Question Home

Position:Home>History> How were the Roman Soldiers Trained?


Question: How were the Roman Soldiers Trained!?
I wan t to know how the roman army was trained and how the were kept fit when not fighting in wars!. also how were they disciplined if the misbehaved or did not follow orders!?Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
Now you’ve asked a really interesting question!. Notwithstanding all the answers you got (can't understand the thumbs down they were all good), I can give you a recap and suggest some “insight” reading: my favourite is "de bello gallico" (Julius Caesar’s Gallic wars, penned by this great soldier; still very pertinent, to be ranged right next to Sun Tzu’s epic “The Art of War” and von Klausewitz “vom Kriege”)!.
You cannot simply ask "what did they do!?" if you don't know what they did it for, what they had to "become"!. Sorry, no short cuts!.
In order to understand the “training” you should first appreciate “what” the Roman sodier was:
1!.a citizen soldier (until he was substituted as a “professional”, then again by far too many “merceneries”, which led to Rome’s downfall);
2!.a specialised infantry man (Rome’s cavalry was mainly “foederati” (allies) like the Gallic Aedui, the Cheruscan and Suebian Germans, the Mauretanians and the Skenite Arabs);
3!.a builder of roads, fortifications and border towns, but also a sapper, and tunneler;
4!.a great walker, a slogger (Caesar’s troops crossed the Cebenna – French Central Massif, in the middle of winter; normally they could march 30 miles a day without respite, then fight);
5!.a farmer and market gardner (local plots were immediately set out next to each permanent camp; legionnaires could subside on very little – in Illyrium against Pompey, they survived oh “weed bread”)!.
A 30 year service record was awarded with a plot of land and the sixth role:
6!. a colonist, the very core of the Roman cultural heritage!.
The “training” followed these objectives, to make a Legionnaire a sturdy “all round” independent fighting unit, on the lines of Today’s specialised troops (like the SAS or US Seals)!. He could live off the land and rely on his own resources!. In terms of "time" he marched 30% of the time; "built and fortified" 30%, presided 30% and "fought" 10%!.

Discipline was very high and some commanders, like Labienus, a cruel, unforgiving soldier, doled punishment out from light corporal, to flogging, to beheading (e!.g!. Decimation of the 9th legion)!. Get an original of Caesar’s Commentaries (Latin English) and enjoy a leap into ancient Rome!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Young roman soldiers had to learn how to be fast runners, had to learn how to jump/leap and march in perfect unison with other soldiers!.

It was important that they could swim, often they had to cross water due to floods, unusable bridges etc!. Even their servants and horses had to be trained how to swim!. They practiced with heavy wooden swords which were a lot heavier than the normal ones they used - this was so that when they fought with their normal swords they where exceptionally strong through being trained with heavier swords!. They also learnt javelin!. Www@QuestionHome@Com

Discipline was paramount and ruthlessly enforced!. Enormous emphasis was placed on drilling and organization!. Josephus observed that Rome's "invincible might" was the result of unhesitating obedience and practice in arms!.The most lenient sentences, for minor offences, involved food rationing, hitting with the centurion's staff, or public flogging!. More serious offences could lead to fines and deductions from pay, reductions in rank, loss of advantages from length of service, or even a dishonorable discharge (missio ignominiosa)!. For the most serious offences, such as desertion, a soldier could be summarily executed!. The worst punishment of all was decimation, usually applied to a whole cohort, in which every tenth man in the unit was randomly selected to be clubbed or beaten to death by the other soldiers!.
Roman soldiers were kept fit during "down time" by building; building camps, quarrying stones, building walls and fortifications, and building roads and bridges!. It was the soldiers who built the famous roads!.
Www@QuestionHome@Com

Actually it was an honor to be in the Roman Army!. They were feed well, and the military leaders were the best of their day!. They were well trained and well armed!.

They may have had rather rough discipline if they betrayed their empire, but be assured a great army is not made by beating the men to death daily!. They were pampered, and groomed to be effective warriors!.

They drilled often!. They were taught hand to hand combat!. They were taught greeko-ROMAN wrestling, it's better than Ju Jit Su!. Some of the leaders learned to read and write, and learned expert military strategy that is even being looked at on R!.O!.T!.C!. college campuses today!.

