An Ala (Latin for "wing", plural form: alae) was the term used during the mid- Roman Republic (338-88 BC) to denote a military formation composed of conscripts from the socii, Rome's Italian military allies. A normal consular army during this period consisted of 2 legions, composed of Roman citizens only, and 2 allied alae. Alae were somewhat larger than normal legions (ca. 5400 v. ca. 4,500 men). From the time of the first Roman emperor, Augustu...
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An Ala (Latin for "wing", plural form: alae) was the term used during the mid- Roman Republic (338-88 BC) to denote a military formation composed of conscripts from the socii, Rome's Italian military allies. A normal consular army during this period consisted of 2 legions, composed of Roman citizens only, and 2 allied alae. Alae were somewhat larger than normal legions (ca. 5400 v. ca. 4,500 men). From the time of the first Roman emperor, Augustus (ruled 30 BC - AD 14), the term ala was used in the professional imperial army to denote a much smaller (ca. 500), purely cavalry unit of the non-citizen auxilia corps, see Ala (Roman cavalry unit).
When, at a later date, the Roman armies were composed partly of Roman citizens and partly of Socii (allies from the rest of the Italian mainland), either Latini or Italici, it became the practice to marshall the Roman troops in the centre of the battle line and the Socii upon the wings. Armies of the middle republic would consist of two legions...
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