A historian once remarked, “It was upon
the backs of the Roman Legions that modern
Western civilization was born”, and he might
well have been correct.
Pulling together various traditions, civic,
and political ideologies, Rome's influence
on Western civilization is indisputable, and
it's impact is perhaps best seen in the militaries
of these modern nations.
Today most modern militaries are modeled after
Rome's example, and making up the bulwark
of ancient history's mightiest armies was
the fabled Legionnaire.
Ancient Europe was a terrifying place.
Roman ingenuity had brought clean drinking
water to cities dozens of miles away from
rivers and lakes, and vast Roman libraries
and universities added daily to man's understanding
of his world.
Rome's massive economic and political power
had carved out an empire which brought stability
and safety to millions of people- yet at Rome's
borders, where the forests grew thickest and
darkest, lurked hordes of barbarians, with
an ever-hungry eye always turned towards Rome's
riches.
The job of safeguarding the empire fell upon
the Legionnaire, and at its height Rome had
thirty Legions made up of 6,000 fighting men
each along with auxiliaries all dispatched
along the length and breadth of Rome's borders.
Despite the size of the Roman military though,
the truth is that Roman units were often outnumbered
in battle, seeing as the Legions couldn't
be everywhere at once.
Famously, a single Roman Legion once faced
off against a horde of 25,000 Germanic barbarians,
and still achieved victory.
The secret to Rome's military success?
The Legionnaire.
To be a Legionnaire one must be a Roman citizen,
though non-Romans could also find a place
in the Roman military.
Non-citizens were often recruited, or conscripted
into service as Auxiliaries, and could fill
any role from light infantry to cavalry or
even siege engineers.
Roman citizens however would often volunteer
for service, or in times of crisis, be drafted
as Legionnaires.
As the backbone of the Roman army, Legionnaires
received the best equipment and the best training-
but more importantly, required the greatest
amount of loyalty to Rome, hence why only
Romans could become one.
With a diet made up primarily of bread and
vegetables, Romans were notoriously short,
though Legionnaires had a height requirement
of at least five and a half feet.
The almost uniform lower stature of Roman
citizens actually worked to their advantage
in battle, as it ensured that their famous
tortoise phalanx-like formations could remain
tightly packed together and secure from penetration.
In the tortoise formation, soldiers locked
their shields together to form a wall that
went from shin to eye-level and protected
the formation on all sides.
The soldiers in the center then raised their
shields above their head and also interlocked
them, thus protecting from arrows, sling stones,
and javelins.
The tortoise formation was said to be so effective
and secure, that a chariot could be driven
across the top of it.
It's easy to see then why a uniform height
was preferable for Roman Legionnaires, as
soldiers of varying heights would have created
gaps in the formation, and made it vulnerable.
Military service was attractive to Roman men,
as it ensured steady food and steady work.
Every year Roman soldiers were paid the equivalent
of a few hundred dollars in today's money,
though some of that money was taxed and used
to maintain and purchase the soldier's equipment
as needed.
At the end of sixteen years of service, eventually
increased to twenty five years of service,
a Legionnaire could expect to receive a pension
for his service, and even a plot of land of
his own.
As in any ancient society and even today,
owning property was a huge financial safeguard,
and helped ensure the financial security of
the retired Legionnaire and his family.
Non-citizen soldiers enlisted as auxiliaries
would often receive about a third of the pay
of a Roman citizen, but could also look forward
to earning a pension at the end of his service.
Property within the empire would also be awarded,
as well as Roman citizenship which could be
passed down to his children.
This made service for non-Romans an extremely
attractive option, as their rights and even
financial opportunities as non-citizens were
very few.
For a Legionnaire, life was all about the
military.
Men would sleep together in barracks that
housed eight, making up the base unit of the
roman military- the contubernium.
These would be the men you lived, ate, and
fought with for your entire career, with new
recruits taking the place of retirees or those
lost in battle or to illness and injury.
Upon waking, the men would enjoy a small breakfast
of oatmeal or bread, and then fall into formation
for morning inspection.
Rome's military success relied on two things:
discipline and training.
To this end, daily inspections were vital
for keeping Roman units fighting fit.
Each man would have his weapon, shield, and
armor inspected for dirt, rust, and other
signs of general disrepair, and if any was
found punishment would be swift.
As in a modern military, punishment could
involve anything from additional physical
fitness training to pulling extra duties around
the camp, though at times beatings and even
death were mandated for extreme infractions.
A sentry caught sleeping for example could
earn himself the death penalty.
Seeing as Roman Legions typically operated
far from home and on the borders of the empire,
next to very dangerous territory, it's easy
to understand why infractions such as sleeping
on your post could have such dire consequences.
After morning muster and inspection, if the
unit was not on the move and garrisoned, then
there would typically be a few hours of physical
fitness training.
Roman Legionnaires were expected to march
twenty or more miles in five hours, all while
wearing up to forty five pounds of equipment.
At the height of its power, Rome equipped
her Legionnaires with the lorica segmentata,
body armor which reached to the waist and
was made of strips of iron joined together
with leather straps.
The layered iron armor provided good protection
from blades and spears, while still remaining
relatively easy to mass-produce for Rome's
soldiers.
An iron helmet protected the Legionnaire's
head, and stiff leather greaves afforded some
protection to the shins and lower legs.
The greatest protection though came from the
scutum, or the body shield that Roman Legionnaires
are so famous for.
The scutum was made of layers of wood glued
together, covered with canvas and leather.
At times brass or iron fittings at the center
reinforced the scutum, and gave it a center
of mass that made it a little easier to wield
for the Legionnaire.
