Top 5 Roman generals in the history of Roman civilization (753 BCE - 1453 CE)

 

1: Julius Caesar

Caesar’s career is just unmatched. It’s an anomaly in human history nearly given the variety of enemies Caesar fought.

He cut his teeth fighting Spanish Hill tribes- tribes that the Romans had floundered against for years. He was awarded a Triumph for his victories which was no small thing

He conquered Gaul which meant he fought dozens of Gallic tribes, each of which outnumbered him. In battle after battle, Caesar not only won but won decisively

He fought back numerous Germanic invasions- each of which outnumbered his own force

He invaded Britian and defeated the Celts there in multiple battles

He then defeated the Romans- so you can’t say he only won because he fought against inferior forces

He beat the Romans in Spain first

Then he beat the Romans commanded by the legendary (and experienced) Pompey Magnus. Caesar was also outnumbered 2 to 1 here

Caesar then defeated another Roman/Numidian Army in Northern Africa

Last Caesar fought his former best friend (and amazing General) in Spain and won again

Caesar then got entangled in Egypt where he overthrew the Pharoah and installed a puppet government

Last Caesar through back a Pontic invasion in Anatolia

So no matter who the fought he won. No matter how outnumbered Caesar was or no matter how capable the opposing General was, Caesar won.

2: Marius

Marius saved the Roman Republic, there is no doubt there. He also planet the seeds for its evolution into an authoritarian Empire though.

Militarily Marius was a big deal. He made his name fighting a semi-successful war in Africa which brought him to the Consulship (President) in 107 BC.

Marius was made Consul because a massive barbarian army was on the horizon and looking to threaten Rome. They had already defeated a Roman Army and Italy looked open to invasion.

So Marius set about reforming the entire military.

Marius ended the practice of unpaid land-owning citizens being the only people allowed in the legions. Instead, he created a professional force of paid soldiers. Since he could recruit any civilian rather than just landowners it expanded the manpower base radically

Marius built a massive intelligence network throughout Northern Europe. He could effectively shadow his enemies and predict their movements

Marius standardized equipment to make military expansion easier.

When this barbarian horde invaded Marius met them and crushed them in 2 big battles.

At the Battle of Aquae Sextiae Marius’s 40,000 men engaged and annihilated 120,000- 200,000 Gauls/Germans

At the Battle of Vercellae Marius’s 50,000 men engaged and again annihilated a 180,000 strong Celtic/Germanic Army

These were BIG wins for Marius and for Rome.

3: Belisarius

Belisarius was a General in the Eastern Roman Empire, decades after the collapse of Western Empire. However through sheer skill, Belisarius nearly restored Rome to it’s pre-collapse territory.

At the time Rome was ruled by Emperor Justinian. Justinian got it in his head to focus on Europe instead of the East to restore the Roman Empire.

The problem was that the Vandals controlled North Africa and the Ostrogoths controlled Italy. These tribes had built the regions into powerful Kingdoms that were able to destroy massive Roman Armies in the past.

So Belisarius would set out to Africa with only 15,000 men- which was all the Empire could afford. Despite being outnumbered and on the offensive, Belisarius crushed the Vandals and conquered North Africa.

After that Belisarius would invade Italy and again despite being outnumbered he crushed every Ostrogothic Army in his path. In the end Belisarius took Rome and the Ostrogothic capital of Revenna, restoring Italy to the Roman Empire for a time.

In his career Belisarius defeated the every army he encountered. Always outnumbered and undersupplied he managed to pull off dozens of unlikely victories.

4: Scipio Africanus

Scipio is famous for 1 battle, in particular, the Battle of Zama.

Scipio grew up in the age of Hannibal where Roman Armies were getting tossed around by the Great Hannibal in Italy.

Eventually, Scipio had an idea- let's invade Carthage and force Hannibal back to Africa. The Roman Senate more or less opposed this by Scipio raised legions out of his own pocket and made it clear he was going to take this step.

Scipio would invade Carthage and mill about for a while, defeating a few inexperienced Carthaginian Armies in the process. Eventually, Hannibal returned with his Army and the two-faced off.

What followed was a boring, basic, slugfest. No fancy tactics, no brilliant ideas. The poorly trained Carthaginian Elephants panicked and charged into their own lines helping Scipio to win the day and crush Hannibal.

Besides that Scipio led a decent (but small) military campaign in Spain.

5: Stilicho

Stilicho should have been Emperor. If he had risen to power in earlier eras, he would have been Emperor. Sadly for Rome Stilicho was technically hald Germanic which meant he wasn’t a “real” Roman despite his Roman upbringing and unwavering loyalty.

Stilicho had a tough job. The glorious Roman legions were a thing of the past and Stilicho was forced to rely on mercenaies, Germanic migrants, and foriegners to fill his ranks.

Yet despite this Stilicho would save the Empire again and again.

He defeated Alaric in 395 AD

He successfully campaigned against the Franks in 396 AD

He defeated Alaric again in 397 AD

He put down a massive revolt in Africa in 398 AD

He defeated Alaric again in 401 AD

He defeated a massive Gothic invasion in 405 AD

In the end, Stilicho saved Rome numerous times. Without him Alaric of the Goths would have sacked Rome and taken Italy.

Sadly Stilicho was assassinated in 408 AD over political causes.