The men gathered in groups called ‘centuries’, each of one hundred men. At first wars only lasted a few days, so it did not matter if the recruits left their farms for a short time.
By 340BC wars further away from Rome meant people were required to leave their farms for longer periods. Wages were introduced. Even slaves were occasionally asked to fight. This was dangerous because sometimes the slaves could turn against their masters and attack them.
The legions fought as heavy infantry, but also provided engineers, cadres of officers and men to assist the government, and officers for the non-citizen troops - the auxilia
The auxilia provided the army's cavalry and light infantry. Their units were 500 - 1,000 strong and normally recruited from non-citizens. Auxiliary soldiers received citizenship when they retired. Auxiliary regiments were grouped into army groups based on a legion and under the command of the legion's commanding officer. Normally there were the same number of auxiliaries as legionaries in these army groups
Under Caesar legionaries earned two hundred and twenty five denarri (Roman currency) per year. This was later increased to three hundred denarri a year. Soldiers had to buy their own food, which took about a third of their wages. Meals were simple: cheese, beans, and bread or gruel made of wheat or barley. Soldiers drank water or ‘Posca’, a cheap sour wine. Until AD5 full time soldiers served for twenty years, later this was raised to twenty-five years.
The Roman Army was divided into huge groups called legions. The best trained, best equipped and highest paid soldier was the legionary. People could only become legionaries if they were Roman citizens or sons of legionaries. A legion could contain up to six thousand soldiers. Legionaries were trained to build and dismantle camps.
The soldiers’ shields were not only used for defence but for attack as well. They would hit the enemy with their shield if they had a chance to.
Thirty six times a year there were route marches of eighteen miles. The pace was forced at four or five miles an hour.
The army’s troops went to many different places and behind them they left quite a bit of evidence that they had been there.
When the army was not fighting the soldiers, apart from the legionaries were expected to build camps, forts, roads, bridges, and walls. A number of the forts were build along Hadrian’s Wall. At one of these forts named Housteads you are able to see a rather unusual building. This building is the toilet block that was used by the soldiers. The two narrow channels are where the men washed their sponges to clean themselves today we use toilet paper. The block shows how organised these forts were.
PICTURE
Some of the sources of information about the army come from the tombstones of the many dead soldiers. These tombstones have been found in many places throughout the Empire.
Soldiers, if they misbehaved were flogged. If a legion disobeyed its rations, they were reduced; if mutiny was suspected every tenth man was executed. The word for this was ‘decimatio’. It is the origin of the English word decimate, which means to reduce by one tenth.
In difficult countryside, carts could not be used to transport the equipment of the soldiers. The soldiers had to carry all their belongings; food, tools for digging and building, two heavy wooden stakes for the camp fence, and cooking pot. Because of this the soldiers were nicknamed ‘the mules of Marius’
As well as learning to fight some of the soldiers in the army were trained as surveyors, engineers or stone masons, and supervised the construction of roads, canals and buildings.
The government knew that retired soldiers could be dangerous and wanted to keep them peaceful. They were given a sum of money or a small plot of land to farm.
TYPES OF SOLDIERS
GUARDS
In the early empire the Emperor had under his direct command the Praetorian Guard and his cavalry body guard - the Singulares both based in Rome.
The Praetorian Guard
Of higher status than both the legions and the auxiliaries were the Praetorian Guard. Most of their soldiering was done at Rome as the Emperor's household troops, although they did accompany him on campaign. The size of the Guard fluctuated, by the second half of the first century it had nine cohorts with 500 men in each. There were also a number of urban cohorts whose role was to maintain order in Rome.
Singulares
Singulares was the name given to the body guard of the Emperor, governors or generals. The British singulares would have been based in the fort in London and have been made up of men seconded from the rest of the British garrison.
LEGIONS
The total number of legions in the Empire remained at around 30 until the late third century, when the Emperor Diocletian increased their number to over 60. Throughout this period legions were based in frontier provinces where they were able to campaign beyond the Empire. Britain's garrison fluctuated between three and four legions during the first century, depending on the demands of other provinces, but from the mid 80s AD the number remained at three, though not always the same three, with bases at Caerleon, Chester and York. Assuming an equal number of auxiliaries this suggests a total army strength of between 36,000 and 48,000 men making the British army one of the largest in the Empire
Legions consisted of ten cohorts, with six centuries of 80 men in each cohort, apart from the first cohort which from around 70 AD was double strength, ie six centuries of 160 men. There were also 120 mounted troops to act as messengers and scouts. The legion's commanding officer was the legate; appointed from the senatorial class by the Emperor. The other senior officers were six tribunes and 60 centurions.