They are the reason Rome lasted so long!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

They were trained and trained and trained and trained!. Marches, combat, combat readiness!. Training weapons were heavier than real ones!. The Latin word for an army means an exercise!.
Discipline was severe!. A Roman soldier could be executed for leaving camp by other than an authorised gateway, for example!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Training in the Roman Army!.

Military Training
Marching and Physical Training
Weapons Training

Go to the 2 websites below for details!.
(The address may look the same but they are different!.)Www@QuestionHome@Com

Web Images Maps News Shopping Gmail more ▼
Video Groups Books Scholar Finance Blogs
YouTube Calendar Photos Documents Reader Sites
even more ?

Sign in
Google

Advanced Search
Preferences
Web

Results 1 - 10 of about 291,000 for roman soldier training!. (0!.14 seconds)
Sponsored Links

1!.
Get free training in NYC
On vocational & academic programs!.
Business & community partnerships!.
www!.brx!.eoc!.suny!.eduNew York, NY


Search Results

1!.
Training A Roman Soldier
Taking a break from normal exercises in the winter could have had a bad effect on the soldiers' minds and bodies!. A soldier's training in the Roman army !.!.!.
abacus!.bates!.edu/~mimber/Rciv02/training!.!.!. - 11k - Cached - Similar pages
2!.
Training
Hence right from the beginning the Roman soldier was trained to march in line and !.!.!. A further part of basic military training was also physical exercise!. !.!.!.
www!.roman-empire!.net/army/training!.html - 6k - Cached - Similar pages
3!.
Roman army - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The main Roman soldiers in the Empire were the legionaries!. !.!.!.!. Both the legionary and auxilia troops also did drill training, from fundamentals such as !.!.!.
en!.wikipedia!.org/wiki/Roman_army - 78k - Cached - Similar pages
4!.
Romans in Britain - A soldier's life in the Roman military army in !.!.!.
The life of a soldier in the Roman military army!. !.!.!. On completing his training, the soldier would then be sent to a unit chosen by his commanding officer!. !.!.!.
www!.romans-in-britain!.org!.uk/mil_soldier!.!.!. - 16k - Cached - Similar pages
5!.
The Roman army
A lad who wanted to serve in the Roman army as a legionarius, became a tiro, soldier in training, when he was about 17-18 years old!. !.!.!.
library!.thinkquest!.org/22866/English/Leg!.!.!. - 16k - Cached - Similar pages
6!.
Life in the Roman Empire
Practice and training were a part of the daily routine for Roman soldiers while the Roman army was not engaged in active battles!. !.!.!.
www!.realarmorofgod!.com/roman-era!.html - 54k - Cached - Similar pages
7!.
Roman Legions
Each soldier had an administrative file that contained his full history, awards, periodic physical examinations, training records, leave status, !.!.!.
www!.globalsecurity!.org/military/intro/le!.!.!. - 24k - Cached - Similar pages
8!.
Training!.
The training regimen of the Roman soldier was necessitated in large degree by the use of sophisticated, open formations by the infantry!. !.!.!.
www!.au!.af!.mil/au/awc/awcgate/gabrmetz/ga!.!.!. - 6k - Cached - Similar pages
9!.
The Roman Army Page
Soldiers that did not possess Roman citizenship received this privilege !.!.!. a number of legionary soldiers received training as epibatae or liburnarii for !.!.!.
members!.tripod!.com/~S_van_Dorst/legio!.ht!.!.!. - 59k - Cached - Similar pages
10!.
Roman army training
Roman Army Training!. Roman soldiers were fighting men, first and foremost!. !.!.!. Roman soldiers attended weapons training every morning!. Soldier Soldier !.!.!.
www!.woodlands-junior!.kent!.sch!.uk/Homewor!.!.!. - 17k - Cached - Similar pages


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next

Search within results | Language Tools | Search Tips | Dissatisfied!? Help us improve | Try Google Experimental

Google Home - Advertising Programs - Business Solutions - Privacy - About GoogleWww@QuestionHome@Com


Wikipedia has a section on how they were trained!.
http://en!.wikipedia!.org/wiki/Roman_army

Do a search, romans,soldiers, training to get more websites!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Discipline and Discipline,!.!.!.!.day after day training specifically on positioning!.Www@QuestionHome@Com