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Roman Army
By George Rootham
• The Roman army was made up of groups of
soldiers called legions. There were over 5,000
soldiers in a legion.
• Roman soldiers were
very strong and tough,
they had to march over
20 miles a day with heavy
things to carry. They had
to carry tents, food,
cooking pots and
weapons as well as
wearing all their armour.
• The Roman army was
divided into two groups legionaries and
auxiliaries.
Roman Legionnaire
• You had to be under the
age of 45 and a roman
citizen to be a Roman
Legionnaire.
• Legionnaires served in
the army for 20 years.
They were well trained
fighting men They were
also engineers and
craftsmen because they
had to build roads,
bridges and forts.
•
Roman Auxiliary
• The Auxiliaries were nonRoman citizens. They
were recruited from
places that had been
conquered by Rome.
• Auxiliaries were paid less
than the legionaires and
had to serve for 25 years,
after which they became
Roman citizens.
The Roman Cavalry
A troop of 120 horsemen, who served as scouts and messengers were part of
each Roman legion.
Weapons
• The legionary's
weapons were two
javelins, a sword and
a dagger.
• The sword was very
important. It was light
and short (no more
than 50 cm) so
soldiers can use it for
stabbing quickly.
Pilum- throwing spear
• A soldier carried two
spears to throw at the
enemy. The spears were
just over two metres long
and they were designed
to bend and stick in the
enemy's shield.
• They were difficult to pull
out so they couldn't be
thrown back at the
attacking Roman soldiers.
Pugio - dagger
The pugio was a small
dagger used by
Roman soldiers. It was
worn on left side.
Scutum- shield
• A soldier always
carried a shield
(scutum) which he
used for protection.
Roman Armour
• All Roman soldiers
wore a uniform and
armour to protect
them against being
wounded in battle.
Cassis- helmet
• A helmet was worn to
protect a soldiers
forehead.
• There was a guard at
the back of the helmet
to protect from sword
attacks.