Furt

Hi, I need some concrete evidence of which hand a retiarius used to hold and cast his net with. There is too much conflicting information around. Thanks Frank

I was also wondering is oil applied and scraped off after or before a bath?

ASCLEPIADES, thanks for your reply. Wow - that's pretty specific. I guess my above table is rubbish then in regards to generating a worthy gladiator in the time frame. Would there not have been the occasional skirmish with other "nations" (Germania for example) to produce occasional war prisoners?

I understand that there were many citizen gladiators who entered the arena, and these were highly prized over "slave" gladiators, but for my purposes I need the characters to begin enslaved. In saying that I now understand a man born into slavery in the Roman Empire has no nationality - he is a Roman slave. For the games purpose though a man born to Gaulish slave parents for example, would look different than a Greek slave regardless whether they are both considered Roman slaves. It is this difference I need for the game. Obviously, as stated, the second best choice to a freeman would be a combatant war prisoner. So maybe I'm going about this the wrong way - what frontiers would provide prisoners of war worthy of the arena circa 60 a.d? Surely Gaul is a Province by now and provides little in the way of war prisoners, as is Hispania and possibly Thrace? I really need help - this is driving me nuts!

This is exactly the breakdown I was after - thank you PP for this great input. My knowledge of cultural backgrounds are very limited as witnessed by my first broad attempt. I have broken the table down further into sub-tables according to your amendments. Is there anything that could be added to the list? African Berber Egyptian Ethiopian Mauretanian Nubian Numidian Celtic Brittanic Gallic (various Gaulish tribes) Hispanian Eastern Arabian Armenian Judaean Parthian Syrian Germanic Dacian Germanic (various Germanic tribes) Sarmatian Greek Greek Illyrian Macedonian Thracian Roman Italian Roman If you mean an slave born in Rome from one or both Gaulish parents, he was a Gaul no more (strictly speaking, he or she had never been a Gaul). You make a great point ASCLEPIADES, one which I was unsure how to define exactly. I think what I really need is the slave's parentage. I understand that a slave does not belong to his culture, but this is for role playing flavor and distinction. A character born from Gaulish parents who was put to work as a miner in Italia is still going to look like a Gaul in the arena. I guess a "true" Gaul would only be a recent prisoner of war? Another problem is how to determine if a slave is of mixed blood or not?

Hi, I need a table to generate random slave backgrounds for an RPG game. I need the slave's culture and what type of slave he is. Of particular interest are slaves that could wind up in the arena as gladiators circa 60 a.d. For example I would like to generate something like this :- a Gaul born into slavery working in the mines. I have came up with these broad cultures - I'm sure they could be more accurate? African Gallic Germanic Greek Latin Persian Slavic

II. Misso ignominosa is not an honourable discharge. Quite the opposite. This discharge announces publicly to the world that the army considers the dischargee a bad lot and unfit for even military society ... He is barred from living in Rome or ever taking up an appointment in the imperial service. Whatever crime caused this discharge probably also earned the perpetrator a whipping so severe that he will carry the scars for life as a further badge of shame. (Such a specimen might well end up in the arena btw. Another reason entire armies ended up in Rome is for a triumph) I like the sounds of this one. His crime sounds severe enough to be dishonorably discharged but not severe enough to be executed and so would fall somewhere in between? So what would the army do with this individual - surely not just discharge him and then release him on the world? Is it possible he would be enslaved?

OK - then is there any feasible reasons why a legionary would travel to Rome while still in the army?

I know it is only a movie, but I was wondering about the chariot scene in Gladiator when Maximus asks if any men served under him in so and so, and he gets a positive response (or something along those lines). What are legionary soldiers doing in the arena - I doubt they've served their term? Any thoughts if this situation could be possible?

Under what circumstances could a legionary leave the army apart from serving his time? Could he be thrown out and if so would he likely be enslaved or sentenced to death?

I was wondering did Romans sign paper contracts or was it a verbal agreement? I was particularly interested in how a freeman agreed to a contract to become a gladiator.

