“Who were these nameless and largely forgotten soldiers upon which the future Roman ruler would build his military success.”

By Gregory Starace, Alexander Merrow and Agostino von Hassell

INHERITING A PROFESSIONAL and standardized military established by statesman Gaius Marius’ far-reaching military reforms of 107 BC, Julius Caesar was able to expand Rome, consolidate power, and set the stage for the pax Romana of the Imperial era that followed a couple decades after his assassination. 

Inspired and enabled by charismatic leadership and operational savvy, Caesar’s legions delivered victory upon victory against his enemies, both foreign and domestic. These triumphs brought by the sharpened gladius of his legionaries enabled Caesar to amass wealth and political capital that he used to bring about reform and change for the betterment of Rome and its people. 

But who were these nameless and largely forgotten soldiers upon which the future Roman ruler would build his military success? How did they live, march and fight? What drew them to serve and how did Rome look after its veterans? In our book Caesar’s Great Success: Sustaining the Roman Army on Campaign, we explore their fascinating world. Here are some of the highlights. 

What was a legionary?

The iconic Roman legionary in Caesar’s day was most always an adult male Roman citizen from the towns and villages within the boundaries of the Italian peninsula. Later Caesar extended this privilege to the inhabitants of Spain and Gaul. And as the moniker suggests, the legionary served as a professional soldier within Rome’s named legions of heavy infantry. The military was his profession within which he enlisted for the majority of his able-bodied adult life. Non-citizen residents of the empire and its allies served in auxiliary medium infantry and specialist light troop formations (slingers, archers), as well as in auxiliary medium and light cavalry troops. 

What was a legion?

By Caesar’s time, legions were established organizations that outlived the soldiers who served within them. Approximately 5,000-strong, divided into roughly 480-man cohorts and further sub-divided into 80-man centuries, these units were like small self-contained armies with defined leadership structure, administrative personnel, engineers, artificers and artillery. Legions could fight prolonged campaigns, erect defensive works and orchestrate complex and deliberate sieges. In peacetime, they helped maintain public works (roads, bridges, buildings, and aqueducts) and provided internal security and policing functions. 

How was a legionary recruited?

As a result of the Marian reforms that pre-dated Caesar, any Roman citizen, regardless of property ownership, wealth, or status, could join the legions. Enlistment occurred either through conscription or volunteer recruitment. Military service was most attractive to the landless working class, as being of able body was the only real requirement for enlistment. In return, a recruit was provided basic clothing, military equipment, sustenance and pay. Service under a victorious commander could lead to a distribution of booty following a campaign, and upon completion of service, a monetary pension, with a possible land grant to an area populated with fellow veterans, was awarded.

How was he trained?

While recruits would go through an initial intense training period of three to four months, further drill was part of one’s routine while in the legion. Training was not for the faint of heart, mind, and body, as it was tough and not unlike a modern military boot camp. He would practice with a heavy wooden sword, known as a rudis, and wicker shield against both a six-foot wooden training post and live opponents. Conditioning marches of up to 25 miles, with full equipment, were routine as was practicing military engineering through the construction of fortifications, siege works, roads and bridges. 

How was he armed?

The Caesarian-era legionary was more uniform than his earlier Republican forbearers. Despite this, the typical Roman soldier of the first century BC did not quite resemble the iconic Imperial infantryman of the era of pax Romana . Caesar’s legionary was protected by a brass, bronze or copper-alloy helmet (galea or cassis) and an iron chainmail shirt with reinforced shoulders (lorica hamata). Both of these were designed to protect from frontal and overhead blows. He carried an oval-shaped plywood body shield (scutum) that curved around the bearer’s body. A heavy, round iron “boss” located on the centre of the shield transformed the item into an offensive weapon in its own right. A legionary could use the protrusion to punch at an enemy in close combat. Likewise, the bottom edge of the shield could be brought down with force to injure an opponent. Each infantryman was armed with the short sword (gladius) designed for close-in thrusting, but also useful for hacking and slashing. A pair of 1.25-2 meter javelins (pilum -singular- or pila -plural) capable of penetrating shields and armor when thrown at distances upwards of 30 meters.

