Watch our latest episode on the "True Size of a Spartan Army" which covers their organization, formations, and fortifications: ruclips.net/video/XLd1tab8f0c/видео.html
Just like modern military, it isn’t common to stay a frontline/infantry member an entire career. I suspect that there were specialists who never stood on the line as well. That said, anyone surviving - let alone retiring - out of the military is amazing in my mind given the statistical life expectancy for anyone of that time.
There is also that alot of the time were spent in camp or on the march. Frontline service were usually done in short but intense periods, with a degree of danger depending on the skill of the commander and what kind of enemies they were facing. Diseases during camp life is historically the greatest threat of soldiers lives.
Yea, but wars were not like they were today. People did not fought nonstop for five years. The battles were mostly seasonal and just like today soldiers rarely actually fought. Most of them were used to work on building infrastructure and practicing rather than actually fighting. Not to mention harvesting season in Imperial era frontiers and Republic era countryside.
As long as you don’t break ranks and run you had a very good shot at surviving. The pursuit of the routing and retreating saw the most casualties by far
For me the real impact is when you consider how legions were at times wiped out or defeated. All its history, all these people, soldiers who worked for decades up to coveted positions being cut down due to the arrogance of crassus, the rivarly of the triumvirate, or (most likely) cough up blood and die of disease on a regular march. All giant organizations blur the individual as they become a cog in the machine. However the Roman soldiery was such an extremely longstanding institution, it makes you wonder how a soldier would reflect about their role and the army's role. Like in modern armies it is filled with every sort of person, from jarheads to geniuses. It would be such a curiosity to talk to them.
They wasn't all killed. That's a misunderstanding. Many survived. It is reported that the westerners that lives today in the chinese region of the Xian are descendants of Crassus Legionnaires. Those folks was cut out from the rest of the defeated army and the survivors ran to west, to seek help from the local garrisons. While these ones had to march toward east and ended up in China where the chinese Emperor firstly tried to eliminate them. After he realized they was too strong to wipe out without using massive forces, the chinese sent them an offer to serve the Emperor and they basically accepted. From that moment further they become chinese citizens and integrated themselves in that empire till today.
@@BWeManX we're just numbers for the powerful ones, politicians, generals, etc... But sure the death of many of us could grant benefits for our nations. So its implicit that soldiers dies for the greater good. Its wasting their lives that usually is considered untollerable.
@10:34 when I was in basic, we were trained to keep "eyes in the boat" and "no skylarking". An officer that caught your eyeballs made an example out of you. I noticed this soldier doing the same thing, staring straight ahead in the face of the paymaster.
The career of Spurius Ligustinus is quite nice. Dude was in some big campaigns in the post-Second Punic War era of the Republic. Iberia was a dangerous place even up into Emperor Augustus' reign. The Macedonians were not slouches, either. Became a Centurion and had been in a victorious army that had the privilege of being in a Triumph.
The story of Spurius really is an example for the recruitment phrase: "Join the army and you see the world!" I mean, this guy traveled to Spain and Greece several times in his live thanks to joining the army and in ancient times thats an achievement in itself! Most people in ancient and medieval times never left a 100 miles radius of the place they were born in. The only people that seen more of the world were either in the military and government or traveling merchants. Also i have the feeling the game "A legionaries life" took his life as an inspiration. In that game you start as a recruit in the spain campaign in the 2nd punic war. if you survive and join the next campaign its the siege of carthage. after that it goes to greece. you can retire between each campaign and, depending of your achievements during the several stages of each campaign, you rise in ranks up to the highest ranks of centurion. or at least i yet have to achieve something higher than that. my guys rarely see the last campaign ^^
Played that game a lot. I still have It installed. There is also the possibility of a political career at the epilogue, if you have high charisma and achieved the rank of Primus Centurio after the last campaign
Most traveling merchants tended to find a niche and fill it by making a known prosperous route year after year that their family may have filled for generations. Sure they saw more of the world than the average farmer but its not like most were constantly visiting new places.
I recently returned to the game after a very long break an i had my most successful campaign yet, I won two civic crowns two mural crowns, five gold, two silver and three bronze armilla along with 11 cups. Defeated the Agema chiliarch and almost won the grass crown too but couldn't break my way through the enemies in time. Achieved senatorial rank and served as Aedile.
@@johndrakos8192 Same thing but I managed to get the grass crown. Got up to Quaestor and governing Hispania for a year. I got 18 cups. Only one mural crown though. I had maximum virtue and max relations with everyone and I still didn't get Consul lol. I guess you just need more crowns.
Forgive me but I always thought that the Praefectus Castrorum was the penultimate rank that Roman soldiers aimed to aspire to. In fact, I was under the assumption that once the Primus Pilus was becoming to old to lead the I Cohort from the front into battle, he would then be made the Camp Prefect or Praefectus Castrorum in recognition of his long & loyal years of service to his Legion before retiring for good from military service. And, as the rank suggests, the Praefectus Castrorum would be in charge of running the everyday affairs of a Legion camp & defending it should it come under enemy attack or, at least, that's how I understood things. Overall though, I LOVE your videos & I NEVER miss a single one! BRAVO! MORE! MORE!