The shield was meant to be held with the left
arm, and in a charge, Legionnaires would hold
their left arm outstretched, with the top
of the shield resting on the Legionnaire's
shoulder, only to drop it as the enemy was
met in an attempt to knock the enemy off his
feet.
Then the Legionnaire would let the shield
fall to the ground and fight from behind it
in a slightly hunched position.
The enemy would have to try to deliver blows
across the other side of a nearly full-body
shield while the Legionnaire could retaliate
with swift stabs from his sword or spear.
When fighting in formation, the shields would
lock together and present a nearly impenetrable
wall to the enemy.
Inside of the formation, Legionnaires would
brace once against the other, lending their
strength to the men on the outside edges.
This made the formation incredibly difficult
to break, and in fact in some battles Legionnaires
surrounded by the enemy would simply lock
into formation as friendly archers delivered
devastating volleys of arrows directly on
top of them.
The Legionnaires would ride out the storm
of arrows as their foes were felled by the
dozens.
When the barrage was over, they would simply
emerge from their tortoise formation and begin
the assault anew.
While on the move, Legionnaires would also
have to carry extra equipment though, and
each man would be responsible for a sack of
flour and carrying some of the unit's support
equipment.
Carts would often carry the components for
siege weapons and many of the various beams
and canvas supplies for tents, but a great
deal of the smaller pieces of equipment needed
for life on the road were given out for the
men to carry.
With marches that could last all day and go
for dozens of miles, Legionnaires had to be
in incredible health and good fitness.
On the road, at the end of each march the
Legionnaires would construct a defensive encampment
for themselves- yet another feature of the
Roman military that made them so difficult
to defeat in battle.
These encampments would consist of a ditch
which surrounded the camp, with the excavated
dirt being used to build a defensive berm.
Atop this berm a palisade of sharpened wooden
sticks was built, and often the bottom of
the outer ditch would also be filled with
sharpened wooden stakes.
Attacking enemy infantry would thus have to
run down into the ditch and then scramble
up the berm to reach the Legionnaires, who
would be on top of it firing down arrows and
javelins the entire time.
While in garrison though, Legionnaires would
replace their traditional long road marches
with a variety of busy work or training.
At least two to three times a week Legionnaires
would train with practice equipment, which
helped to relieve tensions between individuals
and keep morale high.
The rest of the week though Legionnaires would
be assigned varying duties.
The skills you had before you joined the Roman
military would dictate what other duties you
may be assigned to do, and the less skilled
you were, the worse the job you might end
up doing for most of your enlistment.
Skilled craftsmen would often be assigned
to maintain the Legions' equipment; blacksmiths
and fletchers would see to the weapons and
armor of the Legion, and the ever-important
task of creating new arrows and bolts for
the Legion's ballistas or other siege weapons.
Less skilled Legionnaires may pull long guard
duty shifts, or be stuck cleaning out the
pipes in Rome's famous baths, or even worse-
the pipes in the latrines.
If that's still not bad enough, one might
find themselves having to empty the actual
ditches the latrines empties out to.
The real meat and bread of a Legionnaire's
life though was battle, and given the violence
of the ancient world, a Legionnaire was typically
not at a loss for opportunities to practice
his craft.
Roman legions preferred to fight cautiously,
making extensive use of scouts to fix an enemy's
position and numbers, and then attempt to
fight on the battlefield that best suited
them.
Though Legionnaires where the heart of the
Roman military, the majority of Rome's military
forces was actually made up of mercenaries
or conscripts looking to earn their Roman
citizenship and eventual pension- and Rome
made good use of these auxiliary forces.
Typically, Rome would meet her enemies with
lighter armed Legionnaires, who would pelt
advancing enemy forces with javelins and throwing
spears.
Auxiliary slingers or bowmen would join in
the long-range attack, and upon making contact,
the light infantry at the front would switch
to their swords.
Advancing on the wings of the formation, more
light infantry auxiliaries would press against
the enemy's flanks, while heavy cavalry would
ride out and then turn in against the enemy's
rear and flanks.
Advancing up the center and behind the first
line of lightly armed Legionnaires would be
a force of heavy infantry, who would engage
the core of the enemy formation.
A variety of flag signals and horns allowed
Roman military units to react on-the-fly even
in the middle of combat.
This close coordination between light infantry,
auxiliary forces, the cavalry, and heavy infantry
allowed Roman legions to outmaneuver and outfight
nearly any enemy it encountered.
Tactics and training counted for Roman success
far more than might.
After a battle the Legionnaire was typically
allowed to enjoy some of the battlefield spoils,
which could be sold off for personal profit.
More valuable battlefield loot however was
taken for the coffers of Rome itself, as running
a massive military was an expensive undertaking.
Back at their home garrisons, Legionnaires
were forbidden from marrying and having families,
with only senior officers and generals allowed
to marry- yet most Legionnaires had girlfriends
and unofficial wives, and these could either
become camp followers in more remote regions,
or set up communities directly outside of
established garrisons.
While technically not allowed to have them,
most commanders would look the other way as
Legionnaires left garrison at night to spend
time with their families.
Western civilization was greatly defined by
both Rome's political and civic traditions,
and her willingness to defend those traditions
with military force.
While professional armies had existed before
her time, Rome stands out as fielding one
of the largest professional fighting forces
of the ancient world, and the centuries of
experience it gained in commanding a large
national fighting force established a legacy
of customs that is still obvious in modern
militaries to this day.
Would you have tried to be a Legionnaire if
you lived in ancient Rome?
Think twenty five years for citizenship would
have been worth it?
Let us know in the comments!
And if you enjoyed this video then check out
our other video, The Horrible Life of an Average
Roman Empire Slave!
As always don't forget to Like, Share, and
Subscribe for more great content!
