Essay on Roman Soldier

I was a brave solider, who was proud of being a part of the Roman army. I was 20 when I was selected to be a part of the army, you had to be a young, fit and brave man; women were not allowed to be a part of the army.

 The reason I chose to be in the army was because, it was a great job and we use to get paid 300 denarii a year and also for the glory, but honestly it was to protect my people, my city.

There were negatives as well. One of the negatives was the no solider could wed while being in the army and we have to serve for 25 years before retiring. That was the law. But at the end it was all worth it. As soon as we could retire we had a choice of either getting a pension which was about 3,000 denarii or owning a piece of land which I personally thought was a great reward.

The training was tough. The solders had to have a sharp mind and strong body. On the strongest and the fittest men were worthy enough to fight for Rome. We, the soldiers, were expected to march up to 30km per day while wearing all our armour and carrying our food and tents which all together weighed 40kg. We were expected to run, swim and practice sword fighting. 

The Roman army was organised in a very simple way. There were about 5000 Legionaries ; Roman citizens who were in the army. After that The Legion would be split into centuries; 80 men controlled by a Centurion. Then the centuries would divided into smaller groups with different jobs to complete.[pic 1]

I remember wearing the glorious armour which gave me strength and courage. I remember holding the Gladius (sword); which was worn on the right side, it was used to stab our enemy’s, not slice. And the Pugio (dagger); which was worn on the left side, it was if we lost the Gladiolus. The Pilum (javelin); with was thrown at the enemy, Scutum (shield); that we used to protect our self’s, Lorica segmentata; the body armour itself, Cingulum; the military belt, Caligae; military sandals with thick soles so they can last longer and Galea; the helmet