Roman Soldiers Facts for Kids – 5 Strong Facts About Roman Soldiers

Ancient Roman soldiers were really brave. Let’s discover five Roman soldiers facts for Kids.

Roman Soldiers Facts for Kids Fact Number 1: The Roman Army

The Roman army was divided up into Legions which consisted of over 5000 soldiers. These Legions were then led by a Legate, who would typically be a Governor or a Senator. Legions could be separated into different groups. A Legion was made up of ten groups of soldiers known as cohorts. These cohorts could then be divided into groups of 80 men called centuries. There was roughly six centuries in a cohort. The leaders of each century were known as a centurion. The Roman Army was highly trained and organized and they are the main reason why the Roman Empire’s expansion succeeded so well and for so long.

Roman Soldiers Facts for Kids Fact Number 2: Roman Citizenship

The soldiers in the Roman Legionary were all Roman citizens, who signed up to fight for 20 years. If a soldier was lucky enough to complete his full 20 years with the army he would usually be awarded land or a large sum of money, for his loyalty and commitment to the Roman Empire. Non-citizens were also able to join the Roman Army, their main reason being that they would be awarded Roman citizenship if they served the army for 25 years. This was a huge bonus to joining the Roman Army as having Roman citizenship was a huge honour and privilege.

Roman Soldiers Facts for Kids Fact Number 3: Legionaries and Auxiliaries

The Roman Army was divided into two separate groups called legionaries and auxiliaries. A Roman legionary was a soldier who was a Roman citizen younger than 45. In order to be a legionnaire the soldier had to have had Roman citizenship. Legionaries were well-armed and well trained fighting soldiers. The Auxiliaries of the Roman army were the lower class of the Roman army as they were non-Roman citizens.

Usually auxiliaries were recruited from tribes and towns  that had been conquered by the Roman Empire. Roman Auxiliaries were paid much less than the legionaries and had to serve for longer. The army was the only way for some of the poorer class to earn a regular wage. If an auxiliary performed exceptionally during his time in the army he could move up in status.

Roman Soldiers Facts for Kids Fact Number 4: Roman Soldier Outfit

The Roman Army was a vital part of the Roman Empire and for this reason they were provided with good armor for protection. Roman soldiers had armor made of strips of strong iron. This is the classic Roman soldier outfit that you would see in movies. The iron made the armor strong and the strips made it flexible and easier for soldiers to move. They also had iron helmets which protected their heads. As expected, iron armour was heavy so Roman soldiers had to be very fit in order to fit with them on.

Roman Soldiers Facts for Kids Fact Number 5: Roman Soldiers Weapons

The Roman soldiers fought their enemies with many different weapons such as daggers, known as  pugio, swords known as gladius and spears, known as hasta. The Roman army also used javelins and bows and arrows during battles. The soldiers were trained day and night to fight with their weapons and practiced on a regular basis. Every day the whole of the legion would practice running, jumping, sword fighting and javelin throwing. When practicing with each other, called sparring, soldiers would often use wooden swords. This was to avoid injury. Roman soldiers were expected to march up to 40km a day with their armour on and weapons in hand.

We hope you enjoyed learning more things about the Roman solders as much as we loved teaching you about them. Now that you know how majestic this historical culture is, you can move on to learn about ancient people: Roman Daily Life and Ancient Rome.

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