Legionary facts for kids
A Roman legionary (say: leg-yun-AIR-ee) was a professional soldier in the Roman army. These brave soldiers were heavy infantry, meaning they fought on foot with strong armor. They helped ancient Rome conquer and protect its lands during the late Republic and Principate times. People like Vegetius thought Roman legionaries were the best fighters in the world.
Roman legionaries were Roman citizens under 45 years old. At first, most came from Roman Italy, but later, more joined from other Roman provinces. When legionaries moved into new areas, they helped spread Roman culture and connect different parts of the Roman Empire. They joined a legion for 25 years. Legionaries not only fought battles but also built many important things like roads, bridges, and walls. They also helped keep peace in the provinces. After 25 years, they retired and received land or money. Many became important members of society.
Contents
History of the Legionary
How the Army Changed: Marius's Reforms
In 108 BC, Gaius Marius became a powerful leader called a consul. Rome was fighting a war, and Marius needed more soldiers. He changed the rules so that any Roman citizen, even poor ones, could become a legionary. After the war, Marius made the army more professional. He improved soldier training and gave everyone the same weapons. This meant Rome always had a strong army ready to fight. He also gave soldiers retirement benefits, like land or money. However, this made soldiers more loyal to their generals than to the Roman Senate. This loyalty to generals eventually led to problems for the Roman Republic.
The Emperor's Army
When Augustus became emperor in 27 BC, he made the Roman army even more professional. He wanted soldiers to be loyal to him, not just their generals. He increased the service time to 25 years and made sure all soldiers received regular pay. Legionaries were also guaranteed land or money when they retired. Augustus also changed the sacramentum, which was an oath. Soldiers now swore loyalty only to the emperor. These changes helped end the civil wars and made the army loyal to the emperor.
Under Augustus and later emperors, legionaries helped expand Rome's borders. They conquered new lands like parts of Britannia, Dacia, and North Africa.
When Legionaries Changed
From the time of Septimius Severus onwards, the Roman legionary slowly became less important. One reason was that emperors started giving soldiers more money and gifts (called donatives). This made soldiers expect more rewards, which sometimes hurt their discipline. Later, under Caracalla, all free men in the Roman Empire became Roman citizens. This meant there was no longer a big difference between legionaries and auxiliary soldiers (who were not citizens). More people joined the legions, but sometimes the quality of soldiers went down.
During the 3rd Century Crisis, Rome needed a faster army to defend its long borders. So, mounted cavalry became more important. Roman heavy infantry, like the legionaries, slowly became less dominant. By the 4th century, Roman infantry wore less body armor and used darts instead of the pila (javelins) their ancestors used.
What Legionaries Did
Legionaries were mainly soldiers, but they had many other important jobs. Since Rome didn't have a professional police force, governors used legionaries to keep peace and protect important places. The army also handled many administrative tasks because there wasn't a large civil administration. High-ranking soldiers often acted as judges. They also helped collect taxes.
Legionaries also helped spread Roman culture. As they settled in provinces, towns often grew around their camps. These towns sometimes became large cities. Legionaries married local people, helping to spread Roman ways and ideas throughout the provinces they protected.
Roman legionaries were also skilled workers. They built much of the empire's infrastructure. Roads, canals, and bridges were built by legionaries. They also constructed defensive structures like fortresses and walls. Hadrian's Wall, a huge example of Roman engineering, was built by three legions. The army also had surveyors, doctors, artisans, and engineers who helped with many civil services.
Specialist Soldiers
Regular trained legionaries were called milites, similar to a modern private. But there were also immunes. These were specialist soldiers with extra jobs like engineer, artilleryman, or medic. They were still fully trained legionaries and would fight if needed. However, they were excused from some hard tasks and received better pay than other soldiers.
Joining the Army
Most Roman legionaries were volunteer citizens. However, sometimes people were forced to join, especially during crises. The state gave recruits their equipment, so even the poorest citizens could join. The army was seen as an honorable job. It offered steady pay, good retirement benefits, and even some legal advantages. Many people from the plebeian (common) class joined. The army was one of the few ways for people to improve their social standing in the Roman world.
The army looked for recruits with useful skills like blacksmiths, carpenters, and butchers. Being able to read and write was helpful for promotions, like becoming a centurion. In the later Republic, most legionaries came from around Rome. But as Rome grew, recruits came from other parts of Italy. Eventually, soldiers often came from the provinces where the legions were stationed. By the time of Trajan, most legionaries were from the provinces, not Italy.
What Legionaries Wore and Carried
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When marching in enemy territory, a legionary carried or wore full armour, supplies, and equipment. This usually included:
- Armor: lorica hamata (chainmail), lorica squamata (scale armor), or lorica segmentata (plate armor).
- Shield: A large shield called a scutum.
- Helmet: A galea.
- Weapons: Two javelins (one heavy pilum and one lighter verutum), a short sword (gladius), and a dagger (pugio).
- Other gear: A belt (balteus), heavy sandals (caligae), greaves (leg guards), and manicas (armguards).
- Supplies: A marching pack (sarcina), about two weeks' worth of food, a waterskin, cooking gear, two stakes for building defenses, a shovel, and a wicker basket.
After Emperor Claudius changed the army around 41 AD, each legion also had artillery. Each cohort (about 480 men) had one ballista. Each centuria (about 100 men) had one carroballista. This meant a full legion had ten ballistae and sixty carroballistae.
How Legionaries Fought
Keeping Spirits High
Roman legionaries fought best with their contubernium. This was a small group of eight men who fought, slept, ate, and trained together. This strong feeling of camaraderie made them proud and kept them fighting. The standard bearers, called signiferi, were very important. Losing a standard was a huge disgrace. So, standard bearers gave soldiers something to rally around and encouraged them to fight.
