03-01-2011, 08:48 AM
The Roman could just possibly be a Praetorian based on his armour and clothing, although it is fairly elaborate compared to what a typical soldier might wear. If he is not a Praetorian, then he is certainly likely to be of a high rank, based on the fact that his outfit would not be cheap. There are little clues as to his wealth, for example the golden tassles on his tunic sleeves and cloak and his fairly ornate helmet, which has decorative bits on it which would be unnecessary for a mere protective helmet of the kind a typical soldier would wear.
As you may know, the term 'Praetorian' is usually taken to mean 'a member of the Praetorian Guard', the word being derived from the office of a Praetor, a Praetor being someone in a position of power, such as a magistrate or the commander of an army.
These sort of influential and important Roman leaders typically would have a headquarters, which in the case of an army leader in the field would most likely be a fancy tent, and such an HQ was called a Praetorium. This HQ would have a guard unit assigned to it - Praetorian Guard. Much later in Roman times, the term Praetorian Guard came to mean the Emperor's personal army unit (i.e. a bodyguard unit for the Emperor made up from trusted soldiers), and it was these guys who had the really ornate outfits that you sometimes see depicted in movies.
Nevertheless, status symbols being what they are, the commander of an army would not want scruffy 'grunts' around his HQ, so Praetorians at an army HQ would likely be better equipped, more experienced and trusted soldiers, and as a result of this, they'd most likely have quite fancy equipment by virtue of the fact that they'd probably be able to afford it from years of campaigning and looting. Since your model is a depiction of a soldier in autumn (based on the terrain), it is conceivable that such guards would have winter clothing on, so the fact that he has trousers on is not necessarily indicative of anything other than he may be on a military campaign and simply wants to keep warm, i.e he is effectively doing the 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do' expedient of adopting local clothing for a chillier climate.
You can see this sort of thing going on even today, i.e. there are many soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq who have acquired Arabic-style Keffiyah scarves because of their practicality in the desert, although western soldiers invariably refer to them as 'shemagh scarves' this being an alternative name for the keffiyah. These aren't issued, or even part of what might be called the 'approved uniform', but they are nevertheless seen a lot.
In short, he can be whomever you want him to be, so long as you are aware that he is quite fancy compared to an average soldier.
Al
As you may know, the term 'Praetorian' is usually taken to mean 'a member of the Praetorian Guard', the word being derived from the office of a Praetor, a Praetor being someone in a position of power, such as a magistrate or the commander of an army.
These sort of influential and important Roman leaders typically would have a headquarters, which in the case of an army leader in the field would most likely be a fancy tent, and such an HQ was called a Praetorium. This HQ would have a guard unit assigned to it - Praetorian Guard. Much later in Roman times, the term Praetorian Guard came to mean the Emperor's personal army unit (i.e. a bodyguard unit for the Emperor made up from trusted soldiers), and it was these guys who had the really ornate outfits that you sometimes see depicted in movies.
Nevertheless, status symbols being what they are, the commander of an army would not want scruffy 'grunts' around his HQ, so Praetorians at an army HQ would likely be better equipped, more experienced and trusted soldiers, and as a result of this, they'd most likely have quite fancy equipment by virtue of the fact that they'd probably be able to afford it from years of campaigning and looting. Since your model is a depiction of a soldier in autumn (based on the terrain), it is conceivable that such guards would have winter clothing on, so the fact that he has trousers on is not necessarily indicative of anything other than he may be on a military campaign and simply wants to keep warm, i.e he is effectively doing the 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do' expedient of adopting local clothing for a chillier climate.
You can see this sort of thing going on even today, i.e. there are many soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq who have acquired Arabic-style Keffiyah scarves because of their practicality in the desert, although western soldiers invariably refer to them as 'shemagh scarves' this being an alternative name for the keffiyah. These aren't issued, or even part of what might be called the 'approved uniform', but they are nevertheless seen a lot.
In short, he can be whomever you want him to be, so long as you are aware that he is quite fancy compared to an average soldier.
Al
Alan Bradbury
