View source for Rorarii

{{Short description|Pre-Marian Roman reserve infantry}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2020}}
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{{RomanMilitary}}
'''''Rorarii''''' were soldiers who formed the final lines, or else provided a reserve thereby, in the ancient pre-[[Gaius Marius|Marian]] [[Military history of ancient Rome|Roman army]]. They may have been used with the ''[[triarii]]'' in battle near the final stages of fighting, since they are recorded as being located at the rear of the main battle formation.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|author=Paul Erdkamp|title=A Companion to the Roman Army|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1D612o_X2VYC&pg=PA56|date=31 March 2011|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4443-9376-7|pages=56}}</ref>
They may have been similar in role to the ''[[accensi]]'', acting as supernumeraries and filling the places of fallen soldiers as a battle or campaign wore on. Alternatively, they may have been [[Skirmisher|skirmishers]] akin to ''[[velites]]'' as stated by [[Livy]] in Book VIII.8. Unfortunately, the evidence is so limited that it is difficult to understand what direct role the ''rorarii'' may have had, if any, in fighting. It seems most likely that they were not part of the line in the same way as ''triarii'', ''[[principes]]'' and ''[[hastati]]'' were. They may also have been the light equivalent of the ''triarii'', just like the ''accensi'' would have been the light equivalent of the ''principes'', both ''rorarii'' and ''accensi'' reinforcing the ''triarii''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Esposito |first=Gabriele |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JBsJEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA71 |title=Armies of Ancient Italy 753-218 BC: From the Foundation of Rome to the Start of the Second Punic War |date=2021-01-30 |publisher=Pen and Sword Military |isbn=978-1-5267-5188-1 |pages=71 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" />
==See also==
* [[List of Roman army unit types]]
==References==
<references />
[[Category:Infantry units and formations of ancient Rome]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of the Roman Republic]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of ancient Rome]]
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