Height requirement wierd

[rv]

Why was their a height requirement of 6 ft tall? This would rule out some very capable fighters...perhaps the best. (Mike Tyson,Rocky Marciano too,lol)
Also, they recruited from just the Italian peninsula,why? This did not insure that just Latin tribes were recruits but many ethnic groups..Germanic,Celt,Oscan and many, many others who lived in Italy.(And they were the majority of the so called Italians... Latins were not the majority)????

[hansvl]

Hi rv (not the car type I hope),

You stated:

Also, they recruited from just the Italian peninsula,why?

This was the case during the Republic, but certainly not during the Principate when there was a shift from recruitment of 'Italians' towards a recruitment from the (border)provinces.

Worth a read: L. Keppie, legionary recruitment and veteran settlement. (Quoting from memory, so I hope I have the name and title right.)

Hans

[Marcus Mummius]

That 6ft tall height requirement you are getting from vegetius, right? I know that in caesar's time height requirement was brought down from 1m65 to +/-1m60 to ensure that enough new recruits were found. But were did I read that...

[hoplite14gr]

Why why throw common sence out of the equation.
Most Αrmies in peace time demand a minimum of 1m 60cm and ussually 5 to 10cm more for military academies.
But armies have to do with what they can get also.
My nefew is 1m 55cm but was acepted in the Russian Transport and Ordnanace Academy because they did not get enough recruits lately.
So yes perhaps laws or regulations define a minimum but real life dictates how much does this condition applies.
Kind regards
Stefanos

[Caius Fabius]

I can't even get into the driver's compartment of a T-55/62/72/80/90. When I was thin, being over 6 feet tall made it difficult to get into the commander's position, I can't do it now. Now we need small people to fly helicopters and aircraft, drive and crew tanks and submarines and ships.

2000 years ago, when you fought man to man, the guy with the longer reach usually had an advantage. Tall people usually have a longer reach. The shorter Italians decided to carry huge shields and throw pila to even the odds against the taller Germans and Celts. It worked. Shorter people have a lower center of gravity, and do very well in a push and shove battle. You make your tactics fit your body type. If you fighting style is incorrect for your body type, you will lose. When a bunch of people all fight together, forcing them to all fight exactly the same can be a disadvantage. That is another reason I doubt the packed ranks theory, and lean more to the idea that the Roman fighting formations were looser than shown on the movie screen and television.

[hoplite14gr]

I can't even get into the driver's compartment of a T-55/62/72/80/90. When I was thin, being over 6 feet tall made it difficult to get into the commander's position, I can't do it now. Now we need small people to fly helicopters and aircraft, drive and crew tanks and submarines and ships.

Well Soviet designs were unusual and soviet recruiters specified small size for the tank troops but I never had a problem with European vechicles and I am 1m 80cm.
I agree that Holywood shows the Roman ranks perhaps too tight but I do not think there were very loose either.
I saw riot police with rectangular shields and buttons shoving the "opposition" aside and exploiting the advantage of "tight formation". The "opposition" carried motorcycle helmets" and wood from construction sites and it resemled a warband. The police was loose enaugh to use the buttton but close enaugh to maintain cohesion.
That is the closest example that I can recall.
Kind regards
Stefanos

[Arthes]

Greetings,
This height business was discussed on an Arthurian list a month or so back.
It was considered that the height requirements were in Roman measurement.
1 Roman foot equals 11.65 English inches and one Roman inch is 0.97 of a modern inch.
So the actual height in modern terms would be around 5' 9.1/2" for 6'0"
and 5'6.1/3" for 5'10".
Vegetius says that the correct type of person was more important than height, but like most modern forces, I suppose an average height was needed, otherwise you would have some little 5'3" guy prodding his gladius into the two 6'0" guys in front, "Hey I can't see" and imagine what a testudo would be like with one shield in the middle looking like an air vent.... :roll:
Regards
Arthes

[hoplite14gr]

Interesting point but modern armies can make comparable height groupings in the boot camp. I guess the Romans could group their recruits accordingly if they had enough of them and the time to do it so that speirae would be composed from similar height men.
I saw some police videos doing something like "testudo" training for riot control and I couldnt really say that the police officers were all at the same height.
Kind regards
Stefanos