Help Needed: Roman Legate Appearance(s)?

[Nathan Ross]

a Roman Legate through various times of Rome's history and through different types of weather (2nd Century BC -> 0 AD -> 3rd Century AD + warm / rainy / cold).

Legates were senators, and so their clothing would have reflected the style of the senatorial elite - the toga on formal occassions, with appropriate senatorial footwear.

On campaign or in battle (although few commanding officers ever fought in the ranks!) they probably wore military gear - the muscled cuirass is usually assumed, probably gilded and ornamented with the gorgoneion (gorgon's head motif on the chest). Similarly, there's an assumption that officers wore rather antique looking helmets, perhaps of the 'attic' style, although there's very little evidence for officers' helmets generally.

Although we have very few depictions of what Roman officers of any rank might have worn, there are plenty of statues and other depictions of emperors in military garb (here's Hadrian), so it's a safe bet that legati would have worn something similar, if less elaborate. It's possible that a red cloak was the mark of a general - although this might not always have been the case! - and the waist sash, or zona militaris, seems to have been a mark of command dating back to Hellenistic times.

Generally the rank and status of a man would be displayed more in the quality of his dress than its style - fine wool, perhaps expensively dyed, gold or jeweled brooches, good quality shoes, elaborate horse trappings etc.

Depending on what period of the 3rd century you're depicting, your later legatus might have worn a long sleeved tunic (post Severan period, probably) and tight-fitting breeches.

In cold weather, Romans seem to have worn more clothes rather than different clothes - the emperor Augustus kept out the chills with a 'chest protector' (some sort of woolen band, probably) worn beneath multiple layered tunics. Although we do have a description of the general Caecina in AD69 wearing a Gallic cloak and trousers!

Here are a few older threads you might find helpful:

Winter Clothing in 1st Century

Roman Officer's Sash

Senior Officers of the Marcomannic War

Legate/Tribune Helmet Hunt

Meanwhile, the Ludovisi Sarcophagus shows a battle scene from the mid 3rd century, featuring a mounted general (no helmet, as usual!) - some of the military gear might be a bit fanciful, but then again, how do we know?

And this statue of a trophy of arms from Rhodes, dating to the 1st century BC-AD, might show the type of thing a senior officer would wear... Side view.

The monument of Simplicinius Genialis, commemorating a victory over invading Germanics in AD260, shows an armoured figure that might possibly be the general himself, although more likely represents the god Mars.