Detachments from legions or occasionally from auxiliary regiments operating on their own or with other detachments were known as vexillations (from the flag that identified them that was known as a vexillatio) and until the creation of field armies in the late Empire were the way of providing temporary reinforcements to provincial armies for major campaigns. It is presumed that this practice of creating vexillations for the field armies gave rise to the increase in the number of legions in the late Empire and their reduction in size to units of around 1,000 strong.
TYPES OF REGIMENTS
AUXILIARY REGIMENTS
Auxiliary regiments were either around 500 strong (called quingenaria) or, from the second half of the 1st century, could be around a 1,000 strong (milliaria). Milliaria units were rare - Britain had only one milliaria cavalry unit in its garrison.
Cavalry
Cavalry units known as ala (ala - wing) are thought to have consisted of 16 troops (turmae) with 30 troopers in each if they were quingenaria or if milliaria 32 turmae.
Infantry
Infantry units known as cohors peditata had six centuries with 80 soldiers to each; milliaria cohorts had ten centuries (like a legion's first cohort).
Mixed units
Finally there were mixed infantry/cavalry regiments - cohors equitata. Their organisation is less clear, but are usually assumed to have had six centuries of 80 men and four turmae of 30 troopers, a total strength of 600 men. Cohors equitata milliaria had ten centuries of 80 men and eight turmae of 30troopers, making an establishment size of 1040 plus officers.
Auxiliary units were commanded by tribunes drawn from the equestrian class, second to senators in status, with centurions leading centuries and decurions turmae.
UNIFORM AND WEAPONS
When a new recruit entered the army he was given a uniform. All new garments after that had to be paid for out of his wages. A soldier’s basic outfit varied a little according to his rank or status.
The army had to wear shoes, which were hobnailed so they didn’t wear out the leather with all the walking they did. They also wore bracelets to stash their cash.
The Romans had some horrible tools for murdering the enemy. They wore a short, wide sword and a dagger, as well as a spear or javelin. They also used an exceedingly large crossbow named a ballista, which fired iron bolts at the enemy.
These pictures show what legionaries wore: -
PICTURES OF WEAPONS
MAKING A CAMP
During the wars to secure the empire, legions spent many days on the march. When they stopped each night they set up camp, then dismantled it the following morning. The procedure was highly organised. The camp was always laid out the same way, so everyone knew his part in building it. Josephus, a Jewish priest, captured by the Romans in AD67, observed the Roman tactics of building their camps.
SIEGES
The Romans were extremely determined fighters. They conquered towns that were protected by high walls or built on cliff tops. Sometimes the Romans simply surrounded towns. The inhabitants, unable to get in or out, were slowly starved of food and were forced to surrender. This took a long time, so the Romans invented techniques to break down defences more quickly. They also used heavy weapons, or artillery, called tormenta (the English word torments comes from this word). These machines were able to fire missiles over long distances. Ropes made of horsehair or human hair were twisted and stretched so that when released they shot missiles with great force.
If soldiers wanted to approach an enemy wall without being hit by the enemy’s arrows they grouped together and covered themselves completely with their shields. This formation was called a testudo (tortoise).
FRONTIERS
The changes in the army were in response to a changing strategic situation. Increasingly from the late first century onwards the boundaries of the Empire become fixed. What once were temporary stop lines become frontiers. Under Domitian frontier defences appear in Germany and Britain - the Gask Ridge on Tayside. Significantly from the Latin for frontier, limes, we gain our word limit.
The army's role remained much the same in both periods: policing frontier tribes; preventing cattle rustling and tax evasion; and showing the flag to allied tribes in the border region. However the increasing sophistication of the tribes outside the Empire, caused in some ways by the presence and success of the Empire itself, meant that wars in the later Empire, when they erupted, were hard-fought affairs against increasingly larger confederacies of tribesmen, armed with weapons as effective as those of the Roman army. These wars and in particular the chaos of the 3rd century led to units being destroyed and vexillations failing to return to their home units and becoming independent units. It is out of this period of instability that the army of the late Empire appears.
