Basic Roman Army Questions

[Godgirl97]

Hello!
I am a fiction writer, and the book series I am currently writing focuses on a Roman soldier in the 1st century. Since I'm a writer and not a historian, I have a BUNCH of questions about the Roman army in general. Hope that I'll be able to get some answers! Here goes:

1. In the movies depicting Romans, it shows the soldiers saluting by putting the clenched fist to their chest. Also, it shows a handshake that is done by both men grasping the other's wrist. Are these customs historically accurate, or is it all Hollywood?

2. In 1st century A.D., when the Christian movement began and those followers of Christ were persecuted, in the event that a Roman soldier converted to Christianity, what would he have done? Would that have gotten him killed if anyone found out?

3. Were there any instances of deserters in the Roman army? I know what would have happened if they were caught, but was there any instance where a deserter actually got away?

4. How were promotions done? Would a situation have arisen where the commanders and captains would have singled out someone and had them rise in the ranks to become a centurion?

5. My story takes place in Antonia Fortress. Would a soldier there have been given time off, or was he allowed to go off the premises when off-duty?


Those are my only questions for now (I guarantee there will be more, so I hope you all like answering questions!)  

I would really appreciate any answers you can give!

[Nathan Ross]

1. Are these customs historically accurate, or is it all Hollywood?

All Hollywood, I'm afraid! Romans shook hands just the same as we do, although it wasn't a casual greeting but a gesture of faith and concord (Romans tended to hug and kiss when they greeted one another). Nobody's at all clear on what the Roman army salute might have been, or even if there was one. You might like to have a read through these older threads:

Saluting?

Roman Army Salute?

2. in the event that a Roman soldier converted to Christianity, what would he have done? Would that have gotten him killed if anyone found out?

Christians weren't systematically persecuted by the Roman state until the 3rd century. Before then, there were sporadic outbreaks, but usually due to something the Christians had done, or hadn't done (denying the emperor's divinity or the existence of the gods, refusing sacrifice, that sort of thing).

The main problem a Christian would face in the army would be in attending sacrifices to the Roman gods at festivals, and swearing allegiance to the emperor (also a religious ceremony) once a year. Anyone refusing to do either could be accused of breaking his military oath - there are examples of this from later centuries, but also examples of serving Christian soldiers, so clearly many of them chose to overlook the possible taint of idolatry!

3. Were there any instances of deserters in the Roman army? I know what would have happened if they were caught, but was there any instance where a deserter actually got away?

There were plenty of deserters, and plenty of penalties too. Have a look through some Roman law on the matter. The punishments vary - anyone leaving the 'camp' (ie in time of war) for any reason would be punished with death, as would anyone deserting to the enemy, but deserters in peacetime appear to have punished either with beating, demotion or discharge (or a combination of the above).

Successful deserters tend not to show up in the historical records, but surely there were quite a few! Trajan's wars against Dacia were partly motivated by the desire to recover large numbers of Romans who had deserted to the Dacians during previous conflicts.

4. How were promotions done?

Men could become centurion either by direct commission (from the equestrian order - the Roman lower aristocracy), or after long service (probably for some suitably worthy deed), or in some instances by the election of their colleagues in the case of a vacancy. In most cases the senior officer - either the tribune or legate commanding the unit or province, or the emperor if present - would probably have decided the matter. From the later first century, there's some evidence that promotions to the centurionate and transfers between legions were handled by a central administration in Rome.

However, most (or all) of the military forces in Judea prior to c.AD66 would have been locally-raised auxiliary units. Their centurions and commanding officers could have been promoted from service in the legions, but many seem to have been local men who either purchased their rank (and in at least one case, their citizenship too), or were promoted from the units they commanded.

5. Would a soldier there have been given time off, or was he allowed to go off the premises when off-duty?

That would depend on the exact period. Soldiers in the east were commonly based or billeted in close proximity to civilian communities, and there was a lot of intermingling. Jerusalem was a very volatile place, though, so while soldiers were almost certainly allowed out of their quarters, they probably didn't have quite the same freedom they might have enjoyed elsewhere. Relations between the Jews in Jerusalem and the Roman forces was not good at the time (witness the occasion of a Roman soldier on the temple colonnade showing his backside during a Jewish religious festival, which sparked a riot). Many of these 'Roman' soldiers could have been Samaritans, a group with long-standing antipathy towards the majority Jewish population.

However, there's the passage in the Bible (Luke?) in which John the Baptists talks to some 'soldiers', who are apparently off duty. This is interesting as it suggests both that parties of soldiers (whether Roman or Herodian is unclear) might be seen wandering about Judea (or the Jordan, in this case), and also that the soldiers apparently spoke Aramaic (as Samaritans would have done, I think).

