Which Fun facts do you find out in Roman soldiers life?

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Which Fun facts do you find out in Roman soldiers life?"

Clyde Haynes
5 years ago
Views:

1 Group 1 What was a legion? What other soldiers did the Romans have? What armour and weapons did the Romans have? How well-trained were Roman soldiers? Which Fun facts do you find out in Roman soldiers life?

2 Who was in the Roman army? Only could be in the Roman Army. No. Every Roman soldier was a Roman. He had to be at least old. He was not supposed to get married while he was a soldier. Most soldiers in the Roman Empire came from countries outside. There were Roman soldiers from Africa, France, Germany, the Balkans, Spain and the Middle East. Soldiers had to stay in the army for at least! Then they could retire, with a or a gift of to farm. Old soldiers often settled down to old age together, in a military town or. citizen - colonia - Italy - land - men - pension - 20 years - 25 years - women Adapted from

3 Group 2 Who was in the Roman army? What other soldiers did the Romans have? What armour and weapons did the Romans have? How well-trained were Roman soldiers? Fun facts

4 What was a legion? There were about 30 in the Roman army. Each legion had between 4,000 and 6,000, called. Each legion had cohorts. Each cohort was made up of troops of about 80 legionaries, called. Each century was led by a. A centurion carried a short, to show his importance. He could also use his to beat any soldier who disobeyed an order. The officer commanding the whole legion was called a. centuries - centurion - legate - legionaries - legions rod - six - soldiers - stick - ten

5 group 3 Who was in the Roman army? What was a legion? What armour and weapons did the Romans have? How well-trained were Roman soldiers? Fun facts

6 What other soldiers did the Romans have? were the best Roman soldiers, and the best paid. There were other soldiers though. An was a soldier who was not a Roman. He was paid a third as much as a legionary. Auxiliaries and frontiers, but also in battles, often in the lines, where it was the most dangerous. Some soldiers had special skills. They bows and arrows, stones from slingshots, or could rivers to surprise an enemy - like modern commandos. soldiers fired giant, called onagers in Latin, machines that fired rocks or balls of burning tar. The Romans used big wind-up, called ballistas in Latin, too. Usually, Romans liked to fight on foot. They used (soldiers riding horses) to chase a fleeing enemy. In a battle, the cavalry often lined up either side of the (foot-soldiers). artillery - auxiliary catapults - cavalry - citizen - crossbows - flung - fought - front - guarded - infantry - legionaries shot - swim

7 Who was in the Roman army? What was a legion? What other soldiers did the Romans have? How well-trained were Roman soldiers? Fun facts

8 What armour and weapons did the Romans have? We know about Roman armour and weapons from Roman pictures and statues, and from finds by modern archaeologists. A Roman soldier wore made from strips of iron and leather (lorica segmentata in Latin). On his head was a metal (galea). He carried a rectangular (scutum), curved so it protected his body. The shield was made of wood and leather. The soldier's main were a short for stabbing (gladius) and a long, or javelin (pilum) for throwing. The javelin had a sharp iron, and a thin, bendy. When it hit an enemy's shield, the point stuck in, but the shaft bent. This made it difficult to pull out. The long spear shaft got in the, so the enemy soldier had to throw his shield. armour away - helmet point - shaft - shield - spear sword way - weapons

9 Who was in the Roman army? What was a legion? What other soldiers did the Romans have? What armour and weapons did the Romans have? Fun facts

10 How well-trained were Roman soldiers? Roman soldiers kept by running, marching and practice-fighting. They could march 20 miles (30 km) a day wearing. They could swim or cross in boats, build, and smash their way into forts. Each man carried his and, some food and camping equipment (such as spare clothes, cooking and an or ). Roman soldiers almost always obeyed. They usually fought in, marching forward with their shields facing the. If they were being fired at from above (with arrows or rocks), the men would lift their shields over their for protection. They looked like a tortoise, so they called this formation the (Latin for tortoise). armour - axe - bridges - enemy - fit - heads - lines - orders - pot - rivers shield - spade - testudo - weapons

11 Who was in the Roman army? What was a legion? What other soldiers did the Romans have? What armour and weapons did the Romans have? How well-trained were Roman soldiers?

