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Sarcina
The ''sarcina'' was the marching pack carried by Roman legionaries, the heavy infantry of the Roman legions. Most of a legionary's equipment other than his arms and armour would, in early times, have been consigned to a baggage train and borne by mules and carts. The soldiers were also expected to carry much of their rations and equipment themselves. This was done to reduce the size of the baggage train and increase the mobility of the army by allowing the soldiers to move strategically (i.e., quickly) independently of the train. Such was the load of the soldiers that they became known as " Marius' mules". The appearance of the marching pack is known from illustrations on Trajan's Column. Here it can be seen that a legionary's ''sarcina'' was carried on a pole called a '' furca'' and would have included: * '' Loculus'' – a satchel * Cloak bag * Cooking pot * ''Patera'' – mess tin * Netted object However, this was certainly not the limit of the soldiers load. Time a ...
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Loculus (satchel)
''Loculus'' is a Latin word literally meaning ''little place'' and was used in a number of senses including to indicate a satchel. Satchels were carried by Roman soldiers as a part of their ''sarcina'' or luggage. No ''loculus'' has survived in entirety although some small portions of leather found at Bar Hill (Strathclyde, Scotland) have tentatively been identified as parts of a ''loculus''. The object is primarily known from illustrations on Trajan's Column. The ''loculus'' is thought to have measured about and was likely made from leather. It is the right size to be made in one piece from a single goat hide although calf leather is also possible. The bag is reinforced by diagonal straps. In the centre of the front of the bag these straps held a bronze ring with a mushroom-shaped stud that holds the triangular flap closed. At the top corners were two plain bronze rings used to suspend the bag while it is carried on a shoulder pole or '' furca''. The ''loculus'' was prob ...
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Marching Pack Of A Roman Legionary
Marching refers to the organized, uniformed, steady walking forward in either rhythmic or route-step time; and, typically, it refers to overland movements on foot of military troops and units under field orders. Marching is often performed to march music and is typically associated with military and civilian ceremonial parades. It is a major part of military basic training in most countries and usually involves a system of drill commands. It can also be used as a general term to describe a protest in which protestors move such as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a watershed moment in the civil rights movement. Purpose It is said that many ancient empires first developed marching as a way to move troops from one place to another without them getting mixed up with other troops. A soldier learning to march to drum cadences, martial music and shouted commands is considered an essential element of teaching military discipline. In the United States Marine Corps, ...
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Scipio Aemilianus Africanus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185 BC – 129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and during the Numantine War in Spain. He oversaw the final defeat and destruction of the city of Carthage. He was a prominent patron of writers and philosophers, the most famous of whom was the Greek historian Polybius. In politics, he opposed the populist reform program of his murdered brother-in-law, Tiberius Gracchus. Family Scipio Aemilianus was the second son of Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, the commander of the Romans' victorious campaign in the Third Macedonian War, and his first wife, Papiria Masonis. Scipio was adopted by his first cousin, Publius Cornelius Scipio, the eldest son of his aunt Aemilia Tertia and her husband Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, the acclaimed commander who won the decisive battle of the Sec ...
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Historical Reenactment
Historical reenactment (or re-enactment) is an educational entertainment, educational or entertainment activity in which mainly amateur hobbyists and history enthusiasts dress in historical uniforms and follow a plan to recreate aspects of a historical event or period. This may be as narrow as a specific moment from a battle, such as a reenactment of Pickett's Charge presented during the 1913 Gettysburg reunion, or as broad as an entire period, such as Regency reenactment. While historical reenactors are generally amateurs, some participants are military Military personnel, personnel or historians. The participants, called ''reenactors'', often research the equipment, uniform, and other gear they will carry or use. Reenactors buy the apparel or items they need from specialty stores or make items themselves. Historical reenactments cover a wide span of history, from as far back as ancient warfare, the medieval warfare era, and the early modern warfare, to as recent as the World War I ...
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Sudis (stake)
The ''sudis'' (: ''sudes'') was a stake carried by Roman legionaries for employment as a field fortification, sometimes also called ''vallus''. It is frequently, but incorrectly, called a ''pilum murale'' (). Typically, two such stakes were carried by each soldier. Construction Each stake was made of hardwood, usually oak, about long and about wide at the thickest point. Square in section, the shape tapers to a point at both ends. The central part is narrowed in a way that strongly suggests the function of a handle, although this may not be its actual purpose. Examples that have been found are rough hewn. Usage It seems clear that the stakes were used to form a temporary defence. However, the exact manner in which stakes were used is the subject of debate among experts. It is possible that the stakes were incorporated into the ramparts of a Roman marching camp (''castra ''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for ...
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Contubernium (Roman Army Unit)
The ''contubernium'' (Latin for 'tenting-together') was the smallest sub-subunit organized unit of soldiers in the Military history of ancient Rome, Roman Army and was composed of ten Legionary, legionaries, essentially the equivalent of a modern squad, although unlike modern squads contubernia seemed to serve no tactical role in battle. It was likely used to maintain morale and group solidarity by keeping soldiers in close contact with each other. The men within the contubernium were known as ''contubernales''. Ten contubernia, each led by a ''decanus'' experienced soldier who assumed leadership when there were no orders from above. Ten contubernium were grouped into a ''centuria'' of 100 men (eighty legionaries plus twenty support staff), which was commanded by a centurion. Soldiers of a contubernium shared a tent, equipment and a mule for transporting supplies, and could be rewarded or punished together as a unit (see Decimation (punishment)). Organization The contubernium wa ...