Besides weapons, what else did he carry?

In Caesar’s army, each individual legionary was responsible for shouldering the burden of their own gear — literally. In order to reduce the size of the baggage trains and increase the army’s mobility, soldiers carried a marching pack (sarcina) that was made up of a bifurcated pole (furca) on which a leather satchel, cloak bag, cooking put, canteen, and net bag was attached. The estimated weight of a fully laden sarcina could be as much as 90 pounds. On top of this, every eight-man section (contubernium) was allocated a mule and muleteer to carry the squad impedimenta – its tentage, communal mess items, pioneer equipment and extra rations. 

What did he eat?

Up to 60 to 75 per cent of a Roman legionary’s diet was grain or frumentum, which came in the form of a porridge known as puls or breads. This was augmented with regular rations of salt and olive oil. Meat appeared far less often on Romans’ dinner tables than those of our own times and accordingly was not typically on the legionary’s menu. In more pressing times, legumes, vegetables and barley might be consumed in absence of grain and meat. Dairy was shunned. In fact, it was not until the Imperial period that Roman soldiers developed a taste for cheese. All the fare was washed down with sour wine known as posca, which the Roman’s produced by diluting vintage wine with voluminous amounts of water and adding honey and herbs. Posca’s low alcohol content made it hydrating without being intoxicating; drunkenness was frowned upon in the Roman army. 

How did he live in the field?

One of the legions’ most iconic practices was the prolific use of the marching camp or castra. No small feat of military engineering, during active campaigns Roman armies could construct fortified encampments each day as they advanced through non-permissive territory. An advanced party would scout locations well ahead of the main body, select, mark, and begin preparing a site. As the main body of the legion marched in, a portion would maintain the security perimeter, while the rest would dig a protective ditch and erect an accompanying wall, topped with a wooden palisade. Others would set up tentage according to a deliberate and consistent layout. The previously occupied camps might be torn down the following day but could also be re-occupied and serve as logistics hubs and depots for follow on army supply lines. According to calculations made by historians, a legion would march about ten miles in four to five hours and construct the basic fortifications of the camp in an additional three to five hours. Although legions might stay multiple nights in the same location, the whole process might sometimes be repeated the following day. 

What did retirement look like?

Caesar’s legionaries served between 16 and 25 years, although the needs of the state could keep them in uniform for longer. Similarly, legions could be disbanded before soldiers’ terms expired. Veterans were typically settled with fellow pensioners in less-inhabited areas of the Roman state, and sometimes in veteran colonies within the provinces. This was often done as a means to Romanize a newly conquered area. Veterans distinguished themselves from ordinary civilians by wearing trappings of their military life such as sandals or caligae, cloaks and, more notably, the military belt or balteus; sometimes anachronistically called cingulum militare (a term that actually emerges in the third century AD). During emergencies or at the request of Roman commanders, a veteran could be voluntarily called back in service, as an evocatus, to serve in positions of leadership over common legionaries. 

Gregory Starace is the co-author of Caesar’s Great Success: Sustaining the Roman Army on Campaign. He is a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Marines. He has a B.A. in History from George Washington University, a M.S. in Strategic Intelligence from the National Intelligence University, and a M.A. in National Security Affairs with a focus on Africa from Naval Postgraduate School. 

Alexander Merrow studied history and German at Denison University before completing a masters’ degree in history at Cambridge University and a Ph.D. in European history at Georgetown University, writing his dissertation in the field of Modern German History. He taught European History at Georgetown University, Franklin & Marshall College, and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He is the co-author of numerous works of military history and, under a nom de plume, the author of numerous works of fiction.

Agostino von Hassell studied history at Columbia University, graduating in 1974, and attended Columbia Journalism School, graduating in 1975. He has taught on leadership in the graduate program of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, in New York. He has written extensively on military and food history and has authored books including Military High Life: Elegant Food Histories and Recipes, Alliance of Enemies: The Untold Story of the Secret American and German Collaboration to End World War II, In Honor of America, West Point: The Bicentennial Book, Strike Force: U.S. Marine Corps Special Operations, and Warriors: The United States Marines.