Legionary
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Roman legionaries, 1st century. |
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Roman legionary, end of 3rd century. Note: This image has also been used on other sites and stated as depicting a Roman Auxiliary. |
Called
miles ("soldier") or
legionarius in
Latin, the
Roman legionary was (usually) a
Roman citizen under 45 years of age. The
soldier enlisted in a
legion for twenty-five years of service, a change from the early practice of enlisting only for the duration of a
campaign. The last five years were on
veteran lighter duties.
On the march in unfriendly terrain, the legionary would be loaded down with
armour (
lorica segmentata or more commonly
lorica hamata) and
shield (
scutum),
helmet (
galae), two
javelins (one heavy
pilum and one light),
short sword (gladius),
dagger (
pugio), a pair of heavy
sandals (
Caligae), a
Sarcina (marching pack) about fourteen days worth of food, a
waterskin, cooking equipment, two
stakes for the construction of
palisades, and a
shovel or
wicker basket.
The Roman soldier underwent especially rigorous training;
discipline was the base of the army's success and the soldiers were relentlessly and constantly trained with weapons and especially with
drill â€" forced marches with full load and in tight formation were frequent.
Discipline was important and infractions were heavily punished by the
centurions.
Included in the ranks, aside from the basic heavy infantrymen, were the immunes, specialist soldiers with secondary roles such as
engineer,
carpenter and
medic. These men were still fully trained legionaries however and would fight in the ranks if called upon. They were excused some of the more laborious tasks such as drill and fatigues and received better pay than their comrades.
From the time of
Julius Caesar onwards, Legionaries received 225
denarii a year; this basic rate remained unchanged until
Domitian, who increased it to 300 denarii. In spite of the steady inflation during the
2nd century, there was no further rise until the time of
Septimius Severus, who increased it to 500 denarii a year. This salary would be supplemented by the booty taken in a campaign.
All legionary soldiers would also receive a sizeable sum of money on the completion of their term of service: 3000 denarii from the time of
Augustus and/or a plot of good farmland (good land was in much demand). Later, under
Caracalla, the praemia increased to 5000 denarii.
Legionary is also a term used for members of other legions, like
French Foreign Legion,
Spanish Foreign Legion or
Polish Legion. Members of these modern legions are often called
légionnaires, the French term for legionary. The term was also used by the
Romanian far right paramilitary group known in English as the
Iron Guard.
*
Military history of ancient Rome*
Foreign Legion*
Roman Republic*
Roman Empire*
Punic wars*
Phalanx formation*
List of Roman legions