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Castra
''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'Fortification, fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified military base.. Included is a discussion about the typologies of Roman fortifications. In English language, English usage, ''castrum'' commonly translates to "Roman fort", "Roman camp" and "Roman fortress". Scholastic convention tends to translate ''castrum'' as "fort", "camp", "marching camp" or "fortress". Romans used the term ''castrum'' for different sizes of camps – including large Roman legion, legionary fortresses, smaller forts for Cohort (military unit), cohorts or for auxiliary forces, military camp, temporary encampments, and "marching" forts. The diminutive form ''castellum'' was used for fortlets, typically occupied by a detachment of a cohort or a ''centuria''. Etymology ''Castrum'' appears in Oscan language, Oscan and Umbrian ...
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Dolabra
The ''dolabra'' is a versatile axe used by the people of Italy since ancient times. The ''dolabra'' could serve as a pickaxe used by miners and excavators, a priest's implement for ritual religious slaughtering of animals and as an entrenching tool (mattock) used in Roman infantry tactics. In the 1st century CE, at the Siege of Augustodunum Haeduorum, armoured Gallic gladiators were defeated by legionaries wielding ''dolabrae''. Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo said, "you defeat the enemy with a pickaxe".Strauss, Barry S. ''The Spartacus War''. Simon & Schuster, 2009. Print. See also * Entrenching tool * Digging stick * Pulaski Citations General and cited references * Adrian Goldsworthy Adrian Keith Goldsworthy (; born 1969) is a British historian and novelist who specialises in ancient Roman history. Education Adrian Goldsworthy attended Westbourne School, Penarth. He then read Ancient and Modern History at St John's College, ..., ''The Complete Roman Army''. * Strauss, ...
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Vegetius
Publius (or Flavius) Vegetius Renatus, known as Vegetius (), was a writer of the Later Roman Empire (late 4th century). Nothing is known of his life or station beyond what is contained in his two surviving works: ''Epitoma rei militaris'' (also referred to as '' De re militari''), and the lesser-known ''Digesta Artis Mulomedicinae'', a guide to veterinary medicine. He identifies himself in the opening of his work ''Epitoma rei militaris'' as a Christian. Dating of work The latest event alluded to in his ''Epitoma rei militaris'' is the death of the Emperor Gratian (383); the earliest attestation of the work is a ''subscriptio'' by Flavius Eutropius, writing in Constantinople in 450, which appears in one of two families of manuscripts, suggesting that a division of the manuscript tradition had already occurred. Despite Eutropius' location in Constantinople, the scholarly consensus is that Vegetius wrote in the Western Roman Empire.Walter Goffart. "The date and purposes of Vegetius ...
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Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of priestly descent and a mother who claimed Hasmonean royal ancestry. He initially fought against the Roman Empire during the First Jewish–Roman War as general of the Jewish forces in Galilee, until surrendering in AD 67 to the Roman army led by military commander Vespasian after the six-week siege of Yodfat. Josephus claimed the Jewish messianic prophecies that initiated the First Jewish–Roman War made reference to Vespasian becoming Roman emperor. In response, Vespasian decided to keep him as a slave and presumably interpreter. After Vespasian became emperor in AD 69, he granted Josephus his freedom, at which time Josephus assumed the Emperor's family name of '' Flavius''. Flavius Josephus fully defected to the Roman s ...
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Patera
In the material culture of classical antiquity, a ''patera'' () or ''phiale'' ( ) is a shallow ceramic or metal libation bowl. It often has a bulbous indentation ('' omphalos'', "belly button") in the center underside to facilitate holding it, in which case it is sometimes called a ''mesomphalic phiale''. It typically has no handles, and no feet. Although the two terms may be used interchangeably, particularly in the context of Etruscan culture, ''phiale'' is more common in reference to Greek forms, and ''patera'' in Roman settings. The form should be distinguished from a drinking cup with handles, and often a stem, of which the most common type is called a '' kylix'', and a circular platter with a pair of C-handles is not a ''patera'', though a few ''paterae'' have single long straight handles (see ''trulla'' below). Use Libation was a central and vital aspect of ancient Greek religion, and one of the simplest and most common forms of religious practice. It is one of the ...
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Appian
Appian of Alexandria (; ; ; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who prospered during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius. He was born c. 95 in Alexandria. After holding the senior offices in the province of Aegyptus (Egypt), he went to Rome c. 120, where he practiced as an advocate, pleading cases before the emperors (probably as ''advocatus fisci'', an important official of the imperial treasury). It was in 147 at the earliest that he was appointed to the office of procurator, probably in Egypt, on the recommendation of his friend Marcus Cornelius Fronto, an influential rhetorician and advocate. Because the position of procurator was open only to members of the equestrian order (the "knightly" class), his possession of this office tells us about Appian's family background. His principal surviving work (Ρωμαϊκά ''Romaiká'', known in Latin as ''Historia Romana'' and in English as ''Roman History'') was written in Greek i ...
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