Legionary

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Legionary

The Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
legionary was a professional soldier of the Roman army

Military history of ancient Rome

From its origin as a city-state in History of Italy during Roman times in 9th century BC, the rise as an Roman Empire covering much of Eurasia and North Africa and fall in the 5th century AD of Ancient Rome was often closely entwined with its military history....
after the Marian reforms

Marian reforms

The Marian reforms of 107 BC were a group of military reforms initiated by Gaius Marius, a statesman and general of the Roman republic....
of 107 BC. Legionaries had to be Roman citizens

Roman citizenship

Citizenship in ancient Rome was a privileged social status afforded to certain individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance.It is hard to offer meaningful generalities across the entire Roman period, as the nature and availability of citizenship was affected by legislation, for example, the Lex Iulia....
under the age of 45. They enlisted in a legion

Roman legion

The Roman Legion is a term that can apply both as a translation of legio to the entire Roman army and also, more narrowly , to the heavy infantry that was the basic military unit of the Roman army in the period of the late Roman Republic and the Roman Empire....
for twenty-five years of service, a change from the early practice of enlisting only for a campaign

Military campaign

In the military sciences, a military campaign is a term applied to Scale , long duration, significant military strategy Military plan incorporating a series of inter-related military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war....
.

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Encyclopedia

The Roman

Ancient Rome

Military history of ancient Rome

Marian reforms

The Marian reforms of 107 BC were a group of military reforms initiated by Gaius Marius, a statesman and general of the Roman republic....
of 107 BC. Legionaries had to be Roman citizens

Roman citizenship

Roman legion

Military campaign

Veteran

A war veteran is a person who has or is working in the armed forces, or a person who has had long service or experience in an occupation or office....
lighter duties.

On the march in unfriendly terrain, the legionary would be loaded down with armour

Armour

Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat....
commonly (lorica hamata
Lorica hamata

The lorica hamata is a type of chainmail armour used by the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. During the 1st century it was starting to be supplemented by lorica segmentata, but had been reintroduced as standard-issue armor by the 4th century....
), (lorica squamata
Lorica squamata

The Lorica squamata is a type of scale armour used by ancient Roman army during the Roman Republic and at later periods. It was made from small metal scales sewn to a fabric backing....
), and 2nd-3rd century (lorica segmentata
Lorica segmentata

The lorica segmentata was a type of segmented armour exclusively used in the Roman Empire, but the Latin name was first used in the 16th century ....
), shield

Shield

A shield is a protective device, meant to intercept attacks. The term often refers to a device that is held in the hand, as opposed to armour or a bullet proof vest....
(scutum
Scutum (shield)

Scutum is the Latin word for "shield", although it has in modern times come to be specifically associated with the rectangular, semi-cylinder body shield carried by Roman legion....
), helmet

Helmet

A helmet is a form of protective gear worn on the head to protect it from injuries, a variation of the hat. The oldest use of helmets was by Ancient Greek soldiers, who wore thick leather or bronze helmets to protect the head from sword blows and arrows....
(galea), two javelins (one heavy pilum
Pilum

The pilum was a heavy javelin commonly used by the Military history of ancient Rome#Roman army in ancient times. It was generally about two meters long overall, consisting of an iron shank about 7 mm in diameter and 60 cm long with pyramidal head....
and one light), a short sword (gladius
Gladius

Gladius is a Latin word for sword. Early Ancient Rome swords were similar to those used by the Greeks. From the 3rd century BC, the Romans adopted swords similar to those used by the Celtiberians and others during the early part of the conquest of Hispania....
), a dagger

Dagger

A dagger is a typically double-edged blade used for stabbing or thrusting. They often fulfill the role of a companion weapon in close combat....
(pugio
Pugio

The pugio was a small dagger used by Ancient Rome soldiers as a sidearm. It seems likely that the pugio was intended as an auxiliary or backup weapon, but it found many uses, especially as a utility knife....
), a pair of heavy sandal

Sandal (footwear)

