Warrior Bio: Roman Legionnaires, circa 36 CE.

Disclaimer:  I am looking at these cultures from a general viewpoint, not a circumstantially-specific one.  Therefore, arguments that they score better or worse in different areas such as "well, Julius Caesar was one of the most ingenious commanders of the ancient world" or "Legions on campaign in Thrace wore maniples, so these legionnaires should have them too" are invalid and moot.  This disclaimer applies to any and all of my matches, biographies, and what have you, so please don't nerdrage too hard at any perceived inaccuracies ;)

FOR THE SENATE AND THE PEOPLE OF ROME,

PAX ROMA!

The legatus salutes his men in a pre-battle rally, holding aloft the golden victory-wreath.  Image used without permission from http://www.leg8.com/.

-Offensive Categories

~Close Quarters Combat; Gladius, Scutum.  The meat-and-potatoes of the post-Marian Legion’s armament was the gladius sword, which had been adopted from Spanish Iberians.  This comes as no surprise, considering that the Romans borrowed many other facets of their own culture from other Mediterranean locales.  The gladius was two feet long and made specifically to thrust; however, its blade was sharpened so that it could cut and slash if need be, and the hilt was often weighted with heavy woods, ivories, brass or bronze fittings and animal horn to create a powerful crushing instrument.  The gladius was a supremely effective weapon when used at close range, and very versatile when used outside of formation-fighting.  Combined with the scutum shield, which will be detailed later, it gets a score of five (5) out of five (5) possible points.

~Weapons of Reach; Heavy Pilum, Scutum.  When fighting at a middling distance the Roman legionnaires would use the aptly-named heavy pilum, which was the structurally-stronger of the two pila (javelins) each legionnaire carried to battle.  Unlike its lighter cousin, which was always thrown before the charge, the heavy pilum would either be thrown at the centurion’s direction or retained for use in melee combat at the centurion’s discretion.  Both pila were four to five feet long, depending on any number of variables (where they were made, materials available, who made them, centurion’s orders), but it is generally accepted that they were composed of two thirds of wood and one third of iron.  The iron head would have been riveted onto the heavy pilum, rather than attached by a simple cap near the base; it was expected to not break or bend when thrown into an enemy.  The heavy pilum would have been used in conjunction with the scutum shield.  All of these qualities in mind, it nets a score of seven (7) out of a possible ten (10) points.

To view the power and efficiency of the Roman Legion system in combat, follow the link below.  This clip is taken (not by me) from the HBO series ROME, and used without permission.

~Long Distance; Light and Heavy Pilum, Scutum.  The light pilum was a stripped-down relative of the heavy pilum, lacking rivets or weights; it was simply a long, thin iron spearhead mounted onto a wooden shaft by a small socket beaten onto one end of it.  The light pilum was expected to bend sharply upon contacting an enemy or their shield; the encumbrance of its weight and bent form made it difficult to extract from a shield or wounded body.  It was a very lethal weapon, giving the legionnaire an effective kill-zone of accurate fire up to fifteen to twenty meters, or fifty to seventy feet.  The legionnaire would have been able to huddle behind his large shield, the scutum, when using his pilum and so would have been protected by any opposing enemy fire.  In addition to the light pilum, the heavy pilum could also be thrown if time permitted or if the centurion decided to give the order to use them.  The pila and scutum get an above-average score of fifteen (15) out of twenty (20) possible points.

~Specialized; Dolabra, Pugio, Spatha, Scutum.  The dolabra was really an entrenching tool, much like a modern pick-ax, that was kept sharpened and on every legionnaire’s person as an emergency weapon when preparing fortifications – it was not uncommon for legionnaires to wear their combat gear while working if it was thought that enemies were near.  However, it was a tool, not a weapon, and while devastating it went against the Roman ideal of a shield and weapon being used in accord – it would have been extremely difficult and unwieldy to use with one hand, requiring two instead and so a lack of a shield.  The pugio was a small service dagger of superb construction given to each Roman legionnaire in case that he lost his gladius.  It would have been used only in the most extenuating of circumstances, and then only in emergencies.  The spatha was a longer cousin of the gladius, usually around one meter in length, and used by officers and auxiliaries who would need it when fighting from horseback or in single combat.  Except for its length and propensity towards the slash rather than the thrust, it was identical to the gladius.  All of these weapons except for the dolabra could be used with the scutum, and together they earn a score of four (4) out of five (5) possible points.

