The True Size and Organization of a Roman Legion (3D Documentary)
Explore the organization and equipment of a Roman legion, including specialized personnel and the legion's true size and deployment.
00:00:01 Explore the organization, leadership, and logistics of a Roman legion. Soldiers were drawn from the general population and assigned to tent mates. They lived self-sufficiently while encamped and enjoyed leisure activities in their free time.
📚 The Roman legions were organized with a strong leadership structure and a large logistics train.
⚔️ The foundation of the Roman legion was the legionary, who had to meet certain criteria and undergo training.
🏕️ Each legionary was assigned to a Contubernium, a self-sustaining unit within the legion's camp.
00:03:42 This video explores the organization and equipment of a Roman legion, from the individual contubernium to the larger cohort.
🔑 A contubernium consisted of 10 soldiers who carried approximately 20 kg of gear each, including weapons, armor, and personal items.
🚩 10 contubernia formed a century with a total of 80 legionaries, officers, slaves, mules, and tents, functioning as a cohesive military unit.
⚔️ The centurion and his officers played crucial roles in discipline, training, and command within the Roman legion, ensuring a well-drilled and organized unit.
00:07:24 The Roman Legion, consisting of cohorts and various units, was a powerful and self-sustaining force with standardized size and structure. Cohorts could be dispatched for various duties, while vexillationes were ad-hoc units. The Legion also had cavalry and artillery components.
🛡️ The prestigious First cohort of every legion was made of 5 double strength Centuries for a total of 800 legionaries.
🦅 The Aquilifer carried the Legionary Eagle, which represented the soul of the army.
🏰 Legions were rarely seen in their entirety outside of major campaigns, with Cohorts being the typical operational sub-group.
00:11:08 A concise summary of the YouTube video is that a Roman Legion would have required a substantial siege train to transport their gear, artillery, and support staff. The Legion would have had various specialized personnel, including engineers, medical staff, and scribes, along with a hierarchy of officers.
🏛️ A Roman legion required a substantial siege train for crewing, maintaining, and transporting gear such as rams and large onagers.
⚕️ The Legion had a medical staff consisting of 10 doctors and 20 assistants, along with ambulance carts and medical tents.
📝 The scribes played a crucial role in maintaining the records and institutional integrity of the legion.
🐎 The legion relied heavily on mules and livestock for transportation and a ready source of food.
👥 The legion had a hierarchical structure including high ranking officers, centurions, and sub-officers.
00:14:54 The documentary explores the organization and size of a Roman legion. It highlights the prestigious positions of Centurions and the roles of various officers. The true size of the legion is described, including the composition of personnel and their deployment. The home base, Castra Legiononis, is also discussed.
🗿 The role of the Primus Pilus in the 1st Cohort was a highly coveted post.
👥 Legions were commanded by non-professional Legates selected from the Senatorial class, with Tribunes serving beneath them.
📏 A legion, including its gear, covered 25 square kilometers and had about 9,000 individuals, with a majority being infantry or cavalry.
🏰 The home base of a legion, known as Castra Legiononis, served as a staging point for offensive action with various facilities.
00:18:43 A documentary about the true size of a Roman legion, which consisted of around 7,200 men and 1,900 animals. The legion would march in a disciplined manner and could stretch out over 1.9 km. It would strike camp each night and slowly advance into enemy territory.
💡 A Roman legion occupied an area of approximately 55 acres, equivalent to 23 soccer fields.
💡 Legions were not always fully assembled, with soldiers often on leave, watch duty, or other missions.
💡 The deployment and formation of legions varied depending on the situation, but generally followed the triplex acies structure.
00:22:25 This documentary explores the true size of a Roman legion and the logistical implications of its formation on the battlefield. Discover the massive scale and spatial context of ancient battles.
📏 A Roman legion occupies a space of approximately 16 by 13.5 meters with multiple centuries maintaining 2-3 meters of separation.
⚔️ The total formation of a Roman legion is about 609 meters across and 138 meters deep, with a soldier taking around 4.5 minutes to walk across the front and a rider taking around half a minute to gallop across.
🏹 An archer with an upper bow range of 200 meters can only fire across 33% of the legion's frontage, making it difficult to discern a human-sized figure at that distance.
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