The Roman Army

Men in the Roman Army

• Men served 25 years

• The end of their term brought retirement

• Retirement usually brought a grant of land or cash

• Those who were already Roman, were given citizenship

The Hard Life

• Soldiers were sometimes required to walk 20 miles a day

• They had to carry their 80 pounds of armour, their shield, some food, and their camping equipment

Dining

The generals made sure their men were well fed. Soldiers ate:

• Cereals

• Meats

• Pig, such as bacon, ham, lard

• Wheat

• Fruits and vegetables

Nap Time

• Living quarters were cramped, sometimes holding 8 men

• Even so, these men usually bonded and became friends

Entertain Yourself

• Jumping• Wrestling• Boxing • Racing• Riding• Throwing• Swimming

• Fishing• Hunting• Handball• Field hockey• Catch• A form of soccer

Soldiers found somehow found time to play around and have some fun. Their fun included:

Board games such as:

•Dice

•Roman Chess

•Roman Checkers

•Tic-tac-toe

•Tabula

The Outside

Roman soldiers really did not get to communicate outside the army.

• Soldiers usually did not see their families for years

• Soldiers were not allowed to marry until they left the army

Show Me the Money

• Legionary pay was low, only 112.5 denarii a year

• Centurions received anywhere from 3,750 to 15,000 denarii a year

• The cost of food and arms was deducted from each soldiers pay

The Front Lines: Battle Equipment

Armour

• Simple military tunic with metal corselet over it

• Boots were laced high, and had extra traction

• Military belt had a sheath for a short sword or dagger

Helmets

Many different types of helmets were used in the Roman Army

• Most had round cap

• Hinged cheek pieces

• Neck protector

Shields

• Held in left hand

• Curved rectangle shape, or an oval

• Symbol on front represented their service, century, and cohort

Weaponry

The Pilum• A throwing javelin that bent on impact,

thus rendering it useless and difficult to remove

The Gladius• A double edged short sword used for

stabbing and thrusting• 20-22 inches long used in favorable close

combat

Form Up! Organization

• Century: 80-100 men led by a centurion

• Cohort: the basic fighting unit; 6 centuries (6 x 80=480 men).

• Legion: 10 Cohorts (10x480=4800 men)

Commanding Officers

General:Imperator• One general led each military

campaign

Legates and Military Tribunes• Legate led a legion, which

contained 6 military tribunes

Centurions• Led 80 man century

Emperor and the Army• Imperator was

term only given to emperor

• Emperor could take control of the army as he pleased, but only in the empire

Roman Military Camps

Each Roman military camp was alike, even the temporary ones.

Each one had:• Constructed according to a

pattern• Laid out like a city, bisected

by 2 streets leading to 4 gates

• Always fortified; surrounded by a deep ditch and a wall

The Troops Inside Rome

• The vigiles, served as fire fighters and night watchmen in the city of Rome

• The cohortes urbanae was a sort of police force

• The praetorian guard, served as a permanent bodyguard for the emperor

• Also, 9 cohorts were stationed in the city

Battle Tactics and FormationsPig’s Head• The infantry was placed into a

wedge-shaped formation and would push into the enemy with a wall of shields.

Square Formation• When surrounded, the Romans

formed a square formation with interlocking shields

Battle tactics (cont.)

• Phalanx – rectangluar formation of heavy infantry of spears, spikes, etc.– Impermeable points to the front– Phalangos – greek word for finger

Formations Continued

The Testudo

• Tortoise-like formation with shields in front as well as on top for protection from arrows

REPRESENT!!: Battle Standards

• Battle standards were tall poles topped with various insignia and symbols

• They helped to keep the units together

• Were also religious and they sometimes preformed rituals to them

Ex. Of Battle Standards

Battle Standards

• The standards helped to keep the units together, since the soldiers could see them above the action.

• Standards also helped to preserve the pride of each unit, they represented a symbol of that unit's achievements.

Battle Standards

• Each century, cohort, and legion had its own standard.

• during battle and other activities, these were held by officers called standard bearers

• were marked out from other soldiers by the animal-head skins they wore on their heads.

The Eagle

• The most important symbol was the legionary eagle

• It was the symbol of the power of Rome and the honor of the legion

• To lose the legionary eagle in battle was a terrible disgrace

Sacramentum

• The sacramentum was like the oath of office for the Roman soldiers

• Says that he would fulfill his conditions of service even to the point of death

• In effect, he gave up his citizen's right of appeal for any death sentence

Punishment• Minor offences involved

food rationing, hitting with the centurion's staff, or public flogging

• More serious offences could lead to fines and deductions from pay or reductions in rank

• For the most serious offences, such as desertion, a soldier could be summarily executed

The Worst of the Worst

• The worst punishment of all was decimation, usually applied to a whole cohort

• Every tenth man in the unit was randomly selected to be clubbed or beaten to death by the other soldiers

YAY!! Rewards

• Victorious generals could expect a triumph

• It was an elaborate procession through the city of Rome to Jupiter's temple on the Capitoline hill

• Usually made the generals feel like gods

Credits• http://vindolanda.csad.ox.ac.uk/exhibition/army.shtml

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/vindolanda_01.shtml

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/romans/army.shtml

• http://myron.sjsu.edu/romeweb/ROMARMY/ROMARMY.HTM

• http://www.roman-empire.net/army/army.html

• http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/romanarmy.html