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Table of Contents
Roman soldiers were the very disciplined, well-trained soldiers of the Roman Army. The Roman Army had as many as 28,000 – 179,200 soldiers and most of those were legionaries. See the fact file below for more information and facts about Roman soldiers.
- Only men could become Roman soldiers. Women were not allowed to join.
- In order to become a Roman soldier the men needed to over the age of 20 so that they could join one of the Roman Army legions.
- The main Roman soldiers were called legionaries and they had to be Roman citizens to join. This didn’t mean they had to live in Rome though – many soldiers joined from across the Roman Empire including Africa, Britain, France, Germany, Spain, the Balkans and the Middle East.
- Other soldiers were allowed to join the Roman Army and were known as the auxilia. Auxilia soldiers were non-citizens who mainly came from the provinces. They were paid less than the legionaries and didn’t usually wear armour but they were given Roman citizenship at the end of their service – which was a minimum of 25 years in the army.
- Legionaries also had to serve in the Roman Army for 25 years and they were given a pension of the gift of land to farm once they completed their service. Old soldiers often settled down in old age together in a military town or colonia.
- During their time in the army, Roman soldiers were not allowed to get married until they completed their service.
- The legionaries were separated into centuries – units made up of 80 Roman soldiers and 20 other men who remained in the camp to cook and do other chores.
Roman Soldier Training
The Roman Army were incredibly well trained and organized, performing drills every single day. Tactically, they were also very precise and the organization, leadership and logistics were also practiced often. Roman soldiers needed to be physically fit and strong above all else, and they needed to be able to take instructions and follow them without hesitation or question.
- Roman soldiers were expected to be able to march about 36km (24 miles) a day, wearing full armor and carrying their weapons and equipment. They need to be able to complete this march in around 5 hours.
- Soldiers also trained to swim, fight, build bridges, set up camp and cope with any injuries together as a unit.
- Roman soldiers would practice hand-to-hand combat with wooden swords, spears and shields. These were deliberately much heavier than the weapons and equipment used in real battle to train them to fight through tiredness.
- Roman soldiers are famous for their discipline in battle and the ability to take orders. They would train in formations and lines that they also used in battle. An organized army is often the most successful. One of the most famous Roman formations was the testudo – which is Latin for “tortoise”. This formation protected the soldiers from attack by interlocking their shields at the front and sides. Soldiers in the back line placed shields over their heads to form a protective shell over the top – protecting them from enemy archers.
- Some Roman soldiers received specific training for a certain discipline. Some trained to become expert archers, some trained to use onagers – which were giant catapults, some used large crossbows known as ballistas, and the army also had cavalry units called Equites. These were men rich enough to have horses and more expensive weapons to train with.
Roman Weapons, Armour and Equipment
- Roman soldiers wore helmets and body protection in battle and in the early to mid-Republican era the legionaries usually brought their own equipment.
- The Hastati were the first line of Roman soldiers and they wore breastplates called cuirass and occassionally chainmail, which they called lorica hamata.
- The second line of soldiers, called principes, were often richer and always wore chainmail, although they also wore cheaper breastplates as well.
- Both the Hastati and principes used a gladius sword in close combat battle. The sword was short, around 2 feet in length, and was useful for stabbing enemies.
- Roman soldiers also carried two pila. These were short spears which could be thrown like a javelin.
- The third line of soldiers were called the Triarii, and they had a two meter long spear – known as a hasta.
- All legionaries had a large rectangular shield, the scutum, which had rounded corners to fit around the body of the soldier. They were also wide enough to be butted-up against the shield of other soldiers for protection when fighting in formation.
Roman Solider Worksheets
This bundle includes 10 ready-to-use Roman Solider worksheets that are perfect for students to learn about the Roman Army which had as many as 28,000 – 179,200 soldiers and most of those were legionaries.
Throughout the extensive worksheet pack there are multiple lesson resources and quizzes for students to practice their knowledge which can be used within the classroom or homeschooling environment.
Included Roman Soldier worksheets:
Roman Soldier Labelling
Students are tasked with coloring and labelling the Roman Soldier’s armour and weapons utilising the words provided.
Roman Soldier Word Search:
Students will tackle this Roman Soldier quiz in the form of a word search which students will complete using the knowledge gained from previous activities and quizzes.
Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the blanks task to identify the words associated with Roman soldiers.
Crossword filler task focusing on Roman Solider terms.
Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension task where students are challenged to read a paragraph on Roman soldiers and answer a number of challenging questions.
Roman Soldier Match
Students are challenged to match the words with the pictures.
Roman Soldier Acrostic
Write a sentence about the Roman solider based on each letter of the word Soldier.
Roman Soldier Anagram
Anagram task. Unscrambled the letters to form the correct word referred by the statement. Write your answer on the space provided
Journal writing task where students have to imagine they are a Roman Soldier.
After completing these worksheets students will be able to:
- Have a clear understanding about the history of the Roman army.
- Complete a number of quiz and fill in the blank activities to test their knowledge of the subject.
- Understand why the Roman army and in particular Roman solider’s were such a force.
- Understand facts and fiction based upon studies.
- Read a passage of text and answer questions based on the source material. Key reading comprehension task.
- Create a journal entry and role play as if a Roman soldier.
- Multiple core literacy skills are worked on and are the foundation of this study worksheet pack.
- Complete a number of ELA exercises tied to the topic of history and in particular Roman Soldiers.
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Link will appear as Roman Soldier Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, October 22, 2016
Use With Any Curriculum
These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.