Yeah. Usually camp prefect is held by ex primus pilus. And a primus pilus would serve their time during which they would have enough money to join the equestrian class or when they retire, they would also be granted the equestrian class. Thus would be eligible for the camp prefect role. Which makes sense. Not sure if retired primus pilus can re-enter the military as for the role of camp prefect, but if the men of a roman colony are required to serve as reserves for 5 years, then I'm sure a freshly retired primus pilus who has gain the equestrian rank can apply for camp prefect. I mean if a legion has a camp prefect and a primus pilus who both decided to retire a few months of each other, the primus pilus role can be easily filled by the legion itself but the camp prefect position would be open, somebody would need to fill it.
And before anybody asks why would a primus pilus retire and not take the camp prefect role. Don't forget, these are men in their late 40s to 50s, even 60s. Who spent their whole lives as soldiers, some who might have kids or even grandkids and have not seen them in years. They have survived everything and its a good time to retire, with the equestrian status and with a relatively easier job closer to family in administration.
Yes, but then again, many ex-professional soldiers, after decades of military life, have severe difficulties to re-adapt to civilian life, and return to their profession as contractors, So why would it have been different for ex-legionaries? The Roman Legion was surprisingly modern in its organization. I can imagine re-entering as Praefectus if that is the life you are adapted to.@@MrJacobkoh
When I joined in 1984 we still had to report for pay. When I commissioned I sometime served as pay officer and had to collect and issue physical paychecks.
I always love it when you post Invicta. I remember when you posted total war battles. I'm so proud of how far you've come in the pursuit of your dreams and passion
Dude at the end won 6 Civic Crowns. Any man who won a single Civic Crown was considered a man amongst men hero of the ages type person, but 6?!? Thats a god amongst men.
🤔 thats some hard shit to swallow dude. Spearmen was often pushed on the frontline against cavalry. Holding a barbarian charge was nothing easy or pleasant. I don't envy you. And as Italian, I would just join the Legion as Legionnaire and maybe advance until Optiones or even Centurion if Im lucky. But nothing more. That's good life. Good paycheck, no respinsabilities, slaughter barbarians, train some fresh recruits, escorting some dignitares or judges, eating a lot of good stuff, drinking a lot of good wine, fuc... ahm, lets jump this part... 😅 Yeah, I would like the life as Centurion. Its not that hard respect today. Indeed it would be more spartan without the conforts of technology, but at the same time also more healthy (no smog, pollution, plastics) and definitely more interesting. Considering that at the time there was no firearms around, only white arms, that would be a great thing. Easier to avoid injuries. Oh man... Why I can't return to the times of my ancestors? 😑 Of course right now my ancestors are probably cursing me, but hey, I'll honor them again tomorrow. As we all do every day, for years, from the birth of our civilization. Sacred ancestors I honor you. Because without you, I am nothing.
What I gathered from that letter is that the promotion of Centaurian didn’t transfer and most likely wasn’t permanent and that the army life couldn’t have been that terrible considering how long he served and how much he volunteered
My favorite part is how the normal soldiers would create a sort of informal bank for their small group kind of as death insurance. Makes sense that those guys would have each others backs in those ways especially since they probably considered each other family
This is a great summation of Rome's army and it's internal system of functions. When I'm done with this video I will take them on a world conquest tour in Rome Total War. Nostalgia.
What isn’t much appreciated about the Legion is that they were, for the most part, after the reforms of Marius, a professional body that was the “plaything” of the Ruling Class (but at times, played with the Ruling Class).
Do you have any videos on the military honors of the Roman Army? That could be an interesting topic. (And from what I understand, such honors, like the corona muralis, were a significant factor in the promotion of soldiers to the rank of centurion.)
How crazy I started writing a story about a Roman soldier, named Spurius, a spaniard, favored by a Caesar and awarded land in Britannia, now 51 and a veteran...I know it's alil off, I'm not a historian, so it's a work in progress. Started writing this several years ago.
Is it my imagination, or is the bird’s eye view of the fort supposed to be Regensburg? The river looks an awful lot like the River Danube at the site of the legionary fortress where the city centre is now.
Thing is getting promoted from tirones/recruit to miles/private was easy, you just had to finish the training. They needed privates and each recruit could be a private. Promotion from miles/private to immunes/specialist was more difficult. They needed specialists but not as many as privates. Still, it was relatively easy. Now, if you could read....I suspect you had a better chance of being promoted. Getting promoted to the rank of cornicen/trumpeter was quite rare. It is worth saying that the cornicen was passing down the orders and blowing the horn. There was one cornicen in the Roman army per "century". In other words only 1 in 80-100 people was a cornicen. They didn't need that many of them. The competition to become one was big. This is probably the highest rank a normal solider could attain. Becoming a signifer/standard bearer was difficult and most people couldn't get it. There was one signifer per "century"....in other words only 1 in 80-100 men.Also, the signifer was the tresurer and/or banker of the "century". He needed to read. That's clear. I also wonder if a signifer had to be a cornicen prior or could be or got promoted directly from immunes/specialist. The tesserarius was a chief night guard. They made sure that there were no infiltrators by allowing only men that knew the watchword or password to enter the fort or camp. They needed to know how to read. They got the watchword from the unit or fort commander written on a piece or wood or paper. There was 1 per "century". It wasn't easy to become one. The optio was the centurion's right hand man. One per century, like the centurion. One in 80 and you needed to know how to read. Also, probably was promoted from rank of the tessarius or signifer. The centurion was the leader of the "century". That's it. 1 in 80. Also, needed to know how to read. Good thing you've mentioned the effective subranks of the centurion. Becoming the pilus prior of a cohort was quite an achievement. Probably better pay than a normal centurion. Becoming the primus pilus of a legion was definitely a good position to be in and paid well. The praefectus castrorum was a former primus pilus. This is as high as it goes. 1 out of 4800 to 6000 men. The tribunes were elected from the patricians/aristocrats. The legatus was the commander of the legion and was a patrician/aristocrat.
