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The Uncensored History Of Daily Life In The Roman Army

Odyssey - Ancient History Documentaries

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The Roman Legionary is an icon of the ancient world—a symbol of discipline, ruthless efficiency, and the unstoppable power of Rome. But who was the man hiding behind the myth? In this premium, feature-length documentary, we look past the Hollywood armor to uncover the raw, gritty reality of daily life in the Roman army. For centuries, modern pop culture has led us to believe these soldiers were faceless, emotionless automatons. The truth revealed by modern archaeology is far more fascinating, deeply human, and occasionally terrifying.

Odyssey is your journey into the world of Ancient History; from the dawn of Mesopotamia to the fall of Rome. We'll be bringing you only the best documentaries that journey into the mysteries and ruins of worlds long lost.

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20 Comments

@ElLegadoRomanoYT 3 weeks ago

good video

@Jerry-xc7ur 2 months ago

This is very well made and truly educational. The best thing about it all, no AI visual effects.
I don't know anything about language or accents. From the beginning of the video, are they speaking Roman? There's only one thing I don't like, speaking in any language. They have no subtitles,
1:41:51 is what I'm talking about.

@MsDeadRock 2 months ago

one of the better docs on the channel imo

@rockit3422 2 months ago

Excellent. Thank you.

@LegIIAVGCA 2 months ago

The unit of account (HS) is the large sestertius made of gold like orichalcum or plural sestertii. Takes 4 of these to equal 1 silver Denarius. Soldiers never said my pay is 200 denarii a year… (plus 20% bonus) but “I get 800 sestertii plus two gold coins (100 sestertii each) in January. The “Dollar” or “Euro” is the Unit of account in USA and Europe.

@randquadrozzi1280 1 month ago

Very good, thank you.A simple time when entertainment meant spending a lazy Sunday afternoon watching people get ripped apart by wild animals at the coliseum.

@LegIIAVGCA 2 months ago (edited)

I as a leader of Legio II AVG COH V in California…. I really doubt a unit in the field would have 100% same uniform sputum (shields) pattern.

The Roman army in the field was a mishmash of armour and weapons…. Only Garrison troops would be slightly more uniform.

Swords and personal armour was often bought from retiring soldiers (you owned it and the cost was taken out of your pay over time). So some legionaries (citizens) might have chain maille, some scale, some Segmentara (steel plates).

And troops were transferred all over the place. Only Auxillia troops would keep a native feel (as a person from a collective group like Belgium tribe, German tribe or Syrian (archers).

@wildrose2748 11 days ago

Unwatchable way too many ads

@shanewisniewski509 1 month ago

These "measurements" would be subjective. A seasoned Roman Soldier would have learned tricks and be seasoned in carrying these loads and their measurements would be different as I doubt the reenactors are no more than "newbs" compared to a soldier who would carry that load; everyday that he was on duty; for 25 consecutive years straight. So these measurements are rudementary at the best.

@LegIIAVGCA 2 months ago (edited)

That coin… he showing could be an as (copper) or a double As if brass like material…. orichalcum. An AS is broken down to two Semis ( brass) and again to smallest coin a two copper Quadruns.

The copper coins and orichalcum when dirty, look the same so beginning in 60 AD, a crown was on the emperors head meaning double value.

A dinarius (silver US dime size) is same value to: 4 sestertii, 8 dupondii, 8 AS, 16 semis or 32 Qradruns….

A horse is NOT A SILVER COin… probably take two or 4 gold auruii for a horse… and a gold coin is 100 sestertii

@LegIIAVGCA 2 months ago (edited)

Upon end of service… 20 to 25 years… auxilia got citizenship, land or 5 years pay!!! Same with legionaries … 5 years pay or land! Paying off troops to retire is very expansive….

A tough guess is 1/3 to 1/2 of soldiers made it to retirement…. But up to debate.

@Traderjoe 2 months ago

People back then lived very different lives than us. They never had a point in their lives where they weren’t moving around on foot and carrying things. Most of them were born and raised on farms doing manual labor. If you ever tried to wrestle with a person who is a mason or or a farmer used to moving around heavy things, you will quickly find out that you are nothing compared with them, they can throw you around like a rag doll. If you have that lifelong physical conditioning, you would walk differently than we do. It’s like if you ran up 2 flights of stairs compared with an Olympic athlete. You’d be huffing and puffing and their heart rate would be almost the same as before they went up the stairs. These researchers seem to be thinking there’s no difference between people from 2000 years ago and today. People were different from WW2 then today.

@khonrak 1 month ago (edited)

The Romans used to make a coarse flour for bread + porridge, the grains used were most likely de-husked Spelt & Emmer that were grown in abundance within Italy and around the Mediterranean, they are close relatives of the other Ancient Grains Einkorn + Khorasan Wheat. These grains are still grown to this day + used by Artisan Bakers to produce delicious tasting breads + other Baked goods. 🌾

@Love_and_Peace33 2 months ago

Wouldn't washing an ancient pot with a scrubber potentially destroy molecular or other historical evidence ?

@mscir 2 months ago

I hope you'll do a video on Subdei, Genghis Khan's military genius advisor.

@ericsonhazeltine5064 2 months ago

You’ll get more if you restyle it as “how to be as tough as a Roman solder”

@LegIIAVGCA 2 months ago

The payroll here makes no sense… these look
Like Sestertius… a legionnaire makes 4 per day… so they would get paid monthly.. 30*4 or 120! Not 4.

Food was not deducted but armour and swords were. Realistically, they would get a mix of silver coins and sestertii! Bonus (the Donative) was 2 Roman gold coins per common soldier January time… but each 5 years an emperor served, one more gold coin was added. So an emperor with 20 years would have to pay each soldier 5 gold coins. A gold coin is about 1 months pay.

When a new emperor happens… very common each soldier get a few gold coins as a special bonus.

Officers and higher NCO got many more gold coins per year!!