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The early Roman army was deployed by ancient Rome during its Regal Era and into the early Republic around 300 BC, when the so-called "Polybian" or manipular legion was introduced. Until c. 550 BC, there was probably no "national" Roman army, but a series of clan-based war-bands, which only coalesced into a united force in periods of serious ...
In the later 1st century, the size of a legion's First Cohort was doubled, increasing legionary personnel to c. 5,500. Roman auxiliary infantry crossing a river. They can be distinguished by the oval shield they were equipped with, in contrast to the rectangular scutum carried by legionaries. Panel from Trajan's Column, Rome
The size of the century changed over time; from the 1st century BC through most of the imperial era it was reduced to 80 men. A centurion was promoted for being an exemplary soldier and was then expected to become a strict commander of his subordinates, to lead his troops by example, and coordinate his century's actions.
Roman soldiers of around 101 AD from a cast of Trajan's column, c. 113 AD (Victoria and Albert Museum, London) Through the final years of the 1st century AD, the legions remained the backbone of the Roman army, although the auxilia in fact outnumbered them by up to half as much again. [87]
Signifer – Standard bearer of the Roman Legion. Simplares - A soldier paid standard pay; a regular legionaire or somebody paid the equivalent; Socii – Troops from allied states in the pre-Marian army before the Social War (91–88 BC) Speculatores and Exploratores – The scouts and reconnaissance element of the Roman army.
The Roman legion (Latin: legiō, Latin: [ˈɫɛɡioː]), the largest military unit of the Roman army, was composed of Roman citizens serving as legionaries. During the Roman Republic the manipular legion comprised 4,200 infantry and 300 cavalry.
A recreation of Roman legionaries wearing the lorica segmentata, 1st–3rd century.Other equipment in view include the galea (helmet), pilum (spear) and scutum (shield). The Roman legionary (in Latin legionarius; pl.: legionarii) was a citizen soldier of the Roman army.
In the 1st century, the vast majority of auxiliary common soldiers were recruited from the Roman peregrini (second-class citizens). In the Julio-Claudian era (to AD 68), conscription of peregrini seems to have been practiced, probably in the form of a fixed proportion of men reaching military age in each tribe being drafted, alongside voluntary ...