Roman Armor

[ruski94]

What kind of armor was most common in the roman army during the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian? Also, were legions that were sent to the hotter regions (Africa or what is now the Middle East) of the empire armed and armored differently than those in more mild or colder climates? Finally, were roman ship crews and marines armed and armored differently than the legions?

[M. Demetrius]

All excellent questions. I hear the rumbling of the Ancient Arguments wafting through the trees. Soon, the battle will start! Armor up! Uh, which armor should I use? In Trajan and Hadrian's day, I'd suggest hamata, with short or no sleeves, and the doubler optional. I'd favor wearing a doubler, but that's just my preference, as it looks more distinctly "Roman" than no doubler.


In most references I've seen, hamata is the most common armor from Julius Caesar on. It goes through various changes, longer/shorter, shoulders doubled/no doubler, no sleeves/short sleeves/long sleeves.

Segmentata seems to have a fairly short life, just a couple of centuries of time. Scale (squamata, plumata) of one sort or the other seems to be available and used in various time periods.

For dates, etc., I can't help with that. I just have a general knowledge.

There is considerable argument over marine armor. Some say they would be equipped more or less like the shore soldiers. Some say they omitted their body armor in favor of not sinking to the bottom of the sea should they be thrown overboard.

It seems fairly agreed that Marines used hastae, not pila, but I'd doubt that there was any restriction against pila, just the impracticality of a heavy javelin in the close quarters of ship fighting. A thrusting spear is more practical, seemingly.

My best general answer, subject to amendment as the real historians bring facts and references to bear on the questions. Good on you for asking, Nick!

[ruski94]

"It goes through various changes, longer/shorter, shoulders doubled/no doubler, no sleeves/short sleeves/long sleeves."

what are doublers?

[Robert Vermaat]

what are doublers?

Extra layers of mail across the shoulders of the mail shirt.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Like wot I wore here... mile:

[ruski94]

I thank each of you for answering most of my questions about armor (except the one about regional armor differences) but, none of you have answered any of my questions about weaponry.

Also, although this doesn't relate to the topic at hand, does anyone know what types of ships(other than the merchant ships)would be in the fleet?

[Dan Howard]

Do we even know the percentage of the Roman army that actually had armour? It's possible that the most common body armour was "no armour"

[ruski94]

well than if that is so, what did they wear?

[Dan Howard]

Helmet and shield. Just like the majority of infantry in most armies at the time.

[ruski94]

But you said the majority wore no armor. Aren't a shield and helmet considered armor?

[Dan Howard]

I said

It's possible that the most common body armour was "no armour".

Your question can't really be answered until someone determines the percentage of the Roman army that had armour (has anyone done this?). Though David is likely correct that mail was probably the most popular among those who actually wore armour.

[Crispvs]

Sadly, questions such as this simply cannot be answered. Whatever elaborate models may be proposed, the reality is that we have no means whatsoever to determine what percentage of the Roman army wore this sort of armour or that or wore armour at all. All we can do is surmise based on what is actually a minute amount of evidence. Four or five figures depicted here or there in sculptures cannot be guaranteed to be representative of tens of thousands, but in what way they might be unrepresentative is open to question. Unfortunately for the study of equipment, writers of history or biography tend to be far more interested in the actions of generals and the ways in which they used their armies that what individual soldiers were wearing. As far as I know, only three writers (Polybius, Josephus and Vegetius) say anything useful about how soldiers were equipped and of these, Poliybius is really too early for your chosen period, Josephus does give any detail on the type of armour worn by Roman soldiers and Vegetius' views on the wearing of armour have been shown not to be trustworthy. In any case, none of these writers give any indication of how many men wore what armour. Polybius comes closest when he says that most Roman soldiers wore a pectoral plate in his period but says some of the wealthier ones possessed Celtic mail shirts.

Add to that the reality that a lot of equipment was probably kept in service for a long time, meaning a single set of armour might have half a dozen different owners throughout its life, and even purchase records for equipment (if they existed, which they don't) would not be a reliable guide to what was actually in use. I doubt that even Roman generals had any idea normally of what percentage of their armies were wearing what sort of equipment, past having a working knowledge of what extra reserves or supplies of equipment would be required for a campaign.

All of which means that any attempt to answer a question about how many men wore what or any sort of armour will always end up being an exercise in chasing your own tail.

Crispvs

[ruski94]

Now that we have answered that question could we move onto the others?

[sulla felix]

What kind of armor was most common in the roman army during the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian? Also, were legions that were sent to the hotter regions (Africa or what is now the Middle East) of the empire armed and armored differently than those in more mild or colder climates? Finally, were roman ship crews and marines armed and armored differently than the legions?

Armour in hotter regions - evidence from excavations in Israel (Masada etc.) suggests that all the normal types of armour were in use (segmentata, mail and scale are all represented in the finds). It would seem likely that locally recruited auxiliary troops would retain some local armour and equipment, but this is diifcult to determine from the results of the excavations in these areas.

[AureliusFalco]

In reference to your question on legions in Africa or the Middle East having different armor and equipment, I have seen a tombstone of L. Septimius Viator(in Ancient Warfare Magazine, Vol. II, Issue 6) from the Legio II Parthica. While he is equipped with a round shield and many small lances( the tombstone states he was a lanciarius ), that legion served in many other places beside the Parthian border, so this may not be a "desert" uniform.