The Roman Army and the Cavalry

The light infantry were made up of men rich enough to qualify for service, but too poor to afford all the gear needed. In any given legion, there were between a thousand and 12 hundred of these fighters who stood in front of the three lines at the beginning of battle. They served their purpose if the enemy remained in the dark about roman formations. When the state began to take responsibility for arming soldiers, the light troops were fazed out and folded into the rest of the lines on the wings. As was typical of the day, the romans placed the cavalry. Their job was to engage the opposing cavalry and take them out of the fight. So the two infantry lines had to fight