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Curiosities of ancient Rome (Army)

Army is a collection of curiosities about the ancient Roman army and its functioning. This category includes lesser-known facts, interesting information, and unusual details about the legions, weaponry, discipline, tactics, and daily life of soldiers of the Roman Empire.

Roman attempt to conquer kingdom of Sheba

In 25 BCE Egypt’s prefect Gaius Aelius Gallus began a military expedition to subjugate Rome to the Arab kingdom of Sheba. It was located on the territory of modern Yemen, and therefore was an ideal territory from which to conduct maritime trade with countries on the Indian Peninsula.

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11 November 2022
Roman legionary from the 1st century BCE

Names of animals in legions

Ancient Romans adopted the names of many animals for their military equipment, including: eagles (aquilae) for the legionary mark; the ram (aries) for the ram; “pig’s head” (caput porci) for wedge formation; raven (corvus) for the boarding bridge; cuniculus (“tunnel” derived from the word rabbit – coniglio, thus “rabbit hole”); wolf (lupus) for a defensive tool used to push siege ladders away from walls; or “Marius’s mules” (muli Mariani) to describe Roman legionaries after reform of Gaius Marius.

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3 November 2022
The image of a boar on the banner of legion XX