You might find these threads interesting too:

Auxilia stationed in Jerusalem

Legion stationed near Judea at time of Jesus

[Gunthamund Hasding]

Welcome to the forum Godgirl97

first of all forum rules are asking to put your true name in your signature. http://www.romanarmytalk.com/rat/usercp....on=editsig

Second if you want to write a book about romans that is accurate you need to forget all the films you saw and try to find some books that are dealing with the roman army. If you want some good tips I can send you an PM with some accessible books.

Third if questions first search then ask here.

Enjoy

[Godgirl97]

Welcome to the forum Godgirl97

first of all forum rules are asking to put your true name in your signature. http://www.romanarmytalk.com/rat/usercp....on=editsig

Second if you want to write a book about romans that is accurate you need to forget all the films you saw and try to find some books that are dealing with the roman army. If you want some good tips I can send you an PM with some accessible books.

Third if questions first search then ask here.

Enjoy

Thanks! I did get the message and updated my signature. Also, thank you for your answer. I did research everything for quite awhile before I came on here. For some reason, I can never find solid answers on google!

---

1. Are these customs historically accurate, or is it all Hollywood?

All Hollywood, I'm afraid! Romans shook hands just the same as we do, although it wasn't a casual greeting but a gesture of faith and concord (Romans tended to hug and kiss when they greeted one another). Nobody's at all clear on what the Roman army salute might have been, or even if there was one. You might like to have a read through these older threads:

Saluting?

Roman Army Salute?

2. in the event that a Roman soldier converted to Christianity, what would he have done? Would that have gotten him killed if anyone found out?

Christians weren't systematically persecuted by the Roman state until the 3rd century. Before then, there were sporadic outbreaks, but usually due to something the Christians had done, or hadn't done (denying the emperor's divinity or the existence of the gods, refusing sacrifice, that sort of thing).

The main problem a Christian would face in the army would be in attending sacrifices to the Roman gods at festivals, and swearing allegiance to the emperor (also a religious ceremony) once a year. Anyone refusing to do either could be accused of breaking his military oath - there are examples of this from later centuries, but also examples of serving Christian soldiers, so clearly many of them chose to overlook the possible taint of idolatry!

3. Were there any instances of deserters in the Roman army? I know what would have happened if they were caught, but was there any instance where a deserter actually got away?

There were plenty of deserters, and plenty of penalties too. Have a look through some Roman law on the matter. The punishments vary - anyone leaving the 'camp' (ie in time of war) for any reason would be punished with death, as would anyone deserting to the enemy, but deserters in peacetime appear to have punished either with beating, demotion or discharge (or a combination of the above).

Successful deserters tend not to show up in the historical records, but surely there were quite a few! Trajan's wars against Dacia were partly motivated by the desire to recover large numbers of Romans who had deserted to the Dacians during previous conflicts.

4. How were promotions done?

Men could become centurion either by direct commission (from the equestrian order - the Roman lower aristocracy), or after long service (probably for some suitably worthy deed), or in some instances by the election of their colleagues in the case of a vacancy. In most cases the senior officer - either the tribune or legate commanding the unit or province, or the emperor if present - would probably have decided the matter. From the later first century, there's some evidence that promotions to the centurionate and transfers between legions were handled by a central administration in Rome.

However, most (or all) of the military forces in Judea prior to c.AD66 would have been locally-raised auxiliary units. Their centurions and commanding officers could have been promoted from service in the legions, but many seem to have been local men who either purchased their rank (and in at least one case, their citizenship too), or were promoted from the units they commanded.

5. Would a soldier there have been given time off, or was he allowed to go off the premises when off-duty?

That would depend on the exact period. Soldiers in the east were commonly based or billeted in close proximity to civilian communities, and there was a lot of intermingling. Jerusalem was a very volatile place, though, so while soldiers were almost certainly allowed out of their quarters, they probably didn't have quite the same freedom they might have enjoyed elsewhere. Relations between the Jews in Jerusalem and the Roman forces was not good at the time (witness the occasion of a Roman soldier on the temple colonnade showing his backside during a Jewish religious festival, which sparked a riot). Many of these 'Roman' soldiers could have been Samaritans, a group with long-standing antipathy towards the majority Jewish population.

However, there's the passage in the Bible (Luke?) in which John the Baptists talks to some 'soldiers', who are apparently off duty. This is interesting as it suggests both that parties of soldiers (whether Roman or Herodian is unclear) might be seen wandering about Judea (or the Jordan, in this case), and also that the soldiers apparently spoke Aramaic (as Samaritans would have done, I think).

You might find these threads interesting too:

Auxilia stationed in Jerusalem

Legion stationed near Judea at time of Jesus

Wow, thank you so much! These are more detailed answers than I could have hoped for! Thanks for taking the time to answer