Curiosities of ancient Rome (Army)

Many of us think the Roman legions were brave, disciplined, tough and well-trained soldiers It is true. However, the Romans were like us and they had their own weaknesses. For example greed.

Combat gases are associated primarily with the First World War and their terrible effectiveness. It was then that chemical weapons were used on a massive scale, but this method of fighting was not new at all. The ancients were so ingenious that they used chemical weapons on the battlefield as early as the 3rd century CE.

Roman army for a long time had large numbers of recruits. This was due to the fact that soldiers from the conquered provinces eagerly joined the army (auxilia).

Tents were in use already in ancient times. The ancient Romans used them mainly in marching camps (castra aestiva), which were pitched during military campaigns every day. We owe much information about their construction to the excavations at Vindolanda or Newstead, where leather materials have been preserved. Information about the use of tents by the Romans in war is also provided by reliefs from Trajan’s column in Rome, where selected moments of the Dacian War are depicted.

Pilum was a legionary’s javelin for throwing at a distance before the fight. The enemy’s shield was not a serious obstacle for a well-trained legionary.

Josephus Flavius wrote in the 1st century CE that all legionaries carried in addition to weapons: saw, basket, bucket, axe, leather belt, sickle, chain and a food ration that was supposed to last for three days.

For the bravery shown in combat and good performance of all duties, Roman soldiers could receive the so-called a phalera (plural phalerae), a kind of medal or decoration which they then wore tied with leather straps above the chest.

Frumentarii was the secret Roman police. Initially, they were collecting taxes and spreading messages throughout the Empire. They were also responsible for controlling and regulating grain deliveries to the capital. Their role, however, evolved during the reign of Hadrian (117-138 CE), who abandoned the policy of expansion and focused on internal stabilization – for this purpose frumenatrii took over the role of the secret police.

According to Polybius¹, during the period of the Republic, Roman legionaries in formation had about 180 cm of space (both depth and width), which was 3.24 square meters. A more reliable source of information – Vegetius² – is to indicate a width of 90 cm and a depth of 200 cm, i.e. 1.8 square meters.