Invicta

Pay and Promotion in the Roman Legions

Added 2023-06-19 21:03:39 +0000 UTC

The Roman military was one of largest pre-modern professional armies that ever existed. Protecting over 7,000 kilometers of border and consisting of over 400,000 legionaries and auxiliaries, the army was perhaps the most important institution in the Roman world. Often this statement is contextualized around its defensive and offensive wars. We should remember, however, that this institution had perhaps a far larger impact just by its very existence. After all, the Roman army was among the largest employers of its age and represented the single greatest line item in the imperial budget.

Let us step inside this ancient military industrial complex to see what it was like for a soldier to earn a living and make a career in the Roman Legions: from raw recruit to senior Centurion.