During Rome’s early years, farmers formed the backbone of its military. Only landowners fought; Rome’s leaders assumed that people defending their own and their neighbors’ farms would fight harder than someone who had no ties to the land. In the time of the general Marius, however, during the first century B. C.E., Rome began to develop its first professional army. Becoming a soldier was a promising-if risky-career for poor farmers or others who could not find work. At first, most soldiers came from the Italian peninsula, but as the empire grew, citizens from all over joined the ranks.
Marius recruited soldiers by giving them weapons and equipment. Before this, Roman soldiers were required to provide their own weapons. Soldiers signed up for 16 years, a term later extended to 20. These career soldiers were called legionnaires, while their officers were called centurions. After completing their service, the legionnaires were on reserve for another five years, meaning they could be called back to duty during an emergency.
Enforcing Military Discipline
In English, to decimate something means to destroy it completely. The word comes from the Latin decimare, which means to kill every 10th person. If a group of Roman soldiers tried to mutiny, their officer would randomly take one soldier out of every 10 and kill him. This decimation served as a warning to other soldiers who might consider rebelling. Roman troops would also sometimes decimate captured enemy soldiers. The root of decimare is the Latin word for 10, which also appears in such English words as decimal and decade.
Roman soldiers carried deadly weapons. A legionnaire was equipped with a dagger called a pugio, a short iron sword called a gladius, which was used for stabbing and slashing, and a javelin called a pilum. By about 35 C. E., Roman soldiers wore armor made of sections of iron joined by hooks or leather straps. They carried shields made of layers of wood glued together and covered in leather and linen. Bronze and iron helmets were designed to protect the sides of the head and neck. Officers wore crests on their helmets so they could be easily seen during a battle.
Soldiers received a salary from the generals who commanded them or from the emperor, as well as occasional bonuses-the booty they took from their defeated enemies. Augustus offered a special bonus to legionnaires who completed their entire term of service-money equal to more than 13 years’ pay. Some soldiers, once they retired, had enough money to open businesses and move up into the equites class.
Rome’s army was famous for its discipline and skill. Flavius Joseph, a Jewish historian of the first century, wrote about Roman soldiers in A History of the Jewish War, “As if born for the sole purpose of wielding arms, they never take a break from training, never wait for a situation requiring arms” (as quoted in Jo-Ann Shelton’s As the Romans Did). New recruits went on 20-mile marches three times a month, with their supplies and weapons on their backs, to prepare them for battle. Legionnaires who disobeyed their officers were executed-even if their actions led to success on the battlefield.
To keep the legionnaires focused on their military activities, Augustus said they could not marry, though many men had relationships with women and had children.
The military also offered good opportunities to provincials. Only Roman citizens could be legionnaires, but the men of the provinces were recruited as auxiliaries. They usually served under Roman officers. Auxiliaries received less pay than the regular troops and had to serve 25 years, but if they completed their service they and their families were granted Roman citizenship.
World History