Great video as always Invicta! At the part where you said that the Legions move with their pay, I hope there are sources about what happened with people who "happened" to get to Roman coins after the Teutoburger Forest or Carrhae battles? Is the manuscripts/evidence for legal persecution of people who got their hands on seemingly lost military pay?
I'm a simple man. I see a video about Rome, I drop a like. I see a video about the Roman military, I like AND subscribe. I see a video about Roman legions, I like, subscribe and share with my friends!
Great doco. Just one thing that piqued my curiosity; do you think they would have let armed and armoured soldiers into the strong room to collect their pay, or do you think they would have had them in their best civvies with no weapons at all?
The roman military had a robust administration, this is important. You would probably go and get your salary on your off or rest period which is when you're just wearing tunics. During campaign season, my guess is that physical payment will be halted and the money be banked with the legion so as to lighten the carrying load of the legionaries. The robust administration will be recording and storing the money, which is what a signifer does when not in combat, he is the accountant for his century. And if you're a soldier, if you had all your money with you, there's a chance that you might wanna run away with your savings. Another thing to note, if you're the commander, it's better to keep the money in the principia instead of letting the soldiers keep their pay in their barracks, less trouble of thievery and in case the camp/fort gets broken into, the legionnaires wont break and run to their barracks to save their money, instead would be willing to rally to the principia where their savings are stored.
_actually_ there was an even smaller, inofficial unit within the conterbernium: pairs of soldiers having each others backs. And letters for their respective families.
I know war could be brutal as hell back then but 40% is still a ridiculous casualty rate. D-day was like 10%. WW1 was over 60% counting wounded but that makes more sense considering the tech vs tactics and disease.
@@Merble Also keep in mind life expectancy 2000 years ago. Even if you didn't get stabbed in the neck it was uncommon for smallfolk to reach retirement age.
@@cynwraeth1943 Possibly but I've heard that was largely a misnomer. 50-60 was a reasonable expectation, not the 'everyone died in their 30s' I grew up hearing.
Ascending the ranks in the long term is highly unlikely. Especially depending on the battles, your commanding officer and the general then your training and soldiers beside you or next to you. Along side as already said in the video Must learn how to read and write Learn administrations, oversee lots of the soldiers work of constructions and training and ensuring they took care of their equipment. And with how much Rome battles, youd be lucky to get posted up in a more peaceful province and or less combative positions. War is more life threatening in those days due to lack of medicinal means for diseases and so on.
amazing how similar modern servicemembers are to those of antiquity when it comes to finance...all the way from stuff getting deducted from your pay to poor decisions keeping you poor
It always annoys me how in movies and tv shows Roman soldiers get dominated by everyone. These guys were physical specimens training all day walking for miles long.
They where straight up meat grinders. I can't recall where is was said but when the tribes where against rome around the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest and in Germanicas invasions. They said on an open field roman armys were almost 1-10 still coming out with minimal losses. Obviously why Ambushing them was the play.
Fantastic video and a really good presentation of the subject! It was great to see how the roman army functioned with regards to pay and promotion. Out of curiosity, did you come across or do you think it would have been possible for the son of a servant to a patrician family to enlist in the legion and be promoted to Optio after a few years of service and after a few more years at the rank of Optio to be promoted to Centurion? And is there any evidence that Centurion's might be promoted to Tribunus Augusticlavius, Praefctus Castrorum and/or Tribunus Laticlavius? Or would promotions to these positions only be possible for a Centurion that comes from a well connected family (former centurions or Equestrians)? Or would the positions be exclusively for Equestrians and Patricians?
One of the first great cons to trick men to kill and die en mass for less. "OK guys, you can no longer loot, we will pay you!" "With what?" "These shiny metal pieces" "What the hell, so I can't take this spear, or this shield, I really want that horse.." "Definitely not" "OK, well, how many of those coins buy a horse?" "If you're a really good boy and don't die, about 4 years worth" "THIS IS BULLSHIT" -Lucas retardicus, 400 BCE decimated by his fellow legionaires for 2 coins each.
I wish he would make a video explaining all these money terms are they just different names or different amounts too? is sesteri more than drachma or obul or denarii or whatever XD but I love these vidoes also so interesting how structured and organised Rome was yet also so corrupt especially given the time period.
I would sort of try being a forager or auxiliary so I don't get the battle danger itself and can serve 25 years to get my plot of land in Italy near Cannae 🥰
A Legionary’s Life is a good game ok Steam walking you through a similar story to Spurious. Let’s you decide what kind of soldier you want to be too, brave or cowardly. One is more likely to see retirement. Very interesting video!
15:51 I must be confused - I thought that even just theoretically, the highest rank obtainable by a plebeian was centurion. Is there any (even one) known legatus or tribunus who began as a common soldier? Or who wasn’t of the patrician class?
