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Roman military standards were emblems adopted by units of the Roman army. There were three main types of standard (Aquila, Vexillum, Signum).
Several throughout its history include:
* '' Aquila'', the emblem of the
Types of Roman military standards
Roman military standards were emblems adopted by units of the Roman army. There were three main types of standard (Aquila, Vexillum, Signum).
Several throughout its history include:
* '' Aquila'', the emblem of the Roman legion
The Roman legion (, ) was the largest military List of military legions, unit of the Roman army, composed of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens serving as legionary, legionaries. During the Roman Republic the manipular legion comprised 4,200 i ...
whose adoption Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...
attributes to the general Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbrian War, Cimbric and Jugurthine War, Jugurthine wars, he held the office of Roman consul, consul an unprecedented seven times. Rising from a fami ...
. Each legion had an eagle, or aquila, carried by an aquilifer;
* ''Vexillum
The ''vexillum'' (; : ''vexilla'') was a flag-like object used as a War flag, military standard by units in the Roman army. A common ''vexillum'' displayed imagery of the Aquila (Roman), Roman ''aquila'' on a reddish backdrop.
Use in Roman arm ...
'', the emblem of a legion, cohors, numerus or detachments of such units. This was a flag attached to the top of the pole. One type had the name and number of the legion on it. Others were used by detachments serving away from the legion;
* '' Draco'', a cavalry standard later adopted also by infantry units;
* ''Labarum
The labarum ( or λάβουρον) was a '' vexillum'' (military standard) that displayed the "Chi-Rho" symbol ☧, a christogram formed from the first two Greek letters of the word "Christ" (, or Χριστός) – '' Chi'' (χ) and ''Rho'' ( ...
'', personal ensign of emperor Constantine I
Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...
, later adopted as army standard.
* '' Signum'', Each century (80 men) had its own standard, called a signum. Signa had lots of symbols attached to the pole (Many were discs with indented circles).
* ''Imago
In biology, the imago (Latin for "image") is the last stage an insect attains during its metamorphosis, its process of growth and development; it is also called the ''imaginal'' stage ("imaginal" being "imago" in adjective form), the stage in wh ...
'', Standard showed the emperor.
Sources
* Töpfer, Kai (2011). ''Signa Militaria. Die römischen Feldzeichen in der Republik und im Prinzipat.'' Mainz: Verlag des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums, {{ISBN, 978-3-88467-162-7.External links
Types of Roman military standards