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The Life of a Roman
Soldier
By Calum Johnson
Introduction
The Romans were able to expand their
empire because of the strength of the
Roman Army
It was the first paid, full time professional
army in the world.
The Roman Empire
Uniforms and equipment
Roman soldiers wore leather sandals on their feet,
these were called caligae.
They also carried a sword (Gladius), 2 javelins
(Pilum, Plural: Pila) and a dagger for close up
fighting
A group of soldiers sometimes joined together by
making a tortoise shape with their shields, this was
called testudo.....
They wore a woolen tunic and leather breeches
around their legs and also wore shoulder plates to
shield their shoulders and upper arm.
A Roman shield (scutum) was curved to fit around
the body and their helmet was made of bronze to
protect their heads and necks as that was the
primary area for the enemy to strike.
Another primary area to be hit was the hips and so
for this reason they wore a cingulum or metal belt.
A Roman soldier
Training
Legionaries were very fit, they trained by running,
chopping down trees and doing obstacle courses
Every month they did a route march with 60
pounds of equipment, armour and weapons to
carry!
They also did drill and weapon training.
Discipline
Centurions were in charge of discipline.
They carried a stick of very hard wood and they
used it to beat their soldiers.
They used to punish small things with extra duties,
flogging or a fine.
If a whole army failed a task they would be
decimated, this meant that the entire army lined up
and every tenth person was beaten until death by
friends.
Men earned 2½ denarii a day, this was a lot in
those days.
Serious criminals who did things like mutiny,
murder or desertion were punished by stoning, a
method where your fellow soldiers threw stones at
you until you were dead.
Forts
Hadrians wall had 17 forts , each one held
500 – 1,000 troops
Soldiers lived in barrack blocks
Eight men had to share two small rooms,
one was used for sleeping and the other for
keeping weapons, cooking equipment and
food.
At the middle of each fort was a head quarters (HQ) building, it had offices where
the most senior soldiers/officers worked. It
also had a strong room to keep money in.
Latrines (toilet blocks) were built for the
soldiers
They were usually near an outside wall and
had underground drains to carry away the
sewage
There was a hospital for sick and wounded
soldiers within the fort.
Roman Barracks
Roman Fort at Hadrian's Wall
(housesteads)
A plan of housesteads roman fort
Plan of a Roman Fort
Quiz
How were Romans able to expand their
empire?
Answer: Because of the strength of their
army
What was the name for a Roman shield?
Answer: A scutum
How many pounds did the soldiers have to
carry on their route marches
Answer: 60 pounds
How much did the soldiers earn a day?
Answer: 2 ½ Denarii
How many forts did Hadrian's Wall have?
Answer: 17 forts
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How to join the Roman army:
Before you could join the army you had to enrol on a
waiting list, just like we have to enrol on a primary school
waiting list.
When you did join you had to prove that you wanted the
job by becoming the barrack servant for a year, this meant
you had to clean toilets and wash clothes.
Currency.........
The Romans originally did not have money. They, like many
other tribes, swapped. Many years later the idea of an official
currency was adopted, the coins used were called denarii
(singular: denarius).
Rome's enemies
Below is a list of the numerous factions the Romans fought
against:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
Gauls (French)
Germanic-Francish tribes (German)
Britons, Celts and Picts (British)
Dacians and Illyrian tribes (Austrian)
Scithians, Huns, Roxolani, Samaritans, Vandals and Slavs
(Ukraine/Russia)
vi. Ostro-Goths, Goths, Visi-Goths, Macedonian, Greek (Greek)
vii. Persian, Parthian, Egyptian, Carthaginian (North Africa).
viii. Spanish (Spain)
Roman Settlements
The End!!
Presentation by Calum Johnson
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