of Europe, giving generation after generation

the chance to spill blood on the Roman battlefield.

From the cold Marsh's of Britannia

to the burning deserts of Carthage,

the infamous Roman army invaded, conquered, and occupied

massive tracts of land.

But what was ancient Roman warfare

like for the men on the ground though?

Today, we're going to take a look

at what it was like to be a soldier in the Roman army.

But before we get started, be sure to subscribe to the Weird

History channel, and let us know in the comments below what

other Roman history life you would like to hear about.

Now, let's hear more about the men

Caesar said, "Now it is easier to find

men who will volunteer to die, than to find

those who are willing to endure pain with patience."

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Job security is a big deal in modern society,

and it was in the ancient world as well.

If you join the Roman army for better or for worse,

you were likely in it for the long haul.

The typical Roman soldier served for a whopping 25 years,

often running for the time they were 18

until they had reached their mid 40s.

Of course, many soldiers didn't survive that long,

but those who did typically found themselves set for life.

The emperor granted all retired soldiers land

of their own and a lifetime pension.

In times of peace, this was downright lucrative.

But the retirement benefits were so good that even during war

many men didn't hesitate to sign up.

Despite all the blood and brutality,

the average Roman soldier lived a better life

than most in the empire, which really

says a lot about what life in ancient Rome

was like for your average Joe.

Many civilian jobs were unstable with pay rates negotiated

for every single gig.

As a soldier, however, you could always rely on steady pay,

and you often had easy access to facilities civilians struggled

to have access to.

Bakeries, hospitals, and baths were a part of most barracks,

and even broke soldiers could use them for free.

And let's not overlook that the land a soldier

earned after retirement was incredibly attractive

because Romans were often living cramped lifestyles in the city.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

So we've established that being a Roman soldier,

even in times of war, could have some pretty huge upsides.

But as you probably guessed, the profession

came with a lot of risks too and not just in battle.

Soldiers judged disobedient, cowardly,

or grievously incompetent by the commanders

often faced extremely strict and sometimes highly cruel

forms of punishment.

Write out "I shall not run away from Spartacus" 100 times!

Centurions, who led the legions, carried

canes used to strike soldiers to enforce their will

or tighten up a sloppy march.

Small mistakes like that could lead to beatings or even prison

time.

One particular Centurion, named Lucilius,

was known as "another here," because he beat his soldiers so

severely he often needed multiple canes

for a single punishment.

If you're wondering why the soldiers would stand

for such shabby treatment, it's probably worth

noting they didn't always.

Lucilius was offed during the Pannonian Mutiny.

Larger mistakes resulted in even more severe punishment, up to

and including execution.

One particularly grisly punishment, decimation,

meant that 10% of your unit was simply and somewhat

arbitrarily killed.

Most infamously, General Marcus Licinius Crassus

ordered 500 soldiers decimated for cowardice in the gladiator

wars.

Every group of 10 drew lots, and the unlucky soul

who got the short straw was bludgeoned

by their nine close comrades.

If you want to get a sense of what that must have been like,

the Star series Spartacus--

War of the Damned dramatized this use of decimation

in the fourth episode of the third season.

Titled appropriately enough, "Decimation."

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One thing the movies got right is that Roman legionnaires

tended to arm themselves to the teeth with heavy battle

equipment.

Every soldier wore iron armor and a metal helmet

typically fashioned from either iron or bronze over a wool

tunic.

Their scutum shields added the most weight,

but it was worth it because they were pretty versatile,

providing both protection and an iron knob

for bashing the enemy.

The pilum, which was a large spear designed

to be tossed before the start of close combat,

was the Roman soldier's first weapon.

It was made of a soft metal that bent

on impact so it couldn't be reused

by the Romans' opponents.

If forced into a tight situation,

their gladius swords proved excellent stabbing weapons.

Legionnaires, however, almost never carried

ranged weapons, as those were reserved primarily

for specialized auxiliaries.

Joining the army came with a ton of benefits

and ultimately could prove to be one's ticket to the good life.

So, not surprisingly, lots of people wanted in.

Potential recruits endured a battery

of medical and athletic tests to ensure

they were already fit to fight.

Basically, they wanted men who didn't

need a great deal of physical training

before they entered the battlefield.

Recruits also had to prove they were of Roman birth

to be a legionnaire.

But both legionaries and auxiliaries

were required to be free born.

If an enslaved person was discovered to have enlisted,

those responsible were slain.

If you met all the necessary requirements,

you were finally allowed to swear an oath of loyalty

to the emperor and head off to the barracks.

