Who Was Ancient Romes Greatest General?

[Minister of Truth]

You just like running around in a gladiator suit.

Yes.

 

[Damocles]

I like Agrippa, beating Mark Antony and Cleopatra's armies was no mean feat. And many of his victories were credited to others, he was very good and undervalued most of the time.

 

[uscitizen]

Yes.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

the show rome is like one of the best ever and now they are going to make a movie out of it it's going to be siiiiiiick

I've only seen an odd episode or two of Rome. I was impressed with it's historical accuracy.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Oh, mine isn't on your list, but he was poetic...Aerelius

Look closer my littel amphibian friend.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Siezer must be your #4. Any higher and you would have spelled his name correctly!

Ngeeek...guilty as charged. Caesar. I meant Caesar!

 

[Mott the Hoople]

I like Agrippa, beating Mark Antony and Cleopatra's armies was no mean feat. And many of his victories were credited to others, he was very good and undervalued most of the time.

He and Octavian proved an unbeatable duo. Though Personally I think defeating Sextus Pompey and his group of Pirates in Sicily and the pacification of Illyricum were greater accomplishments than defeating Antony at Actium though Actium was more significant from a political stand point. Actium was really more of an Antonian debacle. You are right though, about his not recieving his share of the credit, most of that went to Octavian who was hopeless as a general. Agripps actually turned down a number of oppurtunities to Triumph so that he would not diminish Octavians (Augustus) light with the Roman public.

The thing that was amazing about Agrippa was though he was not a universal genius like Caesar he was competent at just about everything he put his hand to. From generaling, to civil engineering, to crafting laws and legislating, to governing and civil administration he performed brilliantly all the while he never considered competing with Augustus for supreme power.

 

[Epicurus]

This really isn't even debatable unless you narrow the parameters.

Gaius Marius is inarguably Rome's "greatest" general in terms of legacy, power, and impact. His reforms staved off bankruptcy, at least for a while, and preserved the Empire long past when it probably should have fallen.

You could argue that some generals were better battlefield commanders or won more prestigious victories, but it's unquestionable that Gaius Marius was the Greatest.

 

[Minister of Truth]

This really isn't even debatable unless you narrow the parameters.

Gaius Marius is inarguably Rome's "greatest" general in terms of legacy, power, and impact. His reforms staved off bankruptcy, at least for a while, and preserved the Empire long past when it probably should have fallen.

You could argue that some generals were better battlefield commanders or won more prestigious victories, but it's unquestionable that Gaius Marius was the Greatest.

Yeah, I think its skill on the battlefield and victories. I didn't take politics or anything else into account...

 

[Mott the Hoople]

This really isn't even debatable unless you narrow the parameters.

Gaius Marius is inarguably Rome's "greatest" general in terms of legacy, power, and impact. His reforms staved off bankruptcy, at least for a while, and preserved the Empire long past when it probably should have fallen.

You could argue that some generals were better battlefield commanders or won more prestigious victories, but it's unquestionable that Gaius Marius was the Greatest.

You mean the Roman Republic don't you? Marius was dead by the time of the Imperium. I tend to agree with you. Marius's reforms turned the Roman military from the greatest in the medditeranean region to the greatest on the planet. I agree with you that, politically speaking, Marius's reforms saved the Republic for a time but the consequences of his reforms eventually doomed the Republic. If it were not for Marius's reforms Sulla would not and could not have marched on Rome to seize command of the Mithridatic war, which was the beginning of the end of the Roman Republic.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Yeah, I think its skill on the battlefield and victories. I didn't take politics or anything else into account...

Well Marius had those too. Very few Roman victories in battle were of the magnitude of Aqua Sextae or Vercellae against the Germanic hordes.

Aqua Sextae is particularly impressive in that prior to it 3 huge Roman army's had gone down to defeat to the German hordes. Marius took on a force of nearly a quarter of a million barbarians with a mere 40,000 legionaries and crushed them at Aqua Sextae. More than 120,000 Germanic barbarians were killed and most of the rest taken prisoner and sold into slavery.

That's really the amazing thing about the ancient Roman legions. Time and time again you read about them going up against army's 4 or 5 or even 10 times larger than their forcec and the Romans would run military circles around them. Not just barbarians either. They did it time and again against Eastern powers and the Greeks and Macedonians who damned well knew how to fight a war.

 

[Cancel5]

I have always been a Roman history lover!

