The Socii also brought with them elite troops called the Pedites Extraordinarii who made up one-fifth of their infantry, and the Equites Extraoridinarii who made up one-third of the Allied cavalry.Ī typical Manipular legion would consist of 4,200 infantry and 600 cavalry. Historically, there isn't any evidence to suggest they fought or were equiped differently from their Roman counterparts. For every legion that Rome levied, their Latin allies matched it in size. The Leves and Acensi were also combined into a single class of skirmishers called the Velites.Ī Consular Army at the time would consist of 2 Roman legions and 2 Socii (Allied) legions, led by two consuls who rotated command. Some notable changes between the Polybian Army and the Camillan Army which preceded include: Hastati and Principes fought with the gladius instead of the hasta, the Triarii carried the scutum instead of the hoplite shield, and infantry classification was based on age and experience instead of wealth. The Polybian Legion was eponymously named after the Greek historian Polybius who described the Roman army during this time period.