Kids Learning Zone

Soldiers

Soldiers were backbone of the Roman empire, they were the ones who fought and died expanding the empire, enforcing law like a police force and also were the fire service of the day called 'Corps vigils' . They were people from all walks of life and countries who sought fortune and adventure in the army. They literally built the Roman empire as they constructed all military buildings, roads and some infrastructure that was required to ensure the army could function in every country. You may have to march 20-25 miles a day then build a camp before eating,not to mention the obvious risk of death or injury during a battle so it was obviously a tough and dangerous life in the Roman army. You would sign up and serve for 25 years, if you survived you would get a pension 'Pramia' and receive a plot of good farm land, if you were from the provinces you would also gain Roman citizenship a very sought after freedom. Soldiers often retired to towns mainly made up of ex soldiers, these towns were known as 'Calonia'

You would join up aged around 18-22 and start out as a soldier and would take the oath 'Sacramentum' dependant on your social status as Roman or non Roman. If you were from the elite classes you would by privilege become a ranked officer without starting at the bottom. You would have about 4 months basic training and would have to be able to speak Latin, If you were non Roman then learning the language as well as fighting techniques made it even more difficult. Punishments were harsh in the army they had to be to maintain order and discipline, a soldier could expect a variety of punishments for any violations he may have committed. Demotion, loss of privileges and a spell in jail were the most common forms of punishment for even small indiscretions. More serious crimes such as theft of another soldier's property or desertion were treated as two of the most serious crimes and it was dealt with by military law that they could, if the commander decreed, be beaten to death by their fellow soldiers.

There were two main type of soldier the 'Legionaires' who were Roman citizens and the elite heavy infantry of the army. They were used once the auxiliaries were deployed as they were considered more elite. The were 'Auxiliaries' who were non Roman citizens from the provinces were the light infantry but often found themselves as the first wave in battle. They were paid less and had lower prestige, used as guards on outposts often in remote areas including parts of Britain. They were looked down on by the Legionaries and considered less worthy as were not part of the elite or even real Romans. As well as infantry foot soldiers there were specialist units like archers, cavalry, artillery etc. As the Romans advanced and conquered countries they would use the local skills to improve the army. The 'Hamians' for instance came from Syria and were very skilled bowmen and were recruited to be the archers, Spain had some really good horsemen who were used for cavalry. All units had their own type of weapons and uniforms that identified them and all were used to great effect in battle.

In the 2nd century, new legionary recruits would receive the 'viaticum', which was typically 3 gold pieces or 75 denarii. Pay then depended on rank a 2nd-century Roman papyrus suggests that auxiliary infantrymen were paid around 100 denarii a year, while their legionary equivalents received around 300. Moving up the hierarchy, centurions would receive at least 1,000 denarii, with the 'primus pilus' (senior centurion) receiving more like 15,000 a year and so on the higher the rank the higher the pay just like todays army and modern jobs.

The Roman cavalry was called 'Equites Romani' and were very skilled horsemen formed into units of 120 divided into 4 squadrons of 30 riders who patrolled the area on scouting missions and also fought against standing soldiers in battle. They were like ancient tanks as having horses ride towards you struck fear into the enemy and was very hard to defend against unless you were a Roman army who used a very effective spear wall called Contra equites ordines.

This is a life size model that lives in the Roman army museum on Hadrian's wall. it depicts an auxiliary cavalry soldier in full charge showing his spear 'Lancia' and sword 'Spatha' with his shield 'Parma' on his back. You can see the shaft of an arrow in the shield where he was shot from behind but the shield saved him.