07-07-2010, 11:06 AM
I think that the convention of Roman soldiers wearing their swords on the right is based mainly on their being consistently positioned on the right hip on most of the Rhineland etc stelae. This applies to both legionaries and auxilia. They are also shown on the right hip on the Domitius Ahenobarbus and Aemilius Paulus sculptures. I think that Rhineland etc. sculptures also provided the basis for the idea that centuriones and some standard bearers wore their swords on the left. Certainly both M. Favonius Facilis and M. Caelius are shown wearing theirs on the left.
Later stelae of ordinary soldiers, dating to the third century AD consistently show swords carried on the left.
In addition to this, we have the Mainz column bases, dating to the Flavian period, which show swords worn on both the right and the left, and the Adamklissi metopes, dating to the early second century AD, which also show swords on both right and the left. Without checking I cannot be absolutely sure but I am pretty sure off the top of my head that legionaries on the Adamklissi metopes tend to be shown with their swords on the right whereas auxilia tend to be shown with their swords on the left.
Josephus, writing of the Roman army in Judea in the late AD60s, says that they wore "two swords, one longer than the other, with the longer one worn on the left". This is generally interpreted as meaning that they wore both a sword and a dagger. I am not sure if Josephus mentions whether the soldiers in question were legionaries or auxiliaries, and I don't have a copy to hand at the present moment to check.
From practical experience we know that wearing the sword on the right is practical and still allows the sword to be drawn and resheathed easily, showing that a position on the right need not be simply an artistic convention, as some have suggested it to be in the past. However, as I hope has now been demonstrated, there is sufficient evidence to show that swords were also worn on the left during the mid to late first century AD and beyond, expecially by auxilia. It may have been a matter of personal preference or it may have been that particular arrangements were specific to certain units.
Crispvs
Later stelae of ordinary soldiers, dating to the third century AD consistently show swords carried on the left.
In addition to this, we have the Mainz column bases, dating to the Flavian period, which show swords worn on both the right and the left, and the Adamklissi metopes, dating to the early second century AD, which also show swords on both right and the left. Without checking I cannot be absolutely sure but I am pretty sure off the top of my head that legionaries on the Adamklissi metopes tend to be shown with their swords on the right whereas auxilia tend to be shown with their swords on the left.
Josephus, writing of the Roman army in Judea in the late AD60s, says that they wore "two swords, one longer than the other, with the longer one worn on the left". This is generally interpreted as meaning that they wore both a sword and a dagger. I am not sure if Josephus mentions whether the soldiers in question were legionaries or auxiliaries, and I don't have a copy to hand at the present moment to check.
From practical experience we know that wearing the sword on the right is practical and still allows the sword to be drawn and resheathed easily, showing that a position on the right need not be simply an artistic convention, as some have suggested it to be in the past. However, as I hope has now been demonstrated, there is sufficient evidence to show that swords were also worn on the left during the mid to late first century AD and beyond, expecially by auxilia. It may have been a matter of personal preference or it may have been that particular arrangements were specific to certain units.
Crispvs
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