This site is so helpful! There is a wealth of knowledge here.

Wow! No takers after 34 views! I'm very surprised.

The cohort prefect was usually the first post in the equestrian military career and for some the last, it appears to have been of equal status and remuneration as the legionary centurionate and placed the prefect in charge of a unit of auxilia. From here a prefect could advance to a legionary tribune (tribuni angusticlavii) or to a a cohort tribune (tribunus cohortis) and maybe then on to the prestigious alae prefect (praefectus alae). I have a few questions relating to the equestrian military career and the auxiliary prefecture. 1) Who elected or granted the equestrian the rank of cohort prefect? 2) Who promoted the equestrian and what determined the promotion (ie years of service, talent, influence, favors)? 3) The cohort prefect commanded a force of light auxiliary troops or a mixture of light auxiliary troops and cavalry. Would this unit always be attached to a legion, and be one of many such units, or could it be posted to it's own fort for patrols etc. I believe such smaller auxiliary forts have been found in Britain. 4) If it was posted to it's own fort, and functioned as a complete unit, would that make the cohort prefect the most senior officer at that fort?

Thanks for the replies! Nobody knows if these figurines had a specific name?

Can anyone explain the small figurines used by Romans during their prayers and what they are called? Are they a form of iconism representing the Gods and/or family? In "Gladiator", Maximus sets some on a small candle-lit shrine.

I agree that leather probably was'nt used widely by the legions or even gladiators (my second post of this topic), but we do have some agreement it could be used by "officers". What I would like to know is why? Would'nt a metal cuirass be more prestigious than a leather one? If leather did'nt offer decent protection, as suggested, then why would an officer wear it? He would want the best protection available and could afford it (if that was an issue). Yes, hardened leather could be more supple and lighter than a bronze cuirass, but from what I have read "officers" and generals like Caesar did lead from the front. Would'nt this warrant wanting better protection than the comman soldier? Or are we saying they owned leather cuirass's but fought in better armour?

But with leather being possibly cheaper and quicker to make - would'nt they just create new armour instead of repairing it? The process of making hardened leather requires boiling, correct me if I'm wrong? Theoretically something that could be done easily at camp?

Just watched Season 1 of HBO's Rome. In it Marc Antony and Ceasar appear to wear leather muscled cuirass. There is a close up of Marc removing his, and it is leather for sure, because it flops over on itself. Do we still think it is only a "Hollywood" ploy?

I too thought it possible that a cohort would construct a small "marching fort" but believed such a fort would be small compared to a legion's encampment. Would the cohort carry enough standard equipment to construct a viable marching fort? How would it compare size wise?

I have searched the internet for such an answer myself. It appears the tribune was an adhoc commander when needed, but played more of an administrative role. They probably assisted in pre battle planning and possibly acted as messengers on the field.

in time of war... in my in-depth guesswork a cohort have an average of 16 infantry centurion line and an equites turmae. Sorry - can you explain the infantry part a bit clearer (16 infantry centurion line) and the term signeferi centuria. I know a turmae is a small cavalry unit and part of an alae.

In "Under the Eagle" (p76), the Tribune Vitellius takes commands of a cohort and marches on a mission to a local village. This inspired a few questions: - 1) Would a Tribune travel with a retinue (personal slaves, military staff, bodyguards)? 2) Would a lone cohort travel more than a days march from their legion and if so how would it camp fortified or unfortified? 3) Do you believe cohorts undertook such missions without the direct suppoprt of their legion?

I am confused by the term Latifunda, and are unsure if they were a more "urban" invention or were found throughout the provinces. I believe they only existed in Italia, in and around Rome herself, but personally think some form of slave farming or industry had to exist in newly conquered provinces. If they did exist in the provinces would their rich politician owners personally run them (ie live on the estate) or would they be run by tenants?

Hi, I know that Governors ruled the broad provinces - but who ruled beneath them, say in charge of a town? Is the correct position a Prefect? Who would be in charge of industries such as mines? Thanks Frank