1. Dalya Levin

3. The entire population served in the army, rich or poor (except women) The lower classes were foot soldiers (the infantry) The soldiers on horse back were the rich classes (the cavalry) The cavalry were those who could afford to have a horse Officers bought their own armor and weapons If an officer wanted a horse, he had to provide and care for the horse himself The rich soldiers in the cavalry were called equites

5. Only men could be in the Roman Army Every Roman soldier was a Roman citizen He had to be at least 20 years old But some gravestones in Britain show that boys of 14 years joined the legions Soldiers were not supposed to get married 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

7. The legions did not only have soldiers There were also doctors, and engineers Foot soldiers included: principes (first line soldiers) Triarii (reserves) hastati (spear throwers)

8. 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 This gave Rome retired but trained military men who could help to protect towns and villages all over the empire

10. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/romans/t he_roman_army/includes/activities/pdfs/r_structure_ roman_army.pdf

11. There were about 30 legions in the Roman army Each legion had between 4,000 and 6,000 soldiers Soldiers were called 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

13. 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

15. The ancient Romans loved pomp and spectacle The Roman legion provided a big show! Each legion had its own special banner, its own name, and its own number Within the legion, centuries also had a banner The legion had trumpet players, drummers and other noisemakers A Roman legion on the march was certainly spectacular

17. A whole legion could be punished for failing to fight well in battle – even if the Romans did win the battle itself! When a legion moved camp, they would break apart the old camp and march away When they stopped for the night, they would build a new camp, complete with walls, towers, and even roads