12 Fun facts Soldiers far from got lonely. Roman sent letters and from home to cheer them up. Roman wore their swords on the at first. By the AD 300s most Romans wore their swords on the - as centurions always had. Roman rode without stirrups. Stirrups hadn't been invented. The dragon on the flag is said to be a link to dragons on carried by Roman soldiers. Roman soldiers wore, with iron on the leather soles. Hard-wearing, but easy to slip when running on wet! cavalrymen - home left - mothers parcels right sandals - soldiers - standards - stones - studs - Welsh

13 Keys Who was in the Roman army? Only men could be in the Roman Army. No women. Every Roman soldier was a Roman citizen. He had to be at least 20 years old. He was not supposed to get married while he was a soldier. Most soldiers in the Roman Empire came from countries outside Italy. There were Roman soldiers from Africa, France, Germany, the Balkans, Spain and the Middle East. Soldiers had to stay in the army for at least 25 years! Then they could retire, with a pension or a gift of land to farm. Old soldiers often settled down to old age together, in a military town or colonia. What was a legion? There were about 30 legions in the Roman army. Each legion had between 4,000 and 6,000 soldiers, called legionaries. Each legion had ten cohorts. Each cohort was made up of six troops of about 80 legionaries, called centuries. Each century was led by a centurion. A centurion carried a short rod, to show his importance. He could also use his stick to beat any soldier who disobeyed an order. The officer commanding the whole legion was called a legate. What other soldiers did the Romans have? Legionaries were the best Roman soldiers, and the best paid. There were other soldiers though. An auxiliary was a soldier who was not a Roman citizen. He was paid a third as much as a legionary. Auxiliaries guarded forts and frontiers, but also fought in battles, often in the front lines, where it was the most dangerous. Some soldiers had special skills. They shot bows and arrows, flung stones from slingshots, or could swim rivers to surprise an enemy - like modern commandos. Artillery soldiers fired giant catapults, called onagers in Latin, machines that fired rocks or balls of burning tar. The Romans used big wind-up crossbows, called ballistas in Latin, too. Usually, Romans liked to fight on foot. They used cavalry (soldiers riding horses) to chase a fleeing enemy. In a battle, the cavalry often lined up either side of the infantry (foot-soldiers). What armour and weapons did the Romans have? We know about Roman armour and weapons from Roman pictures and statues, and from finds by modern archaeologists. A Roman soldier wore armour made from strips of iron and leather (lorica segmentata in Latin). On his head was a metal helmet (galea). He carried a rectangular shield (scutum), curved so it protected his body. The shield was made of wood and leather. The soldier's main weapons were a short sword for stabbing (gladius) and a long spear, or javelin (pilum) for throwing. The javelin had a sharp iron point, and a thin, bendy shaft. When it hit an

14 enemy's shield, the point stuck in, but the shaft bent. This made it difficult to pull out. The long spear shaft got in the way, so the enemy soldier had to throw away his shield. How well-trained were Roman soldiers? Roman soldiers kept fit by running, marching and practice-fighting. They could march 20 miles (30 km) a day wearing armour. They could swim or cross rivers in boats, build bridges, and smash their way into forts. Each man carried his weapons and shield, some food and camping equipment (such as spare clothes, cooking pot and an axe or spade). Roman soldiers almost always obeyed orders. They usually fought in lines, marching forward with their shields facing the enemy. If they were being fired at from above (with arrows or rocks), the men would lift their shields over their heads for protection. They looked like a tortoise, so they called this formation the testudo (Latin for tortoise). Fun facts Soldiers far from home got lonely. Roman mothers sent letters and parcels from home to cheer them up. Roman soldiers wore their swords on the right at first. By the AD 300s most Romans wore their swords on the left - as centurions always had. Roman cavalrymen rode without stirrups. Stirrups hadn't been invented. The dragon on the Welsh flag is said to be a link to dragons on standards carried by Roman soldiers. Roman soldiers wore sandals, with iron studs on the leather soles. Hard-wearing, but easy to slip when running on wet stones! Adapted from

The Roman Army. Some soldiers had special skills. They shot bows and arrows, flung stones from slingshots, or could swim rivers to surprise an enemy.

The Roman Army. Some soldiers had special skills. They shot bows and arrows, flung stones from slingshots, or could swim rivers to surprise an enemy. The Roman Army The Roman army was the largest and meanest fighting force in the ancient world and is one of the main reasons Rome became so powerful. It conquered a vast empire across the world and was