The frontier systems should not be thought of as modern frontiers. They were not the equivalent of Iron Curtains between Empire and the barbarians. They were zones that the army patrolled in front off to ensure that allied tribes lived in peace and that lawlessness did not encroach on the province. That lawlessness might be the modern equivalent of a single criminal or rarely an alliance of unfriendly tribes. And when the army did campaign in force it might be because of the tensions caused by competing and proud cultures - native or Roman - or because of an Emperor's political or personal need for glory
Hadrian wanted permanent frontiers at the borders of the empire. He built walls in Germany, Numidia, and Britain.
The wall in Britain which is known, as ‘Hadrian’s Wall’ is the one that has been best preserved over the years. It runs for about eighty miles from the river Tyne to the river Solway. It was mainly built between AD22 and AD29. Hadrian’s Wall had political functions as well as being a barrier like city walls.
The political function enabled the Romans to control the tribes to the North. Behind the wall there was a road and mile castles. The road linked the mile castles and forts together. The mile castle was able to accommodate a few of the troops. Between every pair of mile castles two turrets, which stood approximately five hundred meters apart. The turrets were used for sending messages along the wall as well as being used for lookouts.
1 Barrack blocks
2 Barracks of the first cohort with
houses for its centurions
3 Granaries
4 Headquarters building
5 Legate's house
6 Hospital
7 Tribunes' houses
8 Wall and ditch
Plan of a first century fortress based
on the unfinished fortress at
Inchtuthill, Tayside
Forts
First century
fort plan
1 Barrack blocks
2 Granaries
3 Headquarters
building
4 Tribune's house
usually accommodating auxiliary units and around 1 - 3 hectares in size, though examples of under 1 ha and over 4 ha are known.
Fortlets
First century
fortlet plan
1 Barrack blocks
usually around 1 hectare, holding a century or more of an auxiliary unit but unlike forts with no headquarters building.
Signal and Watch Towers
watch or signal towers were occupied on a shift system, with the tower teams being housed in nearby forts or fortlets. often only 3 or 4 metres square, the terms are often used indiscriminately, but are usually taken to cover very small sites without significant barrack accommodation;
Marching Camps
Temporary camp plan
1 Entrances
2 Ditch and bank
Marching, and other temporary camps had a ditch and low turf rampart topped with a palisade made up of stakes carried by each man. These camps provided a simple measure of protection for troops camped under canvas. Sites that were perhaps occupied longer than a single night have been found to have rubbish pits aligned with the lines of tents.
overnight stops for armies or units on campaign and ranging from 45 hectares downwards;
Practice Camps often close to forts where troops trained in building marching camps and in particular the most difficult part of the camps, the corners and entrances;
Labour camps for troops building forts of which perhaps the best known are those close to Hadrian's Wall and the Antonine Wall;
Depots usually campaign stores bases; potteries, brick and tile works;
Ore Workings gold in Mid Wales, lead in North Wales and the Pennines and iron in the Weald of Kent and Sussex and Devon and Somerset; and
Military presence which is used where there is evidence of Roman military personnel but the type of site can not be identified.
THE PURPOSE OF THE SITES
In the early Empire forts were bases that offered security for their garrisons and their equipment. In wartime the enemy was fought in the field, at other times the garrison would have patrolled well beyond the frontier to support allied tribes and gather intelligence.
ROMAN ROADS
By AD100 the empire was an extremely large area with an emperor at its head. There was an impressive network of roads, which linked the empire. About every five thousand feet (1,500 meters), which is a Roman mile, a milestone was placed. The word Mile came from a Latin word ‘Mille’ meaning one thousand.
Most of the roads were long and straight but some that were used to cross-mountains were twisting and turning. The straight roads allowed troops to travel to any trouble spots in the shortest amount of time possible. Some Roman roads still exist today.
The Romans developed their road system from Military necessary. In the early years of Rome’s expansion, the army was able to march from the city to the front line of battle in a few hours. As the empire grew, it became vital to move troops and supplies quickly over long distances.
In Roman times people travelling round Britain would either ride on horseback, drive carts pulled by oxen, or walk. All the roads they had to travel along would be straight. Winding roads may be interesting to walk along but it takes you a lot longer to get where you are going and bandits and robbers can be hiding around bends.
