Curiosities of ancient Rome (Army)

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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.

Prohibition of service in Roman legions

In the light of social norms or Roman law, from the earliest years of its existence, the Roman state limited access to military service. Only Roman citizens (cives Romani) had the right or duty to…Więcej

Camp life of Romans

In each Roman military camp, latrines were built, fed with running water from nearby streams. The analysis of the contents of the septic tank rinsed from these sanitary facilities allowed archaeologists to reconstruct the diet…Więcej

Greedy Roman legionaries

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. So, during the…Więcej

War gases in ancient times

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…Więcej

War of Roman Empire with Bosporan kingdom in 45 – 49 CE as attempt to shed dependence on Rome

The Bosporan Kingdom was a political power that was established at the beginning of the 5th century BCE. as a result of an alliance of several dozen cities and towns located along both shores of…Więcej

Large number of recruits in Roman army

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). After 25 years of service, these soldiers…Więcej

Roman tent in Scotland

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…Więcej

Pilum – effective weapon of legionaries

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. The spear pierced her, as well as the man behind…Więcej

What did 1st century CE legionary carry with him?

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…Więcej

Roman decorations – phalerae

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…Więcej

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