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Curiosities of ancient Rome (Army)

The world of ancient Romans abounded in a number of amazing curiosities and information. The source of knowledge about the life of the Romans are mainly works left to us by ancient writers or discoveries. The Romans left behind a lot of strange information and facts that are sometimes hard to believe.

3 key Roman armor

Roman legions conquered more peoples and lands not only thanks to their organization and discipline but also thanks to armament that was really high quality. In addition to offensive equipment (pilum, pugio, gladius) also had very good armour.

Lorica segmentata

Dogs on battlefield

Ancient Egyptians were the first to use dogs on the battlefield. Those proved to be so effective that managed themselves during one of the battles between rebellious slaves and the royal army possessing those dogs.

Dogs on the battlefield

Exercises of Roman legionaries

What made Roman legionaries stand out was the ability to act in a group and fight in various weather conditions. In addition, they were disciplined, well-equipped, and of course perfectly trained and durable. So what did their training look like?

Exercises of the Roman legionnaires

Roman testudo – defensive formation of legions

Romans used the testudo formation to protect themselves from the enemy’s fire. The legionaries resembled a turtle-covered shell – hence the name. It was a compact rectangular formation in which the legionaries (usually 27) from the first row and the sides of the formation held the shields in front of them or from the side of their exposed side, while the legionaries from the inner ranks held the shields horizontally above each other and over the legionaries of the first and side ranks, thus creating a shield of the whole formation covering themselves from enemy shots.

Roman testudo

Arcani – Roman agents in Britain

Arcani, also called areani, were agents in Roman military units based in Roman Britain during the later part of the island’s occupation. They were used as both scouts of legions and secret spies. Many of them were mercenaries. This unit was disbanded by the father of the later emperor Theodosius I – Flavius Theodosius, for their participation in conspiracies.

Arcani

Fabricae – Roman armory

Until the fourth century CE, the production of armor and weapons in the Roman Empire was centralized and their execution was the responsibility of the so-called fabricae. Armories were deployed throughout entire provinces and their main task was the production of military equipment.

Fabricae

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