Triarii (TWR2 Unit)
Wealth, experience and age make these battle-hardened veterans a fearsome force.
Overview
During the 4th Century BC the Romans abandoned the phalanx in favour of an army of hastati, principes and triarii. These were deployed in maniples: compact blocks of men, laid out in a checkerboard formation. This allowed flexibility moving across a battlefield, particularly when compared to a solid phalanx.
Like most sophisticated city-states in the ancient world, Rome expected its men to fight, and supply their own war gear when they did so. A cynical observer might be tempted to note that the manipular legion also made sure that the hierarchy of Rome was preserved. The youngest and least wealthy became hastati, the first line of battle in a Roman legion. Behind them came the second line of principes, older and richer men, and finally the triarii, the third line of the most experienced warriors. “Going to the triarii” was a Roman saying in all kind of situations, implying that everything else had been tried and found wanting.