Roman Centurion

Product History

A legionary signed for 25 years. He might hope to rise to the rank of centurion in this time. A centurion was a middle-ranking officer and his title means 'leader of the hundred'. The centurionate covered all the lower and middle ranking commissioned officers in the legion.

A centurion's armour was silvered. He wore leg guards (greaves), a mail shirt and a helmet with a crest that ran across from side to side. His sword (gladius) and dagger were worn on the opposite sides to those of the legionary. On his feet he is wearing sandals made from leather. Centurions were often brutal and were not above taking bribes from legionaries who wished to avoid some duty. Bribery became so common that even the Emperor dared not stop it.