Expert: Maria - 11/26/2007

Question
Many texts say that soldiers in the roman army received "the mark of the legion". is this mark "SPQR" by the way of a brand or tattoo? This was for identification, also to discourage deserters so it had to be permanent. Is any of this true and what is the mark?

Answer
Hello,

in his “Epitoma rei militaris“(Summary of military matters), book  II, chapter 5, the Roman military expert Vegetius (flourished  4th century AD ) describes how recruits (“tirones” in Latin) after receiving preliminary training for a maximum of four or five months, were “inscribed with permanent dots in the flesh “(Latin, “victuris in cute punctis milites  scripti”), that is were  marked on their skin, maybe by fire, on an harm or an hand.

It seems that these dots, maybe an identification tattoo rather than a brand (though  it is unclear if this mark was made by tattooing or branding), showed the emblem of the soldier’s unit (Latin, “puncta signorum”), like for example the number and the name of the legion, for example “Legio III Gallica” (meaning " the legion from Gaul"), plus the emblem which for this legion was a bull.

Therefore  this mark was not SPQR (“Senatus PopulusQue Romanus” meaning “The Senate and the Roman People"), used  as an official signature of the Roman government on coins, inscriptions and also on the standards of the Roman legions, of course.

Unfortunately nothing else  we can say on this matter as we have no other reliable primary source.

Best regards,
Maria