But, that it may appear from actual facts what a great power it was that Hannibal ventured to attack, and how mighty was that empire boldly confronting which he came so near his purpose as to bring great disasters on <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a>,
I must state what were their resources and the actual number of their forces at this time.
Each of the Consuls was in command of four legions of Roman citizens, each consisting of five thousand two hundred foot and three hundred horse.
The allied forces in each Consular army numbered thirty thousand foot and two thousand horse.
The cavalry of the Sabines and Etruscans, who had come to the temporary assistance of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a>, were four thousand strong, their infantry above fifty thousand.
The Romans massed these forces and posted them on the frontier of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Etruria&groupId=582&placeId=1089">Etruria</a> under the command of a Praetor.
The levy of the Umbrians and Sarsinates inhabiting the <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Apennines&groupId=343&placeId=664">Apennines</a> amounted to about twenty thousand, and with these were twenty thousand Veneti and <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Cenomani&groupId=448&placeId=834">Cenomani</a>.
These they stationed on the frontier of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Gaul&groupId=598&placeId=1108">Gaul</a>, to invade the territory of the Boii and divert them back from their expedition.
These were the armies protecting the Roman territory. In <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a> itself there was a reserve force, ready for any war-contingency, consisting of twenty thousand foot and fifteen hundred horse, all Roman citizens, and thirty thousand foot and two thousand horse furnished by the allies.
The lists of men able to bear arms that had been returned were as follows. Latins eighty thousand foot and five thousand horse, Samnites seventy thousand foot and seven thousand horse,
Iapygians and Messapians fifty thousand foot and sixteen thousand horse in all,
Lucanians thirty thousand foot and three thousand horse, Marsi, Marrucini, Frentani, and Vestini twenty thousand foot and four thousand horse.
In <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Sicily&groupId=973&placeId=1724">Sicily</a> and Tarentum were two reserve legions, each consisting of about four thousand two hundred foot and two hundred horse.
Of Romans and Campanians there were on the roll two hundred and fifty thousand foot and twenty-three thousand horse;
[a gloss has been bracketed here]
so that the total number of Romans and allies able to bear arms was more than seven hundred thousand foot and seventy thousand horse,
while Hannibal invaded <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Italy&groupId=656&placeId=1199">Italy</a> with an army of less than twenty thousand men. On this matter I shall be able to give my readers more explicit information in the course of this work.
Walbank Commentary