Roman roads were carefully built to slope down from the middle to ditches on either side. This way the rain would drain away and not make the road too muddy.
When planning a road, Roman surveyors looked for the shortest, straightest, flattest route. To find this they took sites from a single high point. Once the route had been planned, the turf and trees were cleared in preparation. Then a trench was dug about one meter deep and filled with layers of stone. To prevent puddles (which would crack the road if they froze), the surface was built with a raised curve called a camber, and ditches were dug to drain away water. Sometimes instead of a ditch earth was dug and piled into a mound, with foundation stones on top. This kind of road was called an agger and was up to fifteen meters wide and 1.5 meters high. Aggers were probably built as boundaries or to impress local people.
The vehicles should travel on the left but sometimes people charged down the middle of the road sometimes knocking wheels off other carriages and their own.
Burial Grounds were not allowed inside the city walls, so the roads outside the walls, were lined with tombs and graves.
ROMAN TOWNS
In the early Roman towns there was no particular plan to them. When the Romans occupied the Greek cities, in southern Italy around 250BC, they quickly adopted the grid pattern, which the Greeks had used. This meant the streets would be at right angles to each other. To make the town personal the Romans added the forum, basilicas, amphitheatres, baths, drains, and water systems.
TOWN HOUSES
By the time of the later republic, most town peoples lived in apartment blocks, which were names ‘insulae’. Every individual apartment had the name ‘cenaculum’. Only people who were exceedingly rich were able to live in a private house, or domus. In AD350 there was a survey which showed there were one thousand seven hundred and ninety domus and forty six thousand six hundred and two insulae, though elsewhere the proportion of private houses may have been higher.
SEE PICTURE OF DOMUS
The Romans developed the central heating system. It was called the hypocaust. It was used mainly in bathhouses, as Italy was a rather warm place. In colder parts of the empire though it could be found in town houses and country villas. The hypocaust could be rather dangerous as it was a fire in a specially made grate, but if the fire touched anything wooden nearby the whole house may have caught fire.
SEE PICTURE OF CENTRAL HEATING
Some apartments were luxurious and spacious, while others were cramped and squalid. They could have many rooms or only one. Limits were imposed on the height to which insulae could be built – normally only four or five storeys were allowed.
SEE PICTURE OF INSULAE
Romans looked after their houses better on the inside than on the outside. Outside the houses often looked dull, boring and drab. However inside they were lavishly decorated with paintings on the walls, mosaics on the floor and sometimes statues in a corner of the room.
FORUM
The Forum was a large open space, used as a market place. It was usually at the point where the two main streets crossed. The forum was usually surrounded on three sides by a covered walkway, which contained shops and offices.
BASILICA
On the forth side of the forum the basilica stood. It was a large building used as a law court and for other public functions. In the basilica was the curia (town hall). The ordo (town council) met here. The council was responsible for the administration of the town.
AMPHITEATRE
An amphitheatre was a circular or oval building in which gladiator fights and shows of wild beasts took place. The first amphitheatres were wooden; stone ones were later build all over the empire. There were amphitheatres in every town in the empire. The largest held up to fifty thousand spectators. Rich citizens sat in the best seats, near ground level. Poorer people sat higher up.
BATHS
After a morning's work at the office or shop, most Roman's enjoyed spending the afternoon at the thermae or public bath. Men and women enjoyed coming to the baths not only to get clean but to meet with friends, exercise, or read at the library.
Generally, Romans would first go to the unctuarium where they had oil rubbed onto their skin and would then exercise in one of the exercise yards. From here they would move to the tepidarium or warm room where they would lie around chatting with their friends. Next, it was on to the caldarium, similar to a Turkish bath, hot and steamy. Here they sat and perspired, scraping their skin with a strigil, a curved metal tool. Attendants would serve them snacks and drinks. Finally came a dip in the calidarium
(hot bath) and a quick dip in the frigidarium (cold bath). After swimming, the bather might enjoy a massage where he might have oils and perfumes rubbed into his skin.
Feeling clean and relaxed, the Roman might drift through the beautiful gardens decorated with mosaics and colossal scruptures or enjoy athletic events in a theaterlike rotunda.
