This article discusses 10 horrifying facts about the Roman Legions, the elite fighting force of the Roman Empire. Here's a concise summary:
1. **Military Training**: The Roman Legions were trained through endless drills, marches, and combat exercises, making them a formidable force.
2. **Discipline through Fear**: Roman soldiers were subjected to severe punishments, including stoning and whipping, to maintain discipline and ensure loyalty.
3. **The Decimation**: A brutal punishment where one-tenth of a legion would be killed by their comrades, often by drawing straws.
4. **Weapons and Armor**: Roman soldiers wore chainmail shirts, later replaced by segmented plate armor, and used shields, swords, and javelins in battle.
5. **Battle Tactics and Formations**: The Roman Legions used structured formations and coordinated attacks to outmaneuver their enemies.
6. **Sea Battles Fought on "Land"**: The Romans developed a boarding bridge, the Corvus, to turn sea battles into land battles and gain an advantage.
7. **The Gallic Wars**: Julius Caesar's military campaigns against the Gauls, which expanded the Roman Republic's borders.
8. **Crucifixions**: The Romans used crucifixion as a brutal form of punishment and torture, often for sedition and conspiracy.
9. **The Praetorian Guard**: An elite legion that served as the Emperor's bodyguards and had significant power and influence in Rome.
10. **Making and Breaking the Empire**: The Roman Legions were instrumental in expanding and maintaining the Empire, but ultimately contributed to its downfall through corruption, intrigue, and loyalty to individual generals rather than the Empire itself.
These facts highlight the Roman Legions' military prowess, discipline, and tactics, as well as their brutal treatment of enemies and their own soldiers.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The Roman army was initially composed of local farmers who were called into action to fight skirmishes with neighboring settlements.
2. In 390 BC, an army of Gauls defeated the Romans and sacked Rome for six months before being paid to leave.
3. The Romans then spent the next few centuries perfecting their legions through systematic training and organization.
4. Roman soldiers underwent rigorous training, including endless drills, marches, and weapons training with wooden swords, spears, and shields.
5. Soldiers were required to complete a 19-mile march in five hours while carrying a full pack of weapons, shield, food rations, and personal kit.
6. The Roman Legions used severe punishments, including stoning to death and whipping, to maintain discipline.
7. The Decimation was a brutal punishment where one-tenth of a legion would be killed by their comrades for capital offenses.
8. Roman soldiers wore chainmail shirts and later segmented plate armor for protection.
9. The Roman helmet was designed to offer maximum protection without blocking the senses.
10. The Roman shield was made of layers of wood glued together and covered with leather and metal.
11. The Roman Legions used a highly structured formation in battle, with 4,800 men divided into 10 cohorts of 480 soldiers.
12. The Romans developed a boarding bridge called the Corvus to turn sea battles into land battles.
13. The Gallic Wars were a series of military campaigns waged by the Roman Legions under Julius Caesar against the Gauls.
14. The wars lasted from 58 BC to 52 BC and resulted in a definite Roman victory and expansion of the Roman Republic.
15. Over one million Celts were killed and 500,000 were sent into slavery during the Gallic Wars.
16. The Romans used crucifixion as a form of punishment, often for sedition or conspiracy to rebellion.
17. The Praetorian Guard was the most powerful of all the Roman Legions and was stationed in Rome itself.
18. The Praetorian Guard acted as bodyguards to the Emperor, emergency firefighters, secret police, and crowd control.
19. The Praetorian Guard was often involved in corruption and intrigue, and even engineered the assassination of Caligula.
20. The Praetorian Guard was disbanded by Constantine in 312 AD after they tried to play the role of kingmaker one last time.
21. The Roman Empire was made by the many Legions who fought and killed for it, but it was also brought down by the army.
22. The Roman army was highly militarized, with about 130,000 soldiers, and one man in eight was in the army.
23. Foreigners were employed as Auxiliaries and granted citizenship after 25 years of fighting.
24. The loyalty of soldiers shifted from the city or Empire to the generals they were serving under, leading to a decline in the Empire's stability.
25. The Empire was divided into the east and west by 395 AD, and the Western Roman Empire fell in 476 AD.