Who was in the Roman army?
Only men could be in the Roman Army. No women. Every Roman soldier was a Roman citizen. He had to be at least 20 years old. He was not supposed to get married while he was a soldier. Most soldiers in the Roman Empire came from countries outside Italy. There were Roman soldiers from Africa, Gaul, Germany, the Balkans, Spain and the Middle East. Soldiers had to stay in the army for at least 25 years! Then they could retire, with a pension or a gift of land to farm. Old soldiers often settled down to old age together, in a military town or colonia. Back to top What was a legion? There were about 30 legions in the Roman Army. Each legion had between 4000 and 6000 soldiers, called legionaries. Each legion had ten cohorts. Each cohort was made up of six troops of about 80 legionaries, called centuries. Each century was led by a centurion. A centurion carried a stick, to show his importance. He could also use his stick to beat any soldier who disobeyed an order. The officer commanding the who