Marius' Mules on the march; image used without permission
 from http://www.roman-empire.net/army/marius-mule.html.

-DEFENSIVE CATEGORIES

~Head; Legion Helmet.  The helmets worn by the Roman legionnaires were, at first glance, uniform across the Empire – a brass or iron cap with cheek-plates sewn onto its flanks and held tight to the head by a leather chin-strap.  However, unique details emerge after that cursory examination; raised bars going cross-wise across the crown of the head to add stability, a wide plate attached to the base of the helmet to provide neck protection, or even detailed “eyebrows” to make them look fierce in the face of the enemy.  The specific types of helmets were often local to the men (and Legions they were pieces of) wearing them:  Greek legionnaires would have worn the Attic type, Italian legionnaires would have worn the Etruscan type, Gallic legionnaires would have worn the Montefortino type, and Spanish legionnaires would have worn the Iberian type.  Regardless of these differences, the Roman Legion-issue helmets provided great defense to the head while not sacrificing vision or hearing ability.  However, the lack of uniformity hurts their score; some types may be more susceptible to different attacks. For example, the Attic type was known to be vulnerable to overhead strikes, while the Etruscan type featured very wide portions of the uncovered face and so was susceptible to missile weapons.  Those qualities in mind, I’m giving the Legion helmet a very strong score of fifteen (15) out of twenty (20) possible points.

~Torso; Legion Lorica Segmentata and Hamata.  The Legion employed two different types of armour (known as lorica) to protect the vital chest and belly of its legionnaires; the segmentata and the hamata.  The lorica segmentata was a system of overlapping steel plates locked into place by various ties and hinges to cover the shoulders, torso, stomach and back.  It was very efficient when worn to ward off thrusting or piercing blows, but had a weakness against slashing and crushing attacks.  To counter that, maille (known as hamata) was worn, which had the properties of segmentata, but reversed:  it was strong against the slash but weak against the thrust.  Riveted maille protects by providing a moving, uneven surface for energy to dispense over; whenever a blow strikes the maille, the energy contained by the assault is distributed over the entire maille-coat, weakening the force of the blow before it can harm the flesh beneath it.  However, maille’s weakness to thrusting attacks comes from the fact that the more rings (area) of the maille is affected, the more energy is deflected.  So if a thin weapon is used, such as a spear, arrow, or thrusting spear, then it would only directly affect the rings it hits, it would find less resistance from the armour, and would continue on into the body to cause trauma to the structure of the victim.  In the Legion’s heyday, hamata was generally worn by non-commissioned officers and auxiliaries, while segmentata was worn by the rank-and-file legionnaires.  The former was seen as more of an individual’s armour, while the latter was that of the formation-fighters.  The Legion lorica nets a score of eight (8) out of ten (10) possible points.

A tent of legionnaires defends their artillery-palisade against a war-band of Gallic warriors.  Image used without permission from http://www.leg8.com/.

~Limbs; None.  The legionnaires generally did not have protection for their limbs; early Greek and Etruscan legionnaires would sometimes wear bronze greaves on their legs to protect them, but by the period I am dealing with those had been abandoned except for some of the Roman cavalrymen and the Praetorian Guard.  Additionally, Roman legionnaires on campaign in Thrace adopted the layered metal arm-covering of the gladiators known as “maniples” to protect themselves against the fearsome cutting power of the falx.  However, that went unused by the legionnaires I am rating, and so their score is a basic three (3) out of five (5) possible points.