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Roman generals and tacticians devised

formations and strategies that were

infamous throughout the world.

The standard formation was known as the "triplex acies."

Three lines of warriors arranged like a chessboard, spaced out

to allow easy throwing of the pilum

and free use of the gladius when tight enough to repel

enemy offensives.

The scutum shield was key to many powerful defense

formations, such as forming a hollow square

to repel cavalry or an overhead shell

to protect from arrows and Spears.

But the success of the Roman forces

wasn't all about fighting tactics and superior equipment.

They also used cleverness to their advantage

between battles, training some of the first messenger pigeons

to deliver information from spies and digging hidden

trenches in the night so the enemy's horses would

fall inside.

You would think a military force as formidable

as the Roman army would be on the cutting

edge of weapons technology, but that wasn't always the case.

In fact, the Romans were surprisingly

slow to integrate siege weapons into their armies.

They often assembled and devised artillery

based on Greek designs and only iterated as necessary.

However, after Julius Caesar success

with siege engines at Alesia, the devices

became a powerful and well-integrated part

of the Roman arsenal.

The most famous Roman siege weapon, the ballista,

hurled massive stones and was known

as "the onage," or "the wild ass,"

for their incredible kickback after firing.

Smaller ballista designed to fire heavy bolts

were known as "carroballista" or "scorpio."

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Being a soldier came with rewards,

but not everyone reaped them equally.

Those who were citizens of the Roman Empire did the best.

Whereas those who weren't, get nearly the same benefits

from serving.

Looks like there's no cake.

Next year, hey?

You can bet me an extra big one.

You see, Roman citizens became full-fledged legionnaires,

but non-citizens had to become mere auxiliaries.

These forces weren't as well respected, didn't

earn as much pay, and instead of land

and a pension got a military diploma

granting them and their offspring Roman citizenship.

Additionally, soldiers from influential families

were often promoted faster.

Surprise, surprise.

And older men typically ordered the younger soldiers

to take the most dangerous positions on the front lines.

Despite the empire's size, the Romans

often did not integrate well with their new subjects.

If a tribe or kingdom they sought to conquer

had the gall to fight them or force them into a siege,

only the women and children would

have any hope of surviving.

Even alliances with foreigners were seen as temporary.

When the Celtic King Prasutagus died, leaving ally Emperor Nero

half his estate, the Romans responded

by taking control of his kingdom and brutally punishing

his rebellious family.

Romans regarded those dwelling in their empire

without Roman citizenship as being of low status,

and such people were subject to especially

gruesome and horrific punishments like crucifixion.

Crucifixion?

Yes.

Good.

Out of the door, line on the left, one cross each.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

While movies and television tend to portray

Roman soldiers as battle hardened warriors

constantly on the march to their next confrontation,

it wasn't usually like that in real life.

On average, Roman soldiers lived a mundane and hard working

existence.

Some took up specialties, filling in

as doctors, bakers, potters, and blacksmiths

when the barracks needed them.

At one time or another, soldiers were

put to work on the infrastructure of the empire.

In peacetime, leaders of the legion

often became administrators, overseeing the construction

of roads, bridges, and aqueducts built by soldiers' hands.

And regardless of whether it was time of peace or war,

there was always plenty of dirty work that had to be done.

Pass me the sponge on a stick, will you Marcus?

They don't really point this out in the movies either,

but the truth is Roman barracks were essentially small cities.

And like any city, they needed daily upkeep and maintenance.

Soldiers were put to the dirtiest and most mundane tasks

like cleaning boots, replacing old pipes,

and scrubbing the walls of the baths.

The worst of these jobs was, naturally, latrine duty.

On any given day, a legionnaire could

find himself cleaning feces out of blocked pipes

and emptying full latrine pits.

Speaking of being domestic, history

teaches us that a Roman soldier was not allowed to marry.

From the time a soldier's service started until it ended,

they were not allowed to take a wife.

Pretty much any activity that was considered a distraction

from serving the empire was discouraged.

[BUZZER]

Of course, this didn't stop soldiers

from sneaking off and taking unofficial wives

and girlfriends from the nearby towns.

Also not surprisingly, the high ranking centurions

were exempted from the rule and enjoyed the privilege of being

able to marry while serving.

When Septimius Severus took power in 193 CE, however,

this rule was eventually overturned.

Much of the Roman army's legendary success

wouldn't have been possible if Gaius Marius hadn't

been elected consul in 107 BCE.

In fact, before his attention turned to the Roman army,

it was a loosely assembled group of ragtag volunteers

who all had other jobs and would have

to bring their own weapons.