March is named for the Roman god Mars. He was among other things the god of agriculture, and the month was marked by ceremonies to protect new crops from bad weather.
Mars was the god of war too, and better weather also meant the start of the campaigning season. The roles sometimes merged. In one of the oldest Roman ceremonies, the “leaping priests” of Mars, 12 young men from noble families would dress as ancient warriors and parade around the city singing in an archaic form of Latin for a good beginning to the planting season.
Every March, Rome mustered and reviewed troops and appointed new commanders. Spring meant armies could march freely without excessive mud or snow. Rome was essentially an agricultural economy though, and putting men into the field as soldiers meant taking them off the land as farmers just when they were most needed.
The military side of Mars seems to have won out. Declarations of war were often made, and campaigns including Caesar’s Gallic wars and those against Hannibal and the German tribes.
This regular planning of warfare to follow weather is a sign of the tidy and efficient bureaucratic minds that built the Roman empire. Wars were launched not in haste or anger, but in tune with the rhythm of the seasons.
