a sword. As they were less experienced than the other two lines of infantry, and also went into battle first (being in front), they often suffered the heaviest casualties. Those who survived the hastati were eminently qualified to move on to the more experienced principes.




Principes

These principes were normally men slightly older, in their 20s perhaps. They were, as mentioned before, more experience, and as such were expected to shift the tide of the battle, after the hastati in front of them had worn down the enemy. They also carried two pila and a sword. Like the other two lines, they had an oval shield called a scutum.

Triarii

The cream of the legion, the triarii was made up of men approaching middle age. These hardened veterans were literally the toughest infantry you could find in the ancient world. The triarii, behind the other two lines of infantry, were not always required to go into battle, but when they did, their enemies had reason to be worried. These men carried a long thrusting spear and a sword. Being richer, they could also afford better equipment. There were also less of them than of the other two lines.




Light Auxilia

When a Roman legion went to war, it normally had a roughly equal number of allied troops accompanying it. They were known as auxiliaries. The lightest-armed troops amongst these allies were roughly equivalent to Roman velites, playing a primarily skirmishing role. They carried throwing javelins. Being both light troops and non-Romans, they were quite often used as cannon fodder by Roman commanders.

Auxilia

As the light auxiliaries corresponded to Roman velites, the auxiliary infantry corresponded to the Roman legionnaires, although they were perhaps not as skilled. Often deployed on the flanks of the citizen troops, they again could expect to be sacrificed if necessary. Nevertheless, these troops were by no means incompetent, and the outcome of more than one Roman battle could have been swayed by them. In the later days of the Republic they were rewarded for their service with citizenship


Early Professional Legionnaire

After centuries of Roman infantry dominance on the battlefield, one almost feels compelled to ask how Marius’ reforms could possibly have made the legion any stronger. Yet they definitely had a substantial impact, and the Roman legionnaire of the late Republic/early Empire was truly a force to be reckoned with. They were no longer divided into hastati/principes/triarii according to the equipment they could afford, but instead had their arms provided by the Roman army, and served 20 year terms, unlike in earlier days, when armies were levied only during wars.


Incendiary Pigs

This is the unit that everyone has been talking about. The Romans employed groups of pigs, coated in tar and oil and then set on fire, as a sort of primitive artillery. Apart from scaring elephants and horses, they could be useful in disrupting infantry formations. Obviously, the pigs did not survive for very long after being set on fire...




Equites

Service in the Roman legions depended largely on one economic standing. While the infantry was made up of those who merely owned land (and not even that, after the reforms of Marius), the cavalry consisted of people from the equestrian class – the ‘knights’ who could afford their own horses and weapons, and who in peacetime were often the businessmen of the middle class. Armed with spears, they were useful for ambushes, for pressuring the enemy flanks, and – more importantly than is often realized – for chasing a fleeing enemy and cutting men down before they could escape.


Praetorians

Although the historical Praetorian Guard was an elite unit specifically tasked with protecting the person of the Emperor (which means they took part in more assassinations than anyone else), we can forgive the creators of Rome: Total War for taking some liberties with these units, for had they not, we would not be able to use Praetorian infantry in battle. And that would be a shame, for these are the best of the best, possibly the strongest infantry available in this game.





War Dogs

Used occasionally in battle by various nations, these dogs were deliberately starved to make them all the more fierce (and hungry!). They were trained to target horse’s hamstrings and therefore could be used against either infantry or cavalry. Although they were obviously never used on the scale possible in the game, they could be a fairly formidable deterrent to any group of infantry.



Roman Cavalry

These Roman cavalry were almost always the richest segments of society, or the sons of aristocrats. In battle, the commanding general always rode with the citizen cavalry. Because of this, they were often incompetent nobles who served in the army only to further their political careers. Nevertheless, the cavalry could be brave, and a fierce charge could on occasion turn the tide of a battle. They were organized into ten turmae of thirty horses each.




Ballista, Scorpion, Repeating Ballista

Staple of RTS games, the ballista reappears once more in Rome: Total War. It is much like a giant bow, the bolt being fired due to tension built up in twisted animal sinews. Ballistae can be used to punch holes in walls, or against concentrated enemy troops – although it may be hard to hit men with a projectile that is almost the same size as them. A scorpion is very similar to a ballista (in Rome: Total War, at least). It also fires projectiles, and is subject to the same constraints as ballistae. It can be thought of as an upgrade of sorts. The repeating ballista is exactly what its name suggests.
Onager

An onager, unlike a ballista, worked similarly to a catapult. These machines could be used to hurl projectiles up to half a mile (with the larger versions). The Roman used them in many different ways: large boulders were flung at walls to help bring them down; many smaller rocks were used against enemy troops as a sort of shrapnel; various burning projectiles were used to try and spread fire; and diseased animal carcasses were flung into the enemy-held city to spread disease.
General’s Bodyguard

A bodyguard was, historically speaking, a functional unit, rather than a type of soldier. In the game, however, they are spear-armed shock cavalry, whose success or failure depends to a large extent on the personal characteristics of the general who they are guarding – his effect on their morale, for example, or on their discipline, will play a large role in determining how they fight. They are in all cases excellent troops.