There was a few but that was like 200ad++, to name a few aurelian, dioclecian who rose from soldiers to emperors. They were not from the patrician or senatorial class, based on their family status, they would have been pretty low born and would have joined as regular soldiers but as with all things ancient, we really dont know much about it. But do understand that for rules and tradition to be brushed aside, it must have been a hectic and rough period for rome.
The highest rank attainable for a pleb was actually the Praefectus castrorum, which requires the social class of equestrian. It's possible as due to Augustus, Roman citizens of any social level could become equestrians, as long as they were of good reputation, in good health and owned at least 400,000 sesterces. For example, a competent legionary who became well established, did his time, got promoted to a centurion, then a primus prior/primus ordini, then primus pilus with plenty of campaigns under his belt, meaning loot as well as proper investment of his money like buying a vineyard or during a local revolt, managed to get property for the cheap. As long as he gets 400k he is promoted to the social class of equestrian and is eligible to attain the rank of Praefectus castrorum. Another note, some sources have noted that primus pilus who were not able to have 400k, were promoted to equestrian class after retirement. And it's not farfetch to say, after you retired from the legions you can re-enlist as a auxiliary cohort commander. If you're in good health, stronger even at the late 40s to 50s. I mean even retired legionaries and centurions who chose to retire on a military colony were required to serve on the reserves for 5 years.
It is not a gig like most of the laborers of the time. It is full time job pay less but more reliable. Like he said. The one with shortest sticks were foot auxillary, cav auxillary get higher pay as they need to care for their mounts
If you're a street kid or poor sod, being a legionary is pretty good. With actually good healthcare, pay plus loot. If you're stationed in a relatively peaceful time, with some policing actions, small skirmishes and the occasional campaign. Not too bad. Being a foot auxiliary is not bad as well. Medical wise, its similar albeit a littler lower. Mostly you're on garrison duty, so alot safer than the legions but less loot. There are examples of garrison auxiliary cohorts with no battle awards years after they were raised.
Watch our latest episode on the "True Size of a Spartan Army" which covers their organization, formations, and fortifications: ruclips.net/video/XLd1tab8f0c/видео.html
Just like modern military, it isn’t common to stay a frontline/infantry member an entire career. I suspect that there were specialists who never stood on the line as well. That said, anyone surviving - let alone retiring - out of the military is amazing in my mind given the statistical life expectancy for anyone of that time.
That Roman soldier served 22 years in the Army that’s absolutely crazy to live after being in the front line to that many campaigns is insane
That's what I was thinking too, I bet this dude is grizzled looking with battle scars all over, fucking badass.
Centurions were essentially real life terminators.
There is also that alot of the time were spent in camp or on the march.
Frontline service were usually done in short but intense periods, with a degree of danger depending on the skill of the commander and what kind of enemies they were facing.
Diseases during camp life is historically the greatest threat of soldiers lives.
Yea, but wars were not like they were today. People did not fought nonstop for five years.
The battles were mostly seasonal and just like today soldiers rarely actually fought. Most of them were used to work on building infrastructure and practicing rather than actually fighting. Not to mention harvesting season in Imperial era frontiers and Republic era countryside.
As long as you don’t break ranks and run you had a very good shot at surviving. The pursuit of the routing and retreating saw the most casualties by far
For me the real impact is when you consider how legions were at times wiped out or defeated. All its history, all these people, soldiers who worked for decades up to coveted positions being cut down due to the arrogance of crassus, the rivarly of the triumvirate, or (most likely) cough up blood and die of disease on a regular march. All giant organizations blur the individual as they become a cog in the machine. However the Roman soldiery was such an extremely longstanding institution, it makes you wonder how a soldier would reflect about their role and the army's role. Like in modern armies it is filled with every sort of person, from jarheads to geniuses. It would be such a curiosity to talk to them.
They wasn't all killed.
That's a misunderstanding.
Many survived.
It is reported that the westerners that lives today in the chinese region of the Xian are descendants of Crassus Legionnaires.
Those folks was cut out from the rest of the defeated army and the survivors ran to west, to seek help from the local garrisons.
While these ones had to march toward east and ended up in China where the chinese Emperor firstly tried to eliminate them. After he realized they was too strong to wipe out without using massive forces, the chinese sent them an offer to serve the Emperor and they basically accepted.
From that moment further they become chinese citizens and integrated themselves in that empire till today.
It is touching. I also get very impressed on the capability of the empire to raise new legions quickly
It's still the same today.
I think about that mostly in the world wars. Like just thousands and thousands getting cut down in a single day...on a regular basis.
@@BWeManX we're just numbers for the powerful ones, politicians, generals, etc...
But sure the death of many of us could grant benefits for our nations.
So its implicit that soldiers dies for the greater good.
Its wasting their lives that usually is considered untollerable.
@10:34 when I was in basic, we were trained to keep "eyes in the boat" and "no skylarking". An officer that caught your eyeballs made an example out of you. I noticed this soldier doing the same thing, staring straight ahead in the face of the paymaster.
The mannerisms of the actors are of our own era because we don't know how romans acted, even the infamous roman salute is a modern invention.