The largest of all Roman baths was the Diocletian, completed in A.D. 305 and covered an area of 130,000 sq. yards
The first ever bath houses, were built in the second century BC. They were simple washing facilities which only men were allowed to use
By the time of Augustus there were one hundred and seventy privately owned bathhouses, and in AD20 the first large state owned public baths were open. Baths grew in size and splendour, in imperial times; they became huge centres where thousands of people spent their leisure hours.
Emperors had baths built to show off their power and wealth. The buildings were often extremely lavish, full of gold and marble. In imperial times it only cost a ‘quadrans’ (the smallest Roman coin) to get in. The baths were open from dawn to sunset.
The ‘tepidarium’ was a warm room with a small pool. The hot room, the caldarium had a pool for bathing. In this damp atmosphere people sweated a lot.
The hottest room of all was the laconium. Mainly invalids used it. A tub of boiling water in the centre kept it steamy.
The frigidarium was a room with a large cold swimming pool.
The Romans kept clean by covering their bodies with oil, which they then scraped off with strigils (scrapers made of wood, bone or metal). They used this, as they did not have soap, as it was not invented then.
SEWER SYSTEMS
The town’s waste was carried in sewage systems under the streets. There were gutters along the edge of the streets, so that rainwater could run through them into the sewers.
THE GEESE OF ROME
In 390BC some Gauls tried to raid Rome’s Capitoline Hill (one of Rome’s churches). They were stopped in their tracks when the geese belonging to the priest chased them away. The holy geese made such a racket that the Roman’s woke and managed to capture some of the French.
ENTERTAINMENT
Because life was hard in the Roman times, people living in the empire loved entertainment. It was said the only things Romans were interested in were entertainment and food! There was a very good chance of regular entertainment if you lived near a town or city. The entertainment would be provided in theatres or arenas build in the big settlements. Rome was to provide free shows as emperor’s realised that was one way of remaining popular. Men, often slaves, were specially trained as Gladiators to fight to the death in the arena. Other shows included men fighting wild animals, chariot races, animal hunts, and even sea battles (they had to flood the arena)!
The first arena – or amphitheatre – was built around 53BC. The most famous arena though, is the Colosseum, which is in Rome’s ‘town centre’.
You can see the Colosseum below.
PICTURE
Notice the passageways on the ground. These would have been under the arena, to let the wild animals out unexpectedly.
PASTIMES
The Romans enjoyed public gardens and parks. They used them as well as toilets to relax and talk. There was also enjoyment in many forms of exercise, including running, javelin throwing, and wrestling. For these activities there were special grounds like the Campus Martius in Rome. There was also space for the less energetic activities including drafts, capita et navia (Roman equivalent of head and tails), tali (knucklebones), and fishing.
Children built their own toy houses, used whips and tops, kites and hoops, and played on seesaws and swings. Paintings and mosaics show us the sort of games children played. They sometimes imitated the activities of adults.
Children had their own equivalent of Chariot racing. They rode in small carts, which were pulled by geese.
Trigon
- Next time your parents slaughter a pig for dinner, ask them for the bladder – it’s a part you won’t be eating anyway.
- The bladder is cleaned out then blown up like a balloon and tied.
- A triangle with sides about 2 meters long is drawn on the ground and a player stands at each corner of the triangle.
- The bladder-ball is passed from one player to another without it touching the ground.
- The aim of the game is to keep the bladder-ball in the air as long as possible.
- Easy? Then add two more balls so that each player has one. There is no set order for passing the ball. You may have to pass your ball while receiving two from the other players.
- If you drop a ball you loose a point. The winner is the one with the fewest drops in the time – say five minutes.
Knucklebones
- If your parents happen to sacrifice a sheep to the gods, ask if you can have one of its feet.
- Boil the sheep’s foot until the flesh and skin fall away from the bones.
- Take the small, cubic bones and dry them. You now have five “chuck stones”.
- Hold the bones in one hand. Throw them into the air. The aim is to see who can catch the most on the back of their hand.
Mickare
- Play in pairs.
- Each player places their right hand behind their back.
- Agree on a signal – one player will nod, for example.
- On the signal, both players shoot out the right hand with a number of fingers raised.
- At the same moment each player calls out what they guess the total number of fingers will be, on their partners hand.
