Evolution of The Roman Soldier | Animated History

we are now selling a limited edition Roman uniform poster over on armchair history TV Sarge and officer tier subscribers to the ahtv membership get a discount on all merchandise grab a poster today before it goes away forever on October 23rd the ancient era of the Roman kingdom is shrouded in mystery however we do know that it was far from the cultural and dignified years of the later Republic instead the Roman King om was a place marked by poverty filth and violence in the early days it is likely that the Roman way of Waging War was

not significantly different from that of other italic peoples local Wars and raids often had several Clans acting cooperatively Within These War bands were the clan Warriors the concept of a uniform was non-existent the quality and quantity of weapons and equipment was would vary widely Clan warriors were without armor and their typical War gear consisted of a shield and two Spears one to be thrown as a missile weapon while the other was retained for stabbing during this period a clan Warrior who gained enough power and Prestige would inevitably find himself in the position of Chieftain the

chieftain acted as the leader and kept the Restless Clans together his other equ important function was to carefully divide the loot a chieftain's Prestige was judged by the plunder he could afford to his clan this also extended to his own equipment Chieftains were often resplendant in shining bronze helmets pectorals and Greaves their swords also bronze were designed mainly for cutting but also could be used to thrust or jab it was above all the sword which which was the chieftain's Insignia which proclaimed his authority in society and prowess in combat under the rule of Rome's 6th

King CIO tulos a major reform of the military was initiated which reorganized the state exclusively for war here began the creation of a citizen Army which induced Rome's citizens to arm themselves a census of all adult male citizens recorded the value of their property and divided them accordingly into five economic classes a citizen's economic class determined the level of their military contribution the Romans also adopted more Greek equipment to augment their gear complementing the new Professional Standards of the new citizen Army special thanks to the sponsor of today's video Opus clip over the past week

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sizes who want to get the most out of their content so whether you're already a successful Creator or have always wanted to create a channel start transforming your videos into short form content in moments with Opus clip by using our Link in the description to get a 50% discount on an annual plan first class citizen Soldiers the wealthiest fought with the complete armored set typical of a hoplight a helmet two-piece corselet and Greaves all of bronze they also carried the cpos a bull-shaped shield in this new style of Spear and shield Warfare the weapon of

wealthy citizens was the long thrusting spear first class citizen soldiers also carried a sword but in contrast to Prior Clan Leaders The Sword was now very much a secondary weapon men of the second class were equipped similarly to those of the first but were not expected to provide a full breastplate they also did not use the cpeo shield and were instead equipped with the oblong scutum Shield which was cheaper and offered better protection to the Torso and legs Furthermore with the scutum a soldier could be both defensive and offensive parrying but also punching with its

metallic boss plate the less well-off citizens would have had nothing so elaborate as the bronze or linen breast plates that wealthier citizens wore but those who could supplied themselves with with a small bronze breastplate to compensate for their lack of armor these soldiers used the oval scutum instead of the round cpos the fourth and fifth classes marked the lowest rung of the cian system soldiers fighting in these classes were armed as skirmishers and little else fourth class soldiers were expected to be equipped with an oblong Shield spear Javelin and sword while fifth class soldiers were

most often left with nothing but slings and stones with the occasional soldiers scraping up enough funds to equip himself with a javelin the end of the monarchy ushered in the Roman Republic under this Republic the old servian system would be developed further into a society whose citizens were obligated to defend their property by contributing to the military in terms of equipment the Roman soldier in this period was still heavily influenced by Greek standards with bronze helmets breastplates and Greaves their arms were most commonly Spears swords and daggers the 4th Century gave the Romans a lesson

in humiliation their defeat by the GS at aliia in 390 BC led to the city's sacking and possible destruction if not for the legendary Marcos Fus chameleos later defeats to the samnites forced Rome to rethink their strategy after the disaster of Cina Forks in 321 BC the Roman army instituted the chameleon reforms dropping their rigid fanks in favor of a maniple system splitting the legion into several blocks spaced out for maneuverability the new legionary like his hoplight counterpart excelled At Close Quarters combat but the legion had greater freedom of movement and flexibility in the new

