ROMAN SOLDIER: Operations Manual

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Details kit, equipment, weapons, and insignia, as well as fighting formations and battle tactics, of the Roman legion and its troops

The history of the Roman Empire and its technological and military prowess resounds through the ages. At its height, the empire covered 5 million square km and held sway over 70 million people. How did a small city state in Latium achieve such prominence and carve an empire against which all other empires are measured?

The answer is, in part, the Roman Legionary. It was Roman soldiers who carved out a foothold in Italy from warring neighbors. It was the legions who made safe the empire from external menaces - such as the Carthaginians, Greeks and Parthians - and who defeated fierce tribal leaders such as Boudicca in Britain and Vercingetorix in Gaul. It was the Roman legionaries who did much of the early building in these provinces and who policed the new borders. They maintained internal order, crushed rebellions by subjects or slaves, and provided the necessary muscle for imperial governors.