Question Home

Position:Home>History> What color uniforms did Roman Legionaries wear?


Question: What color uniforms did Roman Legionaries wear!?
In hollywood movies they're generally shown wearing red!. I wonder what it was in real life through the history of the Roman Empire!?Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
Fragments of surviving clothing and wall paintings indicate that the basic tunic of the Roman soldier was of red or undyed (off-white) wool!.

Picture of a typical Roman Legionnaire -

http://www!.historyonthenet!.com/Romans/im!.!.!.

More on Roman Army Uniforms and Armour -

http://www!.legionsix!.org/Uniform!.htmWww@QuestionHome@Com

red and purple were typical colors, depending on a soldiers rank and the unit he belonged to!. Colors were not always standardized, although they might be specific to a legion!. Most soldiers wore simple leather armor supplemented with chain mail!. They did not typically have tons of color!. Officers, especially well to do career men, would likely wear segmented plate armor that might entail a bit more decor!. Really colorful, decorative armor was reserved for high officers (typically members of the imperial family) and their personal guard!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

We don't know!. There are argument for red and arguments for (off) white!. Both are good!. Both are not conclusive!. We simply do not know for certain!.

I tend to favor red!. It's more practical!. It doesn't get dirty as fast as white (needs less cleaning) and looks more impressive from a distance!.

Contact a Roman re-enactment group for more details!. They are the experts here!. The Ermine Street Guard is one of the oldest and best researched!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

There were three roman families, the Julii, the Scipii, and the Brutii!. The Julii wore red, the Scipii wore blue, and the Brutii wore green!. In the end, Gaius Julius Caesar of the Julii helped the Julii become the dominate family in Rome!.Www@QuestionHome@Com