Legionary: The Roman Soldier's (Unofficial) Manual

Anyone writing historical fiction or non-fiction about ancient Rome would do well to read Legionary, the Roman Soldier's (Unofficial) Manual. This book tells all of the ins and outs of the Roman army-recruitment, training, gear, working conditions, benefits and drawbacks, possible assignments and promotion opportunities, various places you may be sent to, characteristics of possible enemies, survival tactics, sieges and battles. Basically everything you may want to know before committing yourself to a 25 year stint in the Roman Army.All of this information is imparted in a light and breezy manner with frequent snarky comments, but the result is that the reader will acquire an intimate knowledge of the entire Roman military system and why it was so successful for so many centuries.The manual is based upon the Roman Army of ca 100 A.D., under the Emperor Trajan. This is at a time when Trajan is intent upon subduing the Dacians. The Dacians inhabited what is now Romania, and Trajan was so successful in subduing them that to this day the Romanians speak a language very similar to Latin. Aside from the Dacians, other barbarians that the Roman legionary might expect to meet on the battlefield are Gauls, Picts, Germans, Berbers and Numidians, Panonians, Parthians, and Judeans.As for Judeans, the author says: "Perhaps through possessing a long history and tradition of their own, the Jewish people seem unable to appreciate the benefits brought by their conquerors. Their religious dogmatism inspires resistance bordering and occasionally crossing into terrorism, and their propensity for wholesale and fanatical revolt makes Romans wonder if it was worth bringing these ungrateful people the benefits of their culture. It does not help that many Jews also devoutly wish the Romans had not bothered."The author offers a lot of practical advice to the legionary. For example: "And whatever you do, keep a tight grip on your sword and shield. Not only can losing either lead to fatal embarrassment during the melee, but also to awkward questions from the centurion afterwards. No one wants the suspicion of having deliberately dropped his kit so as to get out of the battle line."The author does not recommend excessive heroics, saying "Sunt milites veteres. Sunt milites audaces. Non sunt milites veteres atque audaces." -there are old soldiers and there are bold soldiers but there are no old bold soldiers.Of course, the Roman military of 100 A.D. had changed considerably from the military of Camillus or Scipio Africanus. Author Matysak does go into its history somewhat. For details of the Roman military of the second and third century B.C. I recommend reading Polybius. For details of the Roman military of the first century B.C. I recommend reading Caesar's commentaries, or the series "Marching With Caesar" by R.W. Peake.

So you want to join the roman army, yes?Start by reading this great work that will introduce you to this war machine. But do you have what it takes to belong to this brotherhood? This is a life commitment; I hope you - the reader - understand that.Philip Matyszak is a true visionary and in the classical history niche no one is as capable of hooking a reader as him. With immense sense of humor, but maintaining always historical rigor, you will grasp how a Roman legionary lived without realizing that you were reading an history book!The author investigated thoroughly, consulted other specialists like Adrian Goldsworthy and even used the practical experience and know-how of reenactment groups.The reader gets a "you-are-there" feeling when he understands the importance of having good footwear, how they were recruited, what legionaries ate, what was their kit, how they lived in the camp and on campaign, how they trained, who their enemies were and how they fought in battles and sieges. You will also get a short history of the roman army and an overview of the most famous legions.Well illustrated with photos, Peter Connollys great paintings and several line drawings, with priceless chapter introductions in Latin, well documented information displayed with humor and with interesting summaries that focus the most important data to remember, you will have a hard time finding a better way to learn about the roman military.There are some minor mistakes (like puglio instead of pugio) but overall, and for its target - the non specialist public, this is a well deserved five star book.

Quite the amusing introduction to a deadly serious subject: being a soldier for Rome. Despite the author's humorous approach to the subject, there is no way to deny that a Roman soldier's life was gritty, strenuous, dangerous and "subject to change without notice", when your legion is transferred 2,000 miles away to deal with some new threat, or just because, like all truly formidable armies, the Powers That Be don't want you getting too attached to where you're serving, and they especially don't want you "going native", even though, for most of the Empire's history, the soldiers already were "native" troops serving under Caesar's Eagle.Some of the other reviewers claim this book has TMI, as my son would say. But for Roman history buffs (and most people at all interested in the subject ARE buffs), there is no such thing as too much information. If anything, there's too little.Gives a real flavor of what it was like to serve Rome in this fashion, without going into the gory details of what could happen when things went wrong, as they did at Cannae, where Hannibal's 5,000 men slaughtered 45,000 Roman soldiers; according to Polybius, it took Hannibal's men three days to strip the gold rings from the dead Romans' bodies.

Wonderful book. Easy to read. Dry English humor, and I'm afraid that if you don't know your history, many of the jokes won't mean anything to you. And quite practical, actually!

This is a thourough and very readable look at what life is like in the Imperial Roman army (either as a legionary or auxilliary). From enlistment ,through training, to campaign life to warfare and retirement (should you live to see it). Equipment and weapons are covered, as are possible enemies you may encounter. All done in a light hearted manner, but this is not a lightweight book. Read it and you might just want to enlist yourself!

Excellent book that brings the past closer, using a well-balanced combination of fact and humour, laced with surprising detail. My guess is that the subject commands a huge generalist audience, many of whom will find this well worth the price.

Great little read, informative. Provides a really good and digestible insight in to what it may have been like serving Rome's military might.

An informative and useful interesting book on the early Roman army. Well laid out and mine of information. Recommended.

If you are a newcomer to the subject this makes a good first book. If you are well read in the subject already you will find some of the 'in jokes' very funny indeed. It is packed full of information and a very enjoyable read.