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  • Over centuries the Roman Empire conquered almost the entirety

  • of Europe, giving generation after generation

  • the chance to spill blood on the Roman battlefield.

  • From the cold Marsh's of Britannia

  • to the burning deserts of Carthage,

  • the infamous Roman army invaded, conquered, and occupied

  • massive tracts of land.

  • But what was ancient Roman warfare

  • like for the men on the ground though?

  • Today, we're going to take a look

  • at what it was like to be a soldier in the Roman army.

  • But before we get started, be sure to subscribe to the Weird

  • History channel, and let us know in the comments below what

  • other Roman history life you would like to hear about.

  • Now, let's hear more about the men

  • Caesar said, "Now it is easier to find

  • men who will volunteer to die, than to find

  • those who are willing to endure pain with patience."

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

  • Job security is a big deal in modern society,

  • and it was in the ancient world as well.

  • If you join the Roman army for better or for worse,

  • you were likely in it for the long haul.

  • The typical Roman soldier served for a whopping 25 years,

  • often running for the time they were 18

  • until they had reached their mid 40s.

  • Of course, many soldiers didn't survive that long,

  • but those who did typically found themselves set for life.

  • The emperor granted all retired soldiers land

  • of their own and a lifetime pension.

  • In times of peace, this was downright lucrative.

  • But the retirement benefits were so good that even during war

  • many men didn't hesitate to sign up.

  • Despite all the blood and brutality,

  • the average Roman soldier lived a better life

  • than most in the empire, which really

  • says a lot about what life in ancient Rome

  • was like for your average Joe.

  • Many civilian jobs were unstable with pay rates negotiated

  • for every single gig.

  • As a soldier, however, you could always rely on steady pay,

  • and you often had easy access to facilities civilians struggled

  • to have access to.

  • Bakeries, hospitals, and baths were a part of most barracks,

  • and even broke soldiers could use them for free.

  • And let's not overlook that the land a soldier

  • earned after retirement was incredibly attractive

  • because Romans were often living cramped lifestyles in the city.

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

  • So we've established that being a Roman soldier,

  • even in times of war, could have some pretty huge upsides.

  • But as you probably guessed, the profession

  • came with a lot of risks too and not just in battle.

  • Soldiers judged disobedient, cowardly,

  • or grievously incompetent by the commanders

  • often faced extremely strict and sometimes highly cruel

  • forms of punishment.

  • Write out "I shall not run away from Spartacus" 100 times!

  • Centurions, who led the legions, carried

  • canes used to strike soldiers to enforce their will

  • or tighten up a sloppy march.

  • Small mistakes like that could lead to beatings or even prison

  • time.

  • One particular Centurion, named Lucilius,

  • was known as "another here," because he beat his soldiers so

  • severely he often needed multiple canes

  • for a single punishment.

  • If you're wondering why the soldiers would stand

  • for such shabby treatment, it's probably worth

  • noting they didn't always.

  • Lucilius was offed during the Pannonian Mutiny.

  • Larger mistakes resulted in even more severe punishment, up to

  • and including execution.

  • One particularly grisly punishment, decimation,

  • meant that 10% of your unit was simply and somewhat

  • arbitrarily killed.

  • Most infamously, General Marcus Licinius Crassus

  • ordered 500 soldiers decimated for cowardice in the gladiator

  • wars.

  • Every group of 10 drew lots, and the unlucky soul

  • who got the short straw was bludgeoned

  • by their nine close comrades.

  • If you want to get a sense of what that must have been like,

  • the Star series Spartacus--

  • War of the Damned dramatized this use of decimation

  • in the fourth episode of the third season.

  • Titled appropriately enough, "Decimation."

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

  • One thing the movies got right is that Roman legionnaires

  • tended to arm themselves to the teeth with heavy battle

  • equipment.

  • Every soldier wore iron armor and a metal helmet

  • typically fashioned from either iron or bronze over a wool

  • tunic.

  • Their scutum shields added the most weight,

  • but it was worth it because they were pretty versatile,

  • providing both protection and an iron knob

  • for bashing the enemy.

  • The pilum, which was a large spear designed

  • to be tossed before the start of close combat,

  • was the Roman soldier's first weapon.

  • It was made of a soft metal that bent

  • on impact so it couldn't be reused

  • by the Romans' opponents.

  • If forced into a tight situation,

  • their gladius swords proved excellent stabbing weapons.

  • Legionnaires, however, almost never carried

  • ranged weapons, as those were reserved primarily

  • for specialized auxiliaries.

  • Joining the army came with a ton of benefits

  • and ultimately could prove to be one's ticket to the good life.

  • So, not surprisingly, lots of people wanted in.

  • Potential recruits endured a battery

  • of medical and athletic tests to ensure

  • they were already fit to fight.

  • Basically, they wanted men who didn't

  • need a great deal of physical training

  • before they entered the battlefield.

  • Recruits also had to prove they were of Roman birth

  • to be a legionnaire.

  • But both legionaries and auxiliaries

  • were required to be free born.

  • If an enslaved person was discovered to have enlisted,

  • those responsible were slain.

  • If you met all the necessary requirements,

  • you were finally allowed to swear an oath of loyalty

  • to the emperor and head off to the barracks.

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

  • Roman generals and tacticians devised

  • formations and strategies that were

  • infamous throughout the world.

  • The standard formation was known as the "triplex acies."

  • Three lines of warriors arranged like a chessboard, spaced out

  • to allow easy throwing of the pilum

  • and free use of the gladius when tight enough to repel

  • enemy offensives.