~Mobile; Scutum.  The scutum shield used by Roman legionnaires was, at this time, a tool notorious for its sturdy but light frame and great defensive and offensive potential.  It was a tall, rectangular shield rimmed and bossed by steel.  The scutum bent inwards towards the man holding it to present an unstable front to the enemy, causing blows to not stick to it well when contact was made.  Additionally, the scutum was very tall, generally covering the legionnaire holding it from knee to cheek.  These factors in mind, the mobile defenses of the Roman legionnaires are a perfect five (5) out of five (5) possible points.

Two tents of legionnaires stand in review under the supervision of a decanus.  Image used without permission from http://www.leg8.com.

-X-FACTOR CATEGORIES

~Tactics; in the post-Marius Legions, the Romans had learned that to win a battle one must go into it with a plan firmly in place rather than simply make something up upon contact with the enemy.  To accomplish that goal, the Roman Legions were organized into a military machine consisting of units of gradually increasing numbers.  The smallest unit was a “contubernium”, commonly referred to as a “tent” as the eight men that made them up bunked, ate and fought together.  Each tent was accompanied by a pack-mule, a slave to manage the tent’s logistical support, and a veteran, non-commissioned officer known as a decanus, or “chief of ten”.  The decanus served as an intermediary between the tent and the centurion.  Ten tents made up one century of eighty legionnaires, or one hundred men total.  Two centuries made up one maniple, and three maniples a cohort.  Each century was led by a centurion, who was elected from the most senior of the veteran decanus’.  Finally, ten cohorts made up the infantry component of a Legion, which was commanded by a legatus and his six assistant officers – chief among them the centurio primus pilus, the most grizzled, experienced and veteraned man in the Legion.  With this intense structure the Legion was able to coordinate the legionnaires that made it up into complex maneuvers that surprised its opponents time and again, and continues to inspire modern infantry tacticians to the present day.  The Legion was practically untouchable from a tactical standpoint, and so gets a well-deserved five (5) out of five (5) points.

~Morale/Motivation; the men that made up a Roman Legion were drawn from all corners of the Empire, and followed many personal creeds and religious beliefs; at the time period that I am dealing with, it would not have been uncommon to see Jews alongside Iberians, Greeks shoulder-to-shoulder with Christians, and Egyptians fighting alongside Italian Romans.  In order to forge the well-oiled machine Rome is known for today, it was necessary to instill a powerful “espirit de corps” into the Legion recruits, swearing their service to the Senate and the People of Rome, but more importantly to their Legions.  Treason, cowardice and dishonesty to the Legion were all transgressions greater than any other, with one man’s munity resulting in the death of his entire tent as a punishment.  As such, the Roman Legion exhibited great discipline at all times and in all places; it fell to the hawk-eyed centurion to deal out justice for breaks in discipline, and to motivate his men to do all that they could in the interest of Rome.  The Legion gets four (4) out of five (5) points in this category.

To view recreated Legion field maneuvers and tactics, follow the link below.
I did not post this, and am using it without permission.

~Training; it took two years of nonstop, daily training ranging from teaching recruits basic literacy skills and mathematics to combat maneuvers to individual problem-solving methods to prepare men to serve in the Legion.  They were ingrained in their minds to perform basic functions by muscle-memory, such as how to throw a javelin, thrust a sword, and hold a shield, creating something very close to perfect soldiers that fought so efficiently that routine field maneuvers were often described as “bloodless battles”.  The Legion easily gets all five (5) possible points for this category.

~Innovation; if nothing else, this is the Legion’s weak point.  While innovative in its nature (a professional, standing armed force), in practice the Romans did not really bring anything new to the table.  They very much followed the status quo – hide behind a shield and thrust out with a sword or spear.  That said, they did exaggerate this practice by making their shields larger and swords shorter, but at the end of the day they aren’t unique from any half-dozen of other cultures that did the same thing.  I’m giving the Legion a paltry two (2) out of five (5) points for this.