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The Roman Legions Trivia Quiz

The Roman Legions were not just a formidable fighting machine, they were also an army of roadbuilders, engineers and technicians re-shaping the countries they took under control. Check your knowledge on these elite troops.

A multiple-choice quiz by flem-ish. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
flem-ish

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
73,549

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
4721

Last 3 plays: Guest 12 (6/10), Guest 95 (8/10), Guest 38 (8/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. What was the standard period of service for the average young recruit of 18-22 years who signed on with the legions? Hint

15 years

25 years

10 years

5 years

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. A basic requirement was that a legionary was to be a citizen of Rome. Non-Romans were admitted to the auxiliary troops only.

True

False

3. A basic principle the new recruits had to understand and put into practice was that they had to learn to fight in a structured way, as an organised body of warriors, not as individuals. What was the name of the special formation of 27 soldiers forming up ranks, the outer men having their shields by their sides, the ones in the middle holding their shields above the heads of all in the pack? Hint

the trebuchet

the ballista

the testudo or tortoise

the onager

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. What was, from about the time of Tiberius on, the dominant type of basic armour worn by a Roman legionary in the Imperial armies ? Hint

just a leather jacket

a mail coat

horizontal metal strips combined with vertical leather strips

an iron breast plate

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. Discipline was all-important in the Roman legions. It was even so that collective punishment was administered to a unit from which an individual soldier had deserted during a battle.

True

False

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. An essential part of their protection was the scutum or shield the Roman legionaries carried. What shape was it? Hint

a flat rectangular shield without a central boss

a small and round shield with a central boss

a semi-cylindrical shield with a boss

a square shield without a central boss

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. The scutum was not just a defensive shield, it was also used to push the enemy out of balance. Once the enemy was on the ground the Roman legionaries could also use their sandals or caligae to injure the enemy. Why? Hint

the sandals had spurs

the sandals had pointed metal tips

the sandals were hobnailed

the sandals had sharp spikes

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. What, of all his military equipment, was the weaponry a Roman soldier would use in the first stage of a standard attack? Hint

Their arcus with which they shot two arrows or sagittas in quick succession

If possible, both his pila or javelins, in quick succession

Their shield to push over an enemy

Their 18 inch sword or gladius

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. It was standard military tactics for the Roman army that, once the enemy troops had started to withdraw or to run from the battlefield, they were no longer pursued.

True

False

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. The walls the Romans built to keep the northern tribes out of Romanised Britain (Hadrian's Wall and Antonine Wall) were built in keeping with standard procedures. At regular distances there was a kind of little castle from where a guard or patrol could survey what happened 'along the line'. What was the normal distance between such mini-forts? Hint

half a mile

one mile

a hundred yards

two miles

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What was the standard period of service for the average young recruit of 18-22 years who signed on with the legions?

Answer: 25 years

Life-expentancy being low in those times, it was, for many recruits a near-lifetime service. If they were lucky enough to survive all the wars and the fighting, they usually could get a plot of land and settle somewhere. One of the popular places for ex-legionaries was Camelodunum or Colchester, a 'colonia' for veterans.

2. A basic requirement was that a legionary was to be a citizen of Rome. Non-Romans were admitted to the auxiliary troops only.

Answer: True

This was a strict requirement, but there was a way to circumvent the administrative problem. If you swore a specific oath of allegiance to the Emperor, then you automatically got citizen's rights.

Answer: the testudo or tortoise

It took 4 months basic training to acquire all those skills. The ballista was a piece of artillery that operated as a giant crossbow but was used for shooting 'rocks'. The onager or wild ass was a machine which had a 'spoon' that could be released to 'fire' 'missiles' ( again rocks mostly).

The trebuchet was more like a slingshot system for throwing rocks. The testudo indeed created the effect of a protective tortoise shell.

4. What was, from about the time of Tiberius on, the dominant type of basic armour worn by a Roman legionary in the Imperial armies ?

Answer: horizontal metal strips combined with vertical leather strips

In addition to that basic armour Roman legionaries also wore a kind of leather apron.
For a description of the laminated plate armour which was introduced in the times of Emperor Tiberius, see www.redrampant.com/roma/armor.htm, or also www.romans-in-britain.org.uk/mil_roman_soldiers_armour.htm

5. Discipline was all-important in the Roman legions. It was even so that collective punishment was administered to a unit from which an individual soldier had deserted during a battle.

Answer: True

The collective punishment was not just 'jankers', but might go as far as decimation, every tenth soldier being executed.

6. An essential part of their protection was the scutum or shield the Roman legionaries carried. What shape was it?

Answer: a semi-cylindrical shield with a boss

The scutum protected the body from chin to knee.

Answer: the sandals were hobnailed

The hobnailed sandals were also an advantage when soldiers had to march on rough ground.

8. What, of all his military equipment, was the weaponry a Roman soldier would use in the first stage of a standard attack?

Answer: If possible, both his pila or javelins, in quick succession

The standard procedure was to throw both javelins in quick succession from a distance of some 30 metres, then to run and try to push over the enemy warriors with the boss of their shields, then the shield was moved to one side and they tried to stab the opponent.

9. It was standard military tactics for the Roman army that, once the enemy troops had started to withdraw or to run from the battlefield, they were no longer pursued.

Answer: False

On the contrary. Roman military theory was that an opponent had to be prevented from regrouping and that the best way to do so was to annihilate him. This was however NOT the task of the legionaries, but of the cavalry who were considered as auxiliary troops.
They would never have made the mistake which Napoleon's Marshal Ney made when he omitted to pursue the fleeing Prussians after the Battle of Quatre Bras just before Waterloo.

Answer: one mile

Such castles are called 'milecastles'. From such a 'milecastle' a guard could keep an eye on half a mile of wall in both directions.

Source: Author flem-ish

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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