On This Day: Campaigning Season Begins
Early May in Rome—the legions’ marching boots hit the road. The season for war has officially begun.
Jacques Louis David — "The Death of Socrates" (1787), public domain
Legionaries on the march.
Around early May, as the spring mud finally hardened, Rome’s armies left the city. Campaigning season opened—no more waiting out the cold. The roads buzzed with the clatter of armor and mules loaded with shields.
Timing was everything.
Romans believed May’s dry weather meant good omens—and reliable roads. Most major offensives, from Caesar’s Gaul to Hannibal’s foes, kicked off now. Even enemies learned to listen for the stomp of hobnailed boots in the first days of May.
The Roman military year traditionally opened as the weather dried in May. Swords were sharpened, roads buzzed with supplies, and distant cities braced for the sound of Latin marching songs.