@@BlaBla-pf8mf right. That was kind of my point. It was familiar to me but I wasn't sure how it fit in with history
@@BlaBla-pf8mfCan you imagine if this particular behaviour was passed down through time? Granted, it's impossible to prove, but it would be ironic. 😄
No eye contact? That’s really weird, I would never let any of my guys pull that sh$t
The career of Spurius Ligustinus is quite nice. Dude was in some big campaigns in the post-Second Punic War era of the Republic. Iberia was a dangerous place even up into Emperor Augustus' reign. The Macedonians were not slouches, either. Became a Centurion and had been in a victorious army that had the privilege of being in a Triumph.
The story of Spurius really is an example for the recruitment phrase: "Join the army and you see the world!" I mean, this guy traveled to Spain and Greece several times in his live thanks to joining the army and in ancient times thats an achievement in itself! Most people in ancient and medieval times never left a 100 miles radius of the place they were born in. The only people that seen more of the world were either in the military and government or traveling merchants.
Also i have the feeling the game "A legionaries life" took his life as an inspiration. In that game you start as a recruit in the spain campaign in the 2nd punic war. if you survive and join the next campaign its the siege of carthage. after that it goes to greece. you can retire between each campaign and, depending of your achievements during the several stages of each campaign, you rise in ranks up to the highest ranks of centurion. or at least i yet have to achieve something higher than that. my guys rarely see the last campaign ^^
Not just Spain and Greece: Antiochus' campaign culminated in the battle of Magnesia, in Asia Minor.
Played that game a lot. I still have It installed. There is also the possibility of a political career at the epilogue, if you have high charisma and achieved the rank of Primus Centurio after the last campaign
Most traveling merchants tended to find a niche and fill it by making a known prosperous route year after year that their family may have filled for generations. Sure they saw more of the world than the average farmer but its not like most were constantly visiting new places.
I recently returned to the game after a very long break an i had my most successful campaign yet, I won two civic crowns two mural crowns, five gold, two silver and three bronze armilla along with 11 cups. Defeated the Agema chiliarch and almost won the grass crown too but couldn't break my way through the enemies in time. Achieved senatorial rank and served as Aedile.
@@johndrakos8192 Same thing but I managed to get the grass crown. Got up to Quaestor and governing Hispania for a year. I got 18 cups. Only one mural crown though. I had maximum virtue and max relations with everyone and I still didn't get Consul lol. I guess you just need more crowns.
Forgive me but I always thought that the Praefectus Castrorum was the penultimate rank that Roman soldiers aimed to aspire to. In fact, I was under the assumption that once the Primus Pilus was becoming to old to lead the I Cohort from the front into battle, he would then be made the Camp Prefect or Praefectus Castrorum in recognition of his long & loyal years of service to his Legion before retiring for good from military service. And, as the rank suggests, the Praefectus Castrorum would be in charge of running the everyday affairs of a Legion camp & defending it should it come under enemy attack or, at least, that's how I understood things. Overall though, I LOVE your videos & I NEVER miss a single one! BRAVO! MORE! MORE!
Yeah. Usually camp prefect is held by ex primus pilus. And a primus pilus would serve their time during which they would have enough money to join the equestrian class or when they retire, they would also be granted the equestrian class. Thus would be eligible for the camp prefect role. Which makes sense.
Not sure if retired primus pilus can re-enter the military as for the role of camp prefect, but if the men of a roman colony are required to serve as reserves for 5 years, then I'm sure a freshly retired primus pilus who has gain the equestrian rank can apply for camp prefect.
I mean if a legion has a camp prefect and a primus pilus who both decided to retire a few months of each other, the primus pilus role can be easily filled by the legion itself but the camp prefect position would be open, somebody would need to fill it.
And before anybody asks why would a primus pilus retire and not take the camp prefect role. Don't forget, these are men in their late 40s to 50s, even 60s. Who spent their whole lives as soldiers, some who might have kids or even grandkids and have not seen them in years. They have survived everything and its a good time to retire, with the equestrian status and with a relatively easier job closer to family in administration.
Yes, but then again, many ex-professional soldiers, after decades of military life, have severe difficulties to re-adapt to civilian life, and return to their profession as contractors, So why would it have been different for ex-legionaries? The Roman Legion was surprisingly modern in its organization. I can imagine re-entering as Praefectus if that is the life you are adapted to.@@MrJacobkoh
I've always wondered how pay and promotions went for the Roman military. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Roma Invictus!
When I joined in 1984 we still had to report for pay. When I commissioned I sometime served as pay officer and had to collect and issue physical paychecks.
I always love it when you post Invicta. I remember when you posted total war battles. I'm so proud of how far you've come in the pursuit of your dreams and passion
Hear my prediction: In a fifty years leveling up would be a synonym to promotion and advancement and will be used in formal settings.
I bet it won't even be called levelling up anymore. It'll be shortened to lup or something similar.
@@silverchairsg I'd guess it'd end at "leveling" and not get shorter than that.
@@silverchairsg Maybe in slang. But not formal speech
@@HD-mp6yy True
Dude at the end won 6 Civic Crowns. Any man who won a single Civic Crown was considered a man amongst men hero of the ages type person, but 6?!? Thats a god amongst men.
Production quality is going through the roof!
Thanks to MANSCAPED for sponsoring today's video! Get 20% OFF + Free International Shipping with my promo code "INVICTA" at mnscpd.com/Invicta
“Prefer a 5 o’clock shadow” -
Brother, I can’t hear something without visualizing it… so thanks I guess.
No, I will not shave my balls.