Sandals are an open type of footwear, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by straps or thongs passing over the instep and around the ankle....
s (Caligae
Caligae

Caligae are heavy-soled military shoes or Sandal which were worn by Roman legion soldiers and auxiliaries throughout the history of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire....
), a Sarcina (marching pack), about fourteen days worth of food, a waterskin (bladder for water), cooking equipment, two stakes

Sudis (stake)

The sudis is a Latin word meaning stake. It was the name given to stakes carried by legionary#Roman legionaries for employment as a field fortification, sometimes also called valus....
(Sudes murale) for the construction of palisade

Palisade

A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure....
s, and a shovel

Shovel

A shovel is a tool for lifting and moving loose material such as coal, gravel, snow, soil, or sand and is an extremely common tool which is used extensively in agriculture, construction and gardening....
or wicker

Wicker

Wicker is hard woven fiber formed into a rigid material, usually used for baskets or furniture. Wicker is often made of material of plant origin, but plastic fibers are also used....
basket

Basket

A basket is a container which is traditionally constructed from stiff fibers, often made of willow. . The top is either left open or the basket may be fitted with a lid....
.

The Roman soldier underwent especially rigorous training; discipline

Discipline

In its most general sense, discipline refers to systematic instruction given to a disciple. This sense also preserves the origin of the word, which is Latin disciplina "instruction", from the root discere "to learn," and from which discipulus "disciple, pupil" also derives....
was the base of the army's success and the soldiers were relentlessly and constantly trained with weapons and especially with drill

Parade (military)

A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted. The American usage is "formation or military review". The military parade is now mostly ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the late 19th century fought in formation....
— forced marches with full load and in tight formation were frequent. Discipline was important and infractions were heavily punished by the centurion

Centurion

Centurion may refer to:...
s.

Immunes

Included in the ranks, aside from the basic heavy infantrymen, were the immunes, specialist soldiers with secondary roles such as engineer

Engineer

An engineer is a person professionally engaged in a field of engineering. Engineers are concerned with developing economical and safe solutions to practical problems, by applying mathematics and scientific knowledge while considering technical constraints....
, carpenter

Carpenter

A carpenter is a skilled artisan who performs carpentry - a wide range of woodworking that includes constructing building construction, furniture, and other objects out of wood....
and medic

Medic

Medic is a general term for a person involved in medicine, especially emergency or first-response medicine, such as an emergency medical technician, paramedic, or a military member trained in battlefield medicine....
. These men were still fully trained legionaries however and would fight in the ranks if called upon. They were excused from some of the more laborious tasks such as drill and fatigues and received better pay than their comrades in arms.

Other legionaries

Legionary is also a term used for members of other legions, like French Foreign Legion

French Foreign Legion

The French Foreign Legion is a unique unit separate from the regular French Army, established in 1831. The legion was specifically created as a unit for foreign volunteers, to be commanded by French officers; it is however also open to France citizens, who amount to 24% of recruits....
, Spanish Foreign Legion or Polish Legions

Polish Legions

Polish Legions may refer to, in chronological order:* Polish Legion in Turkey, formed around 1770s, as part of the Confederation of Bar* Polish Legions in Italy, created by Henryk Dabrowski during the Napoleonic Wars...
. Members of these modern legions are often called légionnaires, the French term for legionary. The term was also used by the Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located in Southeastern Europe Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian Mountains, bordering on the Black Sea....
n far right

Far right

Far right, extreme right, hard right, ultra-right or radical right are terms used to discuss the Qualitative research or Quantitative research position a group or person occupies within a political spectrum....
paramilitary

Paramilitary

A paramilitary is a force whose function and organisation are similar to those of a professional military force, but which is not regarded as having the same status....
group known in English as the Iron Guard

Iron Guard

The Iron Guard is the name most commonly given in English to a Far-right ultra-Nationalism, antisemitic, and fascism movement and political party in Romania in the period from 1927 into the early part of World War II....
.

Legionary

Immunes

Other legionaries

See also