Legion the first line contained maniples of haadi these were soldiers of few means who were unarmored except for a bronze helmet and a pictoral plate They Carried a scotum and two throwing P spear one heavy and one lightweight plus a short thrusting sword the second line was made up of maniples of pry pays these were men in the prime of their lives they were fairly wealthy and were able to afford decent equipment they were armed with two heavy Pila and a sword which was used after the spear had been thrown they usually carried a scutum

either in the oval or rectangular style and wore bronze helmets often with feathers fixed onto the top to increase stature pipes wore heavy armor most commonly chain mail which offered good protection without hindering movement the third line was made up of the oldest and most mature men consisting of maniples of triari many triari were battle hardened veterans they sometimes wore a distinct at trusco Corinthian helmet which was usually adorned with upright feathers and a horse hair Crest they equipped themselves with a long iron male shirt and an italic strap on bronze geve on their left

leg though many Tre would equip themselves with a hair they also carried a scotum and a long thrusting spear or hasta with a large socketed iron spearhead and a bronze butt Spike key to their kit were the gladios a short thrusting sword and a knife the pujo despite the early successes of the manipular system the middle Republic saw Rome's Legions brutalized in the Punic Wars tactical weakness and eventual Manpower shortages highlighted the need for a new pool of recruits to draw from short of the desperation in conscripting slaves the next best thing was the lower

class of Rome's citizenry the proletar these younger and poorer citizens made up the bulk of skirmisher infantry the Vitas these skirmishing troops had been around since Rome's earliest days but became a staple of Roman armies by the early middle and late Republican periods characterized by their helmets wolf skin cover which was used to be distinguished from at a distance Vitas were armed with the gladios and a bundle of javelins in 107 BC a general and Statesman by the name of gaos Marios implemented a new system of reforms aimed at revitalizing the Roman army which had

struggled to keep up with the new demands of an expanding Empire the Marian reforms established a professional standing army repl placing the property based system with standard pay and entitlement for full citizenship and land ownership upon completed service the Army's structure shifted from maniples to cohorts enhancing flexibility and cohesion more importantly it standardized equipment and dress leading to the conception of the soldier we know today as the typical Roman legionary the legionary was equipped with many carryovers from the Prem Marian troops such as the Pila scutum pujo and gladios in addition to this they wore

armor pieces like the Monty fortino helmet and chain mail armor these were not the only pieces available to a legionary but would have been the most common an important addition to the legionaries kit was the kig or hob nail boots these were heavy sold open toed military sandals built for durability protecting the feet while while also allowing flexibility and ease of movement following the Civil Wars of the late Republic gaos Octavius emerged as kaisar Augustus the first emperor of Rome Augustus cut down the bloated and opportunistic Legions of the Civil War period remodeling the Army

into a permanent force of 28 Legions and instigating the greatest period of Roman expansion he was the first leader to lay clear terms of service rates of pay and pensions the legions were no longer a citizen militia no one but Augustus had the right to raise new Legions which now owed their loyalty to him alone in this period of military reform equipment was once again further centralized an important development in the early prip Pate era was the clear distinction in military identity through military belts the balos and kig which identified a man as a Soldier

many cohorts were still equipped with the chain mail common to the Troops of the late Republic however the Monte fortino type and kulus type helmets were beginning to be phased out as legionaries were equipped with more elaborate GIC and italic style designs these helmets featured ear guards and hinged cheek guards covering the largest possible part of the face without restricting the solders breathing sight and shouting R the first century saw the legionary equipped in what is now their most well-known look this included the adoption of segmented plate armor made of circular bands of metal fastened

