Humans tend to be inherently violent in nature, competing for their needs in the society. Human history is filled with conflict. Some of that conflict takes place on a small level involving only a few people, sometimes the battle takes place within a single person's mind. But other conflicts span regions and can stretch on for decades. Ancient battles were not advanced and only depended of home crafted weapons like the spear, bow and arrow, falx and javelin, swords, spears, clubs, maces, axes, and knives. Catapults, siege towers, and battering rams were used during sieges. As we moved into the Bronze Age body armour began to appear as the smiths began working with this new metal, bronze helmets also began to make an appearance. Armor was not just limited to human soldiers but extended to their horses and elephants as well. The horse armor was made up of mail and plates or lamellae which covered the neck, chest, and hindquarters underneath which was some form of padding to keep it in place while a face plate protected the animal's face. The elephants, used as a battering ram or to break and trample enemy lines, were also donned in armor for battle. The elephant's head was covered by a steel mask and covered half of the trunk while the throat and sides were protected by lamellae armor while the tusks were tipped with sharp metal. The advent of gunpowder and the acceleration of technological advances led to modern warfare. The next important step for gunpowder came when it was inserted into the barrel of a handgun, which first appeared in the mid-15th century and was essentially a cannon shrunk down to portable size. Guns literally put weaponry into the hands of the individual, creating a new class of soldier; infantry and giving birth to the modern army. Gunpowder made warfare all over the world very different, affecting the way battles were fought and borders were drawn throughout the Middle Ages. This made states to have strong standing armies that were able to defend their territorial sovereignty against any external aggression. In order to be able to defend themselves, the armies had to be trained and equipped to be battle ready. By taking an example of the Roman army, it shows how well ready they were for battle.
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The Roman army was the largest and meanest fighting force in the ancient world. One of the main reasons Rome became so powerful was because of the strength of its army. It conquered a vast empire that stretched from Britain all the way to the Middle East. The army was very advanced for its time. The soldiers were the best trained, they had the best weapons and the best armour. The effectiveness of their attacks was due to training as in every case in any military that exists up to date. A Roman soldier was a well-trained fighting machine. He could march 20 miles a day, wearing all his armour and equipment. He could swim or cross rivers in boats, build bridges and smash his way into forts. After a long day’s march, Roman soldiers had to build a camp, complete with a ditch and a wall of wooden stakes. The next day, they had to do it all again. A Roman soldier almost always followed orders and anyone who didn't faced tough punishments. If you fell asleep on duty, you could be sentenced to death. Roman soldiers weren't always at war they spent most of their time training for battle. They practised fighting in formation and man-to-man. All this was to either deter another state from attacking it or to conquer other weaker states.
In comclusion, the ancient Roman army was superior to other armies due to its large size, skill, organisation, discipline and strategy. The ancient Roman army was so powerful and this is why Ancient Rome was able to grow so large and become the Roman Empire.
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