  • The scutum shield was key to many powerful defense

  • formations, such as forming a hollow square

  • to repel cavalry or an overhead shell

  • to protect from arrows and Spears.

  • But the success of the Roman forces

  • wasn't all about fighting tactics and superior equipment.

  • They also used cleverness to their advantage

  • between battles, training some of the first messenger pigeons

  • to deliver information from spies and digging hidden

  • trenches in the night so the enemy's horses would

  • fall inside.

  • You would think a military force as formidable

  • as the Roman army would be on the cutting

  • edge of weapons technology, but that wasn't always the case.

  • In fact, the Romans were surprisingly

  • slow to integrate siege weapons into their armies.

  • They often assembled and devised artillery

  • based on Greek designs and only iterated as necessary.

  • However, after Julius Caesar success

  • with siege engines at Alesia, the devices

  • became a powerful and well-integrated part

  • of the Roman arsenal.

  • The most famous Roman siege weapon, the ballista,

  • hurled massive stones and was known

  • as "the onage," or "the wild ass,"

  • for their incredible kickback after firing.

  • Smaller ballista designed to fire heavy bolts

  • were known as "carroballista" or "scorpio."

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

  • Being a soldier came with rewards,

  • but not everyone reaped them equally.

  • Those who were citizens of the Roman Empire did the best.

  • Whereas those who weren't, get nearly the same benefits

  • from serving.

  • Looks like there's no cake.

  • Next year, hey?

  • You can bet me an extra big one.

  • You see, Roman citizens became full-fledged legionnaires,

  • but non-citizens had to become mere auxiliaries.

  • These forces weren't as well respected, didn't

  • earn as much pay, and instead of land

  • and a pension got a military diploma

  • granting them and their offspring Roman citizenship.

  • Additionally, soldiers from influential families

  • were often promoted faster.

  • Surprise, surprise.

  • And older men typically ordered the younger soldiers

  • to take the most dangerous positions on the front lines.

  • Despite the empire's size, the Romans

  • often did not integrate well with their new subjects.

  • If a tribe or kingdom they sought to conquer

  • had the gall to fight them or force them into a siege,

  • only the women and children would

  • have any hope of surviving.

  • Even alliances with foreigners were seen as temporary.

  • When the Celtic King Prasutagus died, leaving ally Emperor Nero

  • half his estate, the Romans responded

  • by taking control of his kingdom and brutally punishing

  • his rebellious family.

  • Romans regarded those dwelling in their empire

  • without Roman citizenship as being of low status,

  • and such people were subject to especially

  • gruesome and horrific punishments like crucifixion.

  • Crucifixion?

  • Yes.

  • Good.

  • Out of the door, line on the left, one cross each.

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

  • While movies and television tend to portray

  • Roman soldiers as battle hardened warriors

  • constantly on the march to their next confrontation,

  • it wasn't usually like that in real life.

  • On average, Roman soldiers lived a mundane and hard working

  • existence.

  • Some took up specialties, filling in

  • as doctors, bakers, potters, and blacksmiths

  • when the barracks needed them.

  • At one time or another, soldiers were

  • put to work on the infrastructure of the empire.

  • In peacetime, leaders of the legion

  • often became administrators, overseeing the construction

  • of roads, bridges, and aqueducts built by soldiers' hands.

  • And regardless of whether it was time of peace or war,

  • there was always plenty of dirty work that had to be done.

  • Pass me the sponge on a stick, will you Marcus?

  • They don't really point this out in the movies either,

  • but the truth is Roman barracks were essentially small cities.

  • And like any city, they needed daily upkeep and maintenance.

  • Soldiers were put to the dirtiest and most mundane tasks

  • like cleaning boots, replacing old pipes,

  • and scrubbing the walls of the baths.

  • The worst of these jobs was, naturally, latrine duty.

  • On any given day, a legionnaire could

  • find himself cleaning feces out of blocked pipes

  • and emptying full latrine pits.

  • Speaking of being domestic, history

  • teaches us that a Roman soldier was not allowed to marry.

  • From the time a soldier's service started until it ended,

  • they were not allowed to take a wife.

  • Pretty much any activity that was considered a distraction

  • from serving the empire was discouraged.

  • [BUZZER]

  • Of course, this didn't stop soldiers

  • from sneaking off and taking unofficial wives

  • and girlfriends from the nearby towns.

  • Also not surprisingly, the high ranking centurions

  • were exempted from the rule and enjoyed the privilege of being

  • able to marry while serving.

  • When Septimius Severus took power in 193 CE, however,

  • this rule was eventually overturned.

  • Much of the Roman army's legendary success

  • wouldn't have been possible if Gaius Marius hadn't

  • been elected consul in 107 BCE.

  • In fact, before his attention turned to the Roman army,

  • it was a loosely assembled group of ragtag volunteers

  • who all had other jobs and would have

  • to bring their own weapons.

  • Under the reforms of Marius, however, the army

  • became the now legendary institution

  • that could create all throughout the known world.

  • How did he do it?

  • Well, among other decrees, Marius

  • allowed citizens without property to enlist,

  • supplied soldiers with arms and armor,

  • and made being a soldier a true career.

  • So what do you think?

  • How would you fare as a Roman soldier?

  • Let us know in the comments below.

  • And while you're at it, check out some of these other videos

  • from our weird history.

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

Over centuries the Roman Empire conquered almost the entirety

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