@@DinoPimp Rome wasn't built in a day, it was built with shaved balls
@@InvadeleYogurt you think if I shave my balls I’ll be able to organize my garage today?
takes an utter sheep to buy manscaped lmao
Someone, plz upvote this comment so I remember to watch it once I get back home
If i would be a Roman auxilliary soldier, i probably would be a auxilliary spearmen😭
You'd be a baller spearman for sure though.
Slinger bro
That ain't a bad gig. Imagine being a product of this time. You'd be stoked for raiding and sacking cities.
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it! Several million years of sharp pokey pokey.
🤔 thats some hard shit to swallow dude.
Spearmen was often pushed on the frontline against cavalry.
Holding a barbarian charge was nothing easy or pleasant.
I don't envy you.
And as Italian, I would just join the Legion as Legionnaire and maybe advance until Optiones or even Centurion if Im lucky.
But nothing more. That's good life. Good paycheck, no respinsabilities, slaughter barbarians, train some fresh recruits, escorting some dignitares or judges, eating a lot of good stuff, drinking a lot of good wine, fuc... ahm, lets jump this part... 😅
Yeah, I would like the life as Centurion. Its not that hard respect today. Indeed it would be more spartan without the conforts of technology, but at the same time also more healthy (no smog, pollution, plastics) and definitely more interesting.
Considering that at the time there was no firearms around, only white arms, that would be a great thing. Easier to avoid injuries.
Oh man... Why I can't return to the times of my ancestors? 😑
Of course right now my ancestors are probably cursing me, but hey, I'll honor them again tomorrow.
As we all do every day, for years, from the birth of our civilization.
Sacred ancestors I honor you.
Because without you, I am nothing.
Veterans' pay and death pay must have been insanely high during the civil wars.
And it must’ve happened frequently that a whole Conturbernium got KIA
Thank you for these great videos on Roman history - one of the best channels out there!
This was absolutely wonderful to see. Many thinks for making this
This is certainly one of the more informative channels on RUclips.
Wow the last part was really cool listening to a soldier recount his military life
It's wild just how impressive are the videos put out by this channel.
What I gathered from that letter is that the promotion of Centaurian didn’t transfer and most likely wasn’t permanent and that the army life couldn’t have been that terrible considering how long he served and how much he volunteered
Really interesting video. Could you do one exploring the evolution of the daily marching camp used by the legions?
My favorite part is how the normal soldiers would create a sort of informal bank for their small group kind of as death insurance. Makes sense that those guys would have each others backs in those ways especially since they probably considered each other family
This is a great summation of Rome's army and it's internal system of functions. When I'm done with this video I will take them on a world conquest tour in Rome Total War. Nostalgia.
Excellent video as always! Would love to see a similar video talking about how such things occurred in the Mongol empire
nice to know that army pay hasn't changed in two thousand years
What isn’t much appreciated about the Legion is that they were, for the most part, after the reforms of Marius, a professional body that was the “plaything” of the Ruling Class (but at times, played with the Ruling Class).
Current US Army marching song:
“Give you a hundred dollars, and take back 99”
Do you have any videos on the military honors of the Roman Army? That could be an interesting topic. (And from what I understand, such honors, like the corona muralis, were a significant factor in the promotion of soldiers to the rank of centurion.)
How crazy I started writing a story about a Roman soldier, named Spurius, a spaniard, favored by a Caesar and awarded land in Britannia, now 51 and a veteran...I know it's alil off, I'm not a historian, so it's a work in progress.
Started writing this several years ago.
"He was a good judge of bravery. He made me a centurion for my bravery"
Always good to know you read unbiased historical accounts lel
Really enjoyed this one! Maybe do a video on just personal stories from legions?
I guess even during the game's early development, the grind needed to level up your character didn't improve much since that time.
Fr, at least they nerfed the romans, they were an OP guild
It was pay to avance back then as well.
“ so what’s your experience?”
“I’m an ex-Centurion in Caesar’s legion”
“ okay you hired”
- some roman job interview, probably
I really hope that when I have a young man to raise, I can still use your guy’s documentaries to teach them.
so glad i stumbled on this channel.
Is it my imagination, or is the bird’s eye view of the fort supposed to be Regensburg? The river looks an awful lot like the River Danube at the site of the legionary fortress where the city centre is now.
Great episode! Thank you guys, for your great work!
Thank God for this new Narrator.
Great job again. These videos are so well done. Thanks for the uploads!!
Great video as usual. These reenactors are bad ass. Such a great addition to the video.
Absolutely adore historical reenactmenf
Thing is getting promoted from tirones/recruit to miles/private was easy, you just had to finish the training. They needed privates and each recruit could be a private.
Promotion from miles/private to immunes/specialist was more difficult. They needed specialists but not as many as privates. Still, it was relatively easy. Now, if you could read....I suspect you had a better chance of being promoted.
Getting promoted to the rank of cornicen/trumpeter was quite rare. It is worth saying that the cornicen was passing down the orders and blowing the horn. There was one cornicen in the Roman army per "century". In other words only 1 in 80-100 people was a cornicen. They didn't need that many of them. The competition to become one was big. This is probably the highest rank a normal solider could attain.
Becoming a signifer/standard bearer was difficult and most people couldn't get it. There was one signifer per "century"....in other words only 1 in 80-100 men.Also, the signifer was the tresurer and/or banker of the "century". He needed to read. That's clear. I also wonder if a signifer had to be a cornicen prior or could be or got promoted directly from immunes/specialist.