to internal leather straps known today as lorica segmentata this armor was virtually impenetrable to ancient weapons in addition the legionary scutum had evolved from The Oblong ovals of the Republican era into a smaller more lighter rectangular shield underneath the armor soldiers wore a short sleeved knee length tunic in cold weather long sleeved tunics trousers socks and laced boots were commonly worn by the time of Emperor hadrien Roman territory spanned almost all of Europe the Mediterranean Anatolia and the lant having reached its farthest extent the Empire began to shift towards a defensive posture using its Legions

as garrisons given the distance between provinces it was natural that local cultures would influence the dress and uniform of legionaries in their region soldiers serving on the British Frontier would look different from those in Italy Greece or the Eastern provinces after the collapse of the seiran Dynasty in 235 ad the empire was plunged into 50 years of chaos and Civil Wars it was also during this period that the dress and Equipment again changed as the streamlined process of the early prip Pate had buckled under the constant need for new troops by the 3rd Century the

traditional italic and g style helmet was gone in its place legionaries wore a heavier helmet of single Bowl construction these offered excellent protection for the head and neck but the cheek pieces obscured peripheral vision and did not include ear holes the solders male now had sleeves extending down to the elbows notably the legionaries would wear full trousers socks and shoes known as caratini legionaries used a weighted pilum a pujo and a scutum while the gladios was replaced by a spata which was still used for thrusting but could also be used for slashing later legionaries carried

a slightly dished oval Shield that began replacing the scutum during the 3rd Century they were of plank construction and had reinforcing bars and stitched on Raw Hide edging soldiers carried a pum and their massive swords despite their length were still a cut and thrust weapon despite the change of Sword these legionaries still carried a pujo their short male shirt was worn over a padded arming garment the iron helmet a far simpler piece was composed of many small sections riveted to together such helmets became the norm as they were cheaper and easier to produce since the

2 Century ad an important class of people had established themselves within Roman society The Barbarians these were people who existed outside the Roman perception of Civility and culture they were tribal people originating from the regions of Europe and outside of the Empire since the early pranky Pate many barbarians had served the Empire at as auxiliaries but following the crisis of the 3rd Century they began to settle in the Empire more permanently transforming their role in the Roman military to relieve recruitment issues many barbarians began to be conscripted directly into the army and served under Roman

officers yian soldiers formed the core of the Roman armies in the chaotic 3rd Century they wore Bron scale armor and were armed with a Luna a fairly light spear that could be thrown just before contact or retained for hand-to-hand fighting their Shield was a large dished oval constructed of wood planks covered and bound with leather it also had a hollow iron boss which covered the center hand grip under Emperor deian the crisis of the 3rd Century finally ended to stabilize the Empire deian instituted a wide array of reforms among these was the reintroduction of systematic

annual conscription of r Roman citizens not seen since the Roman Republic and a restructuring of the military that split the Army into two divisions Frontier guards or limitan and mobile forces or comensis soldiers would be equipped specifically for the duties required of their division though the practice of uniform standardization would be superseded by the issuing of a clothing allowance meaning soldiers had to organize their own dress accordingly responsible for man the defensive outposts and garrisons of the Empire's Borderlands the limitan varied from young conscripts to old veterans they were lightly equipped compared to their mobile

counterparts wearing a be Kosovo style helmet with little else in the form of armor They Carried an oval Shield a spear a small hunting knife and a peum comitatenses were generally better armed and drilled than the limitan serving as rapid responders to any external threats to the Empire they wore a ridge helmet with cheek guards but without nose or neck guards the helmet also bore a red plume made of stiffened horse hair they wore male with elbow length sleeves and a hem reaching down to protect the thighs underneath they wore a long sleeved tunic and

leather shoes They Carried a sword and their primary weapon the Luna a spear which was light enough to be thrown just before contact palatini were the elites of the late Roman army while they acted similarly to the commit a tenses these Elite troops outranked both them and the limitan the palatini expertise made them sought after by Roman military commanders they wore a plumed version of The Ridge helmet these plumes were usually stiffened horsehair and they matched Shield colors to help unit identification like the comitatenses They Carried both a spear and sword although Rome would fall

in the 4th Century the evolution of Roman units would continue for almost a th000 years under the byzantines