Optiones were officers who stood at the back of the formation. Their job during battle was to stop soldiers from running away. They used a staff to force fleeing legionaries back into line. Centurions led from the front, fighting alongside their men. They were role models who inspired their legionaries to keep fighting.
The army also used rewards and punishments. For example, a soldier who saved a comrade in battle could receive the special corona civica. But there were also harsh punishments. If a whole unit showed cowardice, they might be decimated. This meant one out of every ten soldiers was executed. Less severe punishments included demotions or changes to their food rations.
Before the Battle
Large armies usually didn't start fighting right away. Days or even weeks of planning and moving troops would happen first. Before a battle, legionaries were given meals and rested. Their commanders and generals would also give speeches. These speeches often talked about the valuable things (plunder and riches) the soldiers would get if they won. This was a big reason for legionaries to fight hard. Then, small fights would happen, with cavalry and auxiliaries testing the enemy lines before the main battle began.
Fighting Style
The Roman legionary's main weapons were the pilum (javelin), scutum (shield), and gladius (short sword). As they got close to the enemy, legionaries would first throw their pila. These javelins could often go through enemy shields and hit the soldiers behind them. Even if a pilum didn't pierce the shield, its neck would bend, making the shield useless. This made the enemy vulnerable to attacks. After throwing their javelins, the Roman legionaries would charge.
Roman scutum shields had a large metal boss in the center. This allowed legionaries to use the shield not just for defense but also as a weapon. They could use the iron boss to punch and shove enemies. Along with the shield, they used the gladius, a short sword mainly for stabbing, but it could also cut. These simple tools, combined with amazing discipline, made the Roman legionary a very effective soldier.
Legionaries fought in close, organized formations with gaps between them. These gaps allowed fresh troops to enter the battle or for skirmishing forces to retreat. Wounded soldiers could also be taken behind the battle lines through these gaps.
Pay and Life as a Legionary
During the time of Roman peace (the Pax Romana), a regular Roman legionary earned 225 denarii (Roman coins) each year. This went up to 300 denarii later. However, during the 3rd century crisis, money problems meant soldiers' pay was often disrupted. Emperors sometimes let legionaries take goods from civilians. Soldiers also received extra money (called donatives) from emperors to ensure their loyalty or after a successful campaign. Plunder and loot also added to a soldier's income. When they retired, Roman legionaries received a small piece of land or money.
As the Roman Empire became more settled, permanent legionary fortresses were built. Many of these grew into towns. These fortresses had bathhouses, taverns, and even amphitheaters for festivals. However, legionaries were not allowed to legally marry until the time of Septimius Severus. This was probably because the army would have to support a soldier's widow if he died.
Training and Discipline
When a new Roman recruit (tiro) joined, he didn't train with real weapons. Instead, he used wooden swords and shields that were twice as heavy as real ones. This helped him build strength. Recruits also learned other skills like swimming and setting up camp. Most importantly, they learned discipline. They drilled twice a day during their training, which could last up to six months. After this, the recruit became a milite and joined his legion.
Roman soldiers trained very hard throughout their careers. Discipline was key to the army's success. Soldiers constantly practiced with weapons and did drills, like long marches with full gear. Because discipline was so important, centurions punished rule-breaking severely. Punishments could range from having to sleep outside the camp to unit executions, like decimation. However, soldiers who fought bravely or served well often received honors, rewards, and promotions.
One goal of strict training was to remove fear from Roman soldiers. Fear can be very damaging to an army. The Romans tried to remove this fear through tough physical and mental training. But they also used a different kind of fear to motivate soldiers: the fear of harsh punishment from their officers. As Josephus wrote, soldiers were "hardened for war by fear; for their laws inflict capital punishments, not only for soldiers running away from the ranks, but for slothfulness and inactivity."
What Legionaries Ate
A Roman legionary usually had two or three meals a day: the prandium (breakfast) and the cena (dinner). Their regular food mainly consisted of wheat, which made up about 60–70% of their meals. They ate wheat as bread or porridge. When on campaign, soldiers would cook their wheat into hardtack, a long-lasting biscuit.
Besides wheat, soldiers also received cibaria, which were other foods. This included wine, vinegar, vegetables (like beans or lentils), salt, salt-pork, cheese, and olive oil. They didn't usually get fruit in their rations. However, legionaries could find other foods by foraging, trading with merchants, or taking them during campaigns. Overall, the average soldier's diet was usually healthy and filling.
Healthcare for Soldiers
Permanent Roman forts had hospitals where doctors (medici) treated wounded, injured, or sick legionaries. These medical staff also kept sick soldiers separate to stop diseases from spreading. Roman forts and camps were also planned to prevent water-borne illnesses. Engineers made sure fresh water was piped into camps and sewage was carried away from any water sources. Legionaries who were seriously and permanently wounded or injured could receive missio causaria, a medical discharge. This discharge came with benefits like tax exemptions.
Other Uses of "Legionary"
The word "legionary" is also used for members of other military groups called "legions," even if they are very different from ancient Roman infantry. In the 18th and 19th centuries, it sometimes referred to units with both mounted and foot soldiers. More recently, groups like the French Foreign Legion, the Spanish Foreign Legion, and the Polish Legions have used the title. Members of these modern legions are often called légionnaires, which is the French word for legionary.
The term was also used by the Romanian far right paramilitary group known as the Iron Guard.
See also
In Spanish: Legionario romano para niños