The tesserarius was a chief night guard. They made sure that there were no infiltrators by allowing only men that knew the watchword or password to enter the fort or camp. They needed to know how to read. They got the watchword from the unit or fort commander written on a piece or wood or paper. There was 1 per "century". It wasn't easy to become one.
The optio was the centurion's right hand man. One per century, like the centurion. One in 80 and you needed to know how to read. Also, probably was promoted from rank of the tessarius or signifer.
The centurion was the leader of the "century". That's it. 1 in 80. Also, needed to know how to read.
Good thing you've mentioned the effective subranks of the centurion. Becoming the pilus prior of a cohort was quite an achievement. Probably better pay than a normal centurion. Becoming the primus pilus of a legion was definitely a good position to be in and paid well.
The praefectus castrorum was a former primus pilus. This is as high as it goes. 1 out of 4800 to 6000 men.
The tribunes were elected from the patricians/aristocrats.
The legatus was the commander of the legion and was a patrician/aristocrat.
Well done.
Fantastic video keep it up you're doing amazing things...
Amazing work guys
Another EXCELLENT job!!!
wow what a great documentary
What a wonderful video! These are always informative but this one was also poignant and even poetic in places.⚔🔥🙌
Maybe to a compare and contrast between a Roman legion and a Mongol tumen.
"Generally, soldiers were not known for their financial wisdom." Well, I guess I'm glad to see that some things remain constant, lol.
As soon as he said "how would a soldier spend this money?" I immediately blurted out gambling and drinking and I was right. Some things never change.
Great video as always Invicta!
At the part where you said that the Legions move with their pay, I hope there are sources about what happened with people who "happened" to get to Roman coins after the Teutoburger Forest or Carrhae battles?
Is the manuscripts/evidence for legal persecution of people who got their hands on seemingly lost military pay?
Excellent work!
A quick correction: one of the tribunes, the laticlavius was from senatorial class, he just served one year
Great video
Excellent, thanks. Tom
Good video thanks ⚔️
I'm a simple man. I see a video about Rome, I drop a like. I see a video about the Roman military, I like AND subscribe. I see a video about Roman legions, I like, subscribe and share with my friends!
Very interesting!
Thank you!
Great doco. Just one thing that piqued my curiosity; do you think they would have let armed and armoured soldiers into the strong room to collect their pay, or do you think they would have had them in their best civvies with no weapons at all?
The roman military had a robust administration, this is important.
You would probably go and get your salary on your off or rest period which is when you're just wearing tunics.
During campaign season, my guess is that physical payment will be halted and the money be banked with the legion so as to lighten the carrying load of the legionaries. The robust administration will be recording and storing the money, which is what a signifer does when not in combat, he is the accountant for his century.
And if you're a soldier, if you had all your money with you, there's a chance that you might wanna run away with your savings.
Another thing to note, if you're the commander, it's better to keep the money in the principia instead of letting the soldiers keep their pay in their barracks, less trouble of thievery and in case the camp/fort gets broken into, the legionnaires wont break and run to their barracks to save their money, instead would be willing to rally to the principia where their savings are stored.
Amazing video! Please more like this
Can you describe ranks in Roman's army and how many personal each rank hold. Such as centurion hold 80 personel, etc
Awesome channel. Bravo.
A minor quibble, but I didn’t notice any mention how Marcus Aurelius doubled the donativ on his accession
AMAZING VIDEO AS USUAL!!!
Very cool episode
Excellent Presentation❕▪️Cheers🥃
_actually_ there was an even smaller, inofficial unit within the conterbernium: pairs of soldiers having each others backs. And letters for their respective families.
Fun fact: Over 60% of Roman soldiers survived their 25 year commitment to receive their 10 year pension/land. 😅
Depended a lot on the time period
I know war could be brutal as hell back then but 40% is still a ridiculous casualty rate. D-day was like 10%. WW1 was over 60% counting wounded but that makes more sense considering the tech vs tactics and disease.
@@Merblethay 40% includes day to day accident and illness.
@@Merble Also keep in mind life expectancy 2000 years ago. Even if you didn't get stabbed in the neck it was uncommon for smallfolk to reach retirement age.
@@cynwraeth1943 Possibly but I've heard that was largely a misnomer. 50-60 was a reasonable expectation, not the 'everyone died in their 30s' I grew up hearing.
Ascending the ranks in the long term is highly unlikely.
Especially depending on the battles, your commanding officer and the general then your training and soldiers beside you or next to you.
Along side as already said in the video
Must learn how to read and write
Learn administrations, oversee lots of the soldiers work of constructions and training and ensuring they took care of their equipment.
And with how much Rome battles, youd be lucky to get posted up in a more peaceful province and or less combative positions.
War is more life threatening in those days due to lack of medicinal means for diseases and so on.
be slingers mercenary for Roman empire light infantry..survival rate high with cheap weapons 😊
amazing how similar modern servicemembers are to those of antiquity when it comes to finance...all the way from stuff getting deducted from your pay to poor decisions keeping you poor
It always annoys me how in movies and tv shows Roman soldiers get dominated by everyone. These guys were physical specimens training all day walking for miles long.
They where straight up meat grinders. I can't recall where is was said but when the tribes where against rome around the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest and in Germanicas invasions. They said on an open field roman armys were almost 1-10 still coming out with minimal losses. Obviously why Ambushing them was the play.
