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The Life of a Soldier in the Roman Empire grew to such a great extend mostly because of the skills
and strength of the soldiers. At first men were asked to leave their farms
for short periods of time to fight. Later men stayed in the army full time.
The Roman army was well organized. Each main section of the army was called
a legend. A group of eight soldiers shared a tent and ate together. This
group of eight was called a contubernium. Eight contubernia made a century.
Centuries were grouped into cohorts and ten cohorts made a legion. |
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The life of a Roman soldier
was very difficult. The men were disciplined by flogging. The general
could even have a soldier beheaded for not following orders. Deserters got
their right hands cut off.
While traveling, the diet of a soldier consisted mostly
of unleavened bread. Unleavened bread was made without yeast so it was flat.
The soldiers also ate porridge and what vegetables they could find.
They got a little wine. Meat was so rare that many of the
soldiers didn't even like to eat it. |
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At times soldiers were paid, but often they were given no
money except for their share of the booty. At times months would go by
without any booty to share. Soldiers had to carry a huge amount of gear.
Marching with so much to carry was hard on the men. After a long day's march
the men would have to make camp. |
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The catapult, first invented by Philip II of
Greece, was also used by the
Roman army. The catapult was fired by winding down a
huge beam, which had a sling at one end.
A man called a loader lifted a large round stone and fit
it into the sling. Stones weighing as much as 66 pounds were flung into the
air. They landed up to 100 feet away and could easily make holes in the
walls of the enemy's fort. |
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