The definition of this word originates in the distant Roman Empire. Thanks to the reforms of the Roman ruler Gaius Maria, the army was reorganized and streamlined. As a result of this, a structural unit arose as a "legionnaire", and their phalanx of five to eight thousand was a legion.
Legionnaire is a military man in ancient Rome
The empire of Romulus and Remus began with a small village in the center of Italy. Their location had a positive effect on the economy of the policy. In primary Rome there were no permanent and indigenous inhabitants, it was inhabited by merchants, natives of nearby places who were hiding from justice.
The population of a small policy decided to create an army. The Roman army captured most of the nearest settlements, and their inhabitants were enslaved. Subsequently, slaves served as servants, and their labor force made up some part of the state’s economy. Moreover, someone was able to become a full-fledged resident of Rome.
Roman legions
The whole army of the Roman Empire consisted of them. Legions seized new lands, captured slaves and carried out defense functions. For some time they consisted only of noble inhabitants of Rome. It was a necessity, they bought their own equipment and existed almost on self-sufficiency. The warrior, part of the army, was called a legionnaire. It was a structural unit of the army.
Reforms of Guy Maria
The possessions of the Roman Empire expanded and along with this there was a need for a large army. Elite citizens of Rome could not defend all borders and go hiking along the way. To solve such a difficult situation, Gaius Marius set about. The essence of his reforms was as follows:
- People from the poor classes were recruited into the army.
- Legionnaires were paid a salary.
- Military service was 16 years.
- Weapons and armor became free. The legionnaire received this at the expense of the imperial treasury.
- Veteran legionnaire received land at the end of the service.
Below is a photo of the Roman legionnaire, after the reform of Guy Maria.
Our name is the Legion!
In the late republic, it consisted of cohorts. The latter was a building of 6 centuries. Now we will understand in more detail.
The number of soldiers in the legion was about 4,800. It also included slaves, attendants and servants. In special cases, the legion could consist of 6 thousand people. Sometimes soldiers were missing in them; especially wayward commanders were given only 1 thousand legionnaires. And the famous Guy Julius Caesar legion consisted of 3300 - 3600 thousand people. There is a legionnaire - it was a loyal subject to the authority of the legate. And even this fact did not prevent him from crossing the Rubicon and seizing power in Rome.
In all the legions there were auxiliary troops of approximately the same strength. They consisted of doctors, scouts, sappers, standard-bearers with standards and other useful people in battle. At the end of the service, they were given Roman citizenship.
In the period of absence of wars and relatively peaceful time, the legionnaires did not have to get bored. If now there are special construction companies, in another - construction battalion, then there were no such units, and brave wars in armor had to build bridges and roads. In addition, they were involved in extinguishing fires, collecting taxes and cultural exchanges.
French legionnaires
The beautiful name was adopted by military mercenaries from France. Anyone can apply there, and as a result of the service, obtain citizenship of the country. King Louis Philippe I created the legion in 1831. It included an advantage of foreign nationals, from Russians to Ethiopians.
The French colonized Algeria, then they needed additional troops. This is where a legion of mercenaries came to the rescue. At that time, it consisted mainly of criminals. The French themselves, who had problems with the law, were also accepted into it.