 

[Cancel5]

Lots of good reading on Rome. I find the Republican era most interesting.

Thanks, were you a fan of the series? I own both seasons.

 

[Cancel5]

I've only seen an odd episode or two of Rome. I was impressed with it's historical accuracy.

Oh, that answers my question, the history wasn't good, but the series was entertaining.

 

[Cancel5]

do you honestly think everyone here is well versed in roman generals? Or was this thread just an excuse for you to go "look how i know the names of roman generals"

caesar seems pretty important considering he conquered gaul (I think) and made rome into the super power it was at the time.

It is a good way to get educated!

 

[Cancel5]

Not true. You say the same thing when you gay around on sports threads. We heterosexual men enjoy our Roman military history...

Ahahahaha, it makes you so manly!!!!!

 

[FUCK THE POLICE]

This thread fails.

Nice job mottleytard.

 

[Annie]

I don't care if everyone is or is not versed on Roman military history you snarky cynic. I thought it would be interesting to discuss. Particularly in a forum title "Anything goes".

I think you mistake who was the greatest Roman general with who was Rome's greatest man (Statesman/Politicians). All the listed were both Generals and Statesman.

For example Marius was IMHO a better general than Caesar by a small margin but Caesar was by far a greater Politician and Statesman than Marius was. On the other hand Augustus was probably Rome's greatest politican/statesman though not much of a military man. No Roman though was as great at both as Caesar was.

Most of Caesar's greatest millitary accomplishments came against the Gauls of modern day France. They were backwards barbarians who could only euphamistically be called civilized. They were, in short, a weak foe. Hell Caesars greatest Military accomplishment wasn't conquering the Gauls. It was civilizing them!

I agree. I went with Julius. He may have learned from Marius, but was able to capitalize on it. Which makes him not only a great general, but also politician. Of course there was that problem with the Ides and the Senate.

 

[KingCondanomation]

My vote goes for Gaius Marius. Marius was not really noted for conqeuring huge new territories as other Roman generals did. But Marius did save Rome from destruction when Italy was invaded by a massive horde of Germanic barbarians (nearly a million of them) at a time when Italy's and Romes manpower reserves were at a historic low due to the huge losses of life of soldiers lead by incompetant aristocratic Roman generals.

Marius mainly gets my votes for three reasons. He saved the Republic from Destruction. He reformed the legions into what became the professional legions of the late Republic and the Empire (Imperium). He got rid of the Maniple as a battle formation and implemented the cohort. He got rid of the triari system, he got rid of a large part of baggage trains and forced soldiers to carry heavier loads resulting in an army that could move faster because it was not slowed down by a baggage train. But his biggest reform was to allow the non-propertied poor to enlist in the legions as a career. All these reforms profesionalized the Roman legions and made them the most efficient and feared military machine of it's eral (and for nearly 500 years after).

Marius was also the mentor of both Sulla, who was his legate and Julius Ceasar who was his nephew. Much of what Ceaser learned about strategy he learned sitting on Marius's lap as a child and adolescent.

When you said Fabius Maximus Truncator, I'm going to assume you meant Quintus Fabius Maximus. If so then that is my choice.
He is what Fabian tactics come from and his strategy of being very careful in wearing down Hannibal, attacking supply chains was exactly what was needed given the 2 preceding disasters of Rome trying to engage Hannibal in pitched battles and then Cannae which was even worse.
I've always thought Scipio Africanus got far too much credit for engaging and beating Hannibal whose army was worn down from 15 years of Fabian harassing it. He was wise enough to realize that war can be won from time rather than battle strategy, depending on the circumstances.

Marius was a competent general but does anyone really think that the Teutones and Cimbri (or any of the northern barbarian tribes) were a big challenge? Many of them were defeated throughout Rome's history. Jugurtha was only captured by Sulla's politicking.
Marius deserves huge credit for reforming the army and doing the obvious that was needed for its size to grow by relaxing requirements for joining, which set the way for future armies to be the size needed for more major conquests but does that make him a brilliant general? I don't think so.

This is a good thread though, I miss having the time to do the reading I used to do.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Thanks, were you a fan of the series? I own both seasons.

No, I don't have HBO. I've only seen a couple of episodes. I was a bit surprised, considering the availability of Republican busts of these historical figures that they didn't choose actors that looked more like them.

The actors playing Caeser and Pompey looked absolutely nothing like them.