- If neither guesses correctly then try again.
- The winner is the first one to guess correctly.
CHARIOT RACING
One of the most popular spectator sports in the empire was chariot racing. Chariot racing was a sport in which two horses were used to pull a man standing up in a vehicle, which was like a dining chair but with one wheel attached on either side. The reason for its popularity was it’s great danger. Teams of charioteers would race at high speed, pushing and bumping into each other as they went. One trick was to deliberately smash into the opposing chariot hoping to destroy them. When this happened, the charioteer was ‘shipwrecked’ and had to cut the reigns quickly or risk being dragged by his own horses to death or serious injury. In Rome this sort of race took place at the ‘circus maximus’, which could hold two hundred and fifty thousand spectators. By out standards these sports were extremely violent – most involved humans and animals in acts of great cruelty. Popularity shows that in the Roman day’s life was extremely brutal and cheap.
Up to twenty-four races a day could be expected. There could be up to twelve chariots in a race and up to four different teams. Each race usually lasted for seven laps. These were counted by removing objects shaped like dolphins or large eggs from the racks on the spina (a platform in the centre of the track).
GLADIATOR FIGHTS
Gladiators were usually prisoners, criminals, slaves, or paid volunteers, who fought for the public’s entertainment. Gladiators fought against each other and also against wild beasts including; bears, leopards, tigers, and lions. The audiences adored watching men fighting to the death. The Gladiators did not expect though to live for more than three fights in the arena, though sometimes if a man was defeated he was lucky and allowed to live. If a Gladiator finally managed to win five fights in a row he was rewarded with freedom.
The Gladiators fought in the afternoons, their weapons and costumes could distinguish the four types. The four categories were Retiarius, Murmillo, Samnite and Thracian. To make a show more interesting Gladiators fought another category for example a Ratiarius may fight a Murmillo.
SEE PICTURE OF GLADIATORS
They normally continued to their death, but defeated or wounded fighters would appeal for mercy. After listening to the crowd, an official in charge, signalled with his thumb, whether the man should like or die.
The most famous arena for Gladiator fighting was the Colosseum. Trajan (AD98-117) presided over a show that lasted one hundred and seventeen days in which ten thousand Gladiators took part. The successful Gladiator received money, a crown, and great respect. After many victories he may be awarded a wooden sword, which signified his freedom. Many freed fighters became trainers at special schools for Gladiators.
THEATRE
The theatre, during the third century BC, became popular. This was after the Romans came into contact with the Greeks. At first plays were staged in wooden theatres but fifty-five BC saw a change in how the theatres were built and saw the first ever stone theatre. It was build in Rome by Pompey. It held up to twenty seven thousand people. Stone theatre were later build all over the empire.
The Roman theatre was shaped with a half circle or orchestra space in front of the stage. Most often the audience sat here in comfortable chairs. Occasionally, however, the actors would perform in this space.
The audience was usually more interested in their favorite actors than the play itself. The actors would try to win over the audience's praise with decorative masks, costumes, dancing and mime. If the play scripted an actor's dying, a condemned man would take the place of the actor at the last moment and actually be killed on stage. The Romans loved the bloodthirsty spectacles.
Conclusion
If it was not for the Romans we would not have half the things we have today including: proper roads, houses, cranes, forts, and theatres/entertainment.
I have learnt that the Romans were the people who invented cranes. They also made gutters so people did not have to stand in waste all the time.
Who made the first leisure centre? Who invented the sauna? Who made the first public baths? This project has answered all of these questions and many others.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
General Reference
Looking into the past - The Romans
Foul Facts History – The Awful Truth!
The Oxford History of Britain
Kingfisher Reference – Concise Encyclopaedia
The Hutchinson – Concise Encyclopaedia
The Usborne Illustrated World History - The Romans
Horrible History - Rotten Romans
The Children’s Encyclopaedia - Volume Three
The Children’s Encyclopaedia - Volume Seven
The Children’s Encyclopaedia - Volume Eight
In Search of - The Dark Ages
Contrasts and Connections
Prehistoric Britain From the Air
Historical Atlas of Britain
The Times Newspaper 08/11/2001
These Were The Romans
The Roman World
World Wide Web – Roman Army
World Wide Web – Roman Roads
World Wide Web – History of Rome