Skill Gate: if you can clap them, you're just that good.
Can i ask, did Roman legions had marching songs, because i have heardt that one from Ben Hur, and i would like to know if it is real thing.
Playing Total Rome Brought Me Here😁☝🏽, I Love Roman History 💯
Fantastic video and a really good presentation of the subject!
It was great to see how the roman army functioned with regards to pay and promotion.
Out of curiosity, did you come across or do you think it would have been possible for the son of a servant to a patrician family to enlist in the legion and be promoted to Optio after a few years of service and after a few more years at the rank of Optio to be promoted to Centurion?
And is there any evidence that Centurion's might be promoted to Tribunus Augusticlavius, Praefctus Castrorum and/or Tribunus Laticlavius?
Or would promotions to these positions only be possible for a Centurion that comes from a well connected family (former centurions or Equestrians)? Or would the positions be exclusively for Equestrians and Patricians?
Awesome, i think this is my favorite video so far
One of the first great cons to trick men to kill and die en mass for less. "OK guys, you can no longer loot, we will pay you!"
"With what?"
"These shiny metal pieces"
"What the hell, so I can't take this spear, or this shield, I really want that horse.."
"Definitely not"
"OK, well, how many of those coins buy a horse?"
"If you're a really good boy and don't die, about 4 years worth"
"THIS IS BULLSHIT"
-Lucas retardicus, 400 BCE decimated by his fellow legionaires for 2 coins each.
This was epic 👌🏻
Great video 📸
I wish he would make a video explaining all these money terms are they just different names or different amounts too? is sesteri more than drachma or obul or denarii or whatever XD but I love these vidoes also so interesting how structured and organised Rome was yet also so corrupt especially given the time period.
This was amazing!
Did they use double XP weekends too?
lvl 1 crook vs lvl 100 corrupt ex military governor
It what ways was it different after 476 AD?
Are you able to do one on Shaka Zulu soldier's, like you did for the Roman soldier's.
I don't know if there's enough information though.
I would sort of try being a forager or auxiliary so I don't get the battle danger itself and can serve 25 years to get my plot of land in Italy near Cannae 🥰
A Legionary’s Life is a good game ok Steam walking you through a similar story to Spurious. Let’s you decide what kind of soldier you want to be too, brave or cowardly. One is more likely to see retirement. Very interesting video!
guess saying your name and maybe number is based on the honour system.not taking someone else pay
Great presentation! Though I have to admit, I kept waiting for a reference to Gaul, and Asterix and Obelisk 😂😂
Hey oakley, could you make how do you animate the battle maps?
There is the old term spend like a drunken sailor.
15:51 I must be confused - I thought that even just theoretically, the highest rank obtainable by a plebeian was centurion. Is there any (even one) known legatus or tribunus who began as a common soldier? Or who wasn’t of the patrician class?
There was a few but that was like 200ad++, to name a few aurelian, dioclecian who rose from soldiers to emperors. They were not from the patrician or senatorial class, based on their family status, they would have been pretty low born and would have joined as regular soldiers but as with all things ancient, we really dont know much about it. But do understand that for rules and tradition to be brushed aside, it must have been a hectic and rough period for rome.
The highest rank attainable for a pleb was actually the Praefectus castrorum, which requires the social class of equestrian. It's possible as due to Augustus, Roman citizens of any social level could become equestrians, as long as they were of good reputation, in good health and owned at least 400,000 sesterces.
For example, a competent legionary who became well established, did his time, got promoted to a centurion, then a primus prior/primus ordini, then primus pilus with plenty of campaigns under his belt, meaning loot as well as proper investment of his money like buying a vineyard or during a local revolt, managed to get property for the cheap.
As long as he gets 400k he is promoted to the social class of equestrian and is eligible to attain the rank of Praefectus castrorum.
Another note, some sources have noted that primus pilus who were not able to have 400k, were promoted to equestrian class after retirement.
And it's not farfetch to say, after you retired from the legions you can re-enlist as a auxiliary cohort commander. If you're in good health, stronger even at the late 40s to 50s. I mean even retired legionaries and centurions who chose to retire on a military colony were required to serve on the reserves for 5 years.
That last dude was a monster. I'll bet you anything he had over 50 bodies to his name.
Crazy the differences in pay among the difference ranks and roles. Being just a basic foot soldier at the Roman army would be a pretty bad gig really.
It is not a gig like most of the laborers of the time. It is full time job pay less but more reliable. Like he said.
The one with shortest sticks were foot auxillary, cav auxillary get higher pay as they need to care for their mounts
If you're a street kid or poor sod, being a legionary is pretty good. With actually good healthcare, pay plus loot. If you're stationed in a relatively peaceful time, with some policing actions, small skirmishes and the occasional campaign. Not too bad.
Being a foot auxiliary is not bad as well. Medical wise, its similar albeit a littler lower. Mostly you're on garrison duty, so alot safer than the legions but less loot. There are examples of garrison auxiliary cohorts with no battle awards years after they were raised.
"Collecting spoils whilst on Campaign", nice euphemism for Rape Plunderr, Murder, Looting and Slavery
all of the you list only looting make money for common legionary
Ah yes. Dimitian and Comodus.
"Scorn all other man."
Just got home 🏡 from work, rolled My morning blunt thanks for the Video 👍...