- Legionary
The Roman legionary was a professional soldier of the Roman army after the
Marian reforms of107 BC . Legionaries had to be Roman citizens under the age of 45. They enlisted in a legion for twenty-five years of service, a change from the early practice of enlisting only for a campaign. The last five years were onveteran lighter duties.On the march in unfriendly terrain, the legionary would be loaded down with
armour commonly ("lorica hamata "), ("lorica squamata "), and 2-3rd century ("lorica segmentata "),shield ("scutum"),helmet ("galea"), two javelins (one heavy "pilum " and one light), ashort sword ("gladius "), adagger ("pugio "), a pair of heavy sandals ("Caligae "), aSarcina (marching pack) , about fourteen days worth of food, awaterskin (bladder for water), cooking equipment, two stakes ("Sudes murale") for the construction ofpalisade s, and ashovel orwicker basket .The Roman soldier underwent especially rigorous training;
discipline was the base of the army's success and the soldiers were relentlessly and constantly trained with weapons and especially with drill — forced marches with full load and in tight formation were frequent. Discipline was important and infractions were heavily punished by thecenturion s.Immunes
Included in the ranks, aside from the basic heavy infantrymen, were the "immunes", specialist soldiers with secondary roles such as
engineer ,carpenter andmedic . 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.Other legionaries
"Legionary" is also a term used for members of other legions, like
French Foreign Legion ,Spanish Foreign Legion orPolish Legions . Members of these modern legions are often called "légionnaires", the French term for legionary. The term was also used by theRomania nfar right paramilitary group known in English as theIron Guard .ee also
*
Military history of ancient Rome
*Foreign Legion
*Roman camp
*Roman Republic
*Roman Empire
*Punic wars
*Phalanx formation
*List of Roman legions
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