What weapons and armour did the Romans use?

Answer 1

They didn't have armor like knights did ( that came later), but they did have a leather chest protector, carried a short sword, had a spear, helmet, and shield. They wore a laced leather sandal. They were pretty good at handling these items. One of the successful battle tactics was that the Roman army would form a formation of men behind shields so it made a wall. They were pretty good in a battle with the short sword as well. They also had crossbows and daggers.

Answer 2

The Romans had three types of armour. The lorica hamata, was an iron (sometimes bronze) mail armour with up to 30,000 rings in alternate rows of rings punched from iron sheets and rows of riveted rings from drawn wire that ran horizontally. The rings had an inside diameter of 5 mm, and an outside one of 7 mm. They created a very flexible, but reliable and strong armour. The shoulders had plates which ran vertically from about mid-back to the front, and were connected by brass or iron hooks. The lorica squamata was a scale armour made from small metal scales sewn to a fabric backing. The scales formed bands around the torso and overlapped in every direction. Although they were thin, their overlapping created multiple layers which were strong and flexible. They were made of iron or bronze, or alternating metals. The lorica segmentata which was made of broad iron horizontal strips which were fastened at the front and back to internal leather straps with brass hooks and overlapped downwards. The strips were joined by leather laces. They were made of soft iron inside and mild steel on the outside, which made them harder and prevented them from becoming brittle. The shoulders and upper body and shoulders had shoulder guards made up of breast-plates and back-plates. . It gave greater protection than the Lorica hamata and its weight. This armour could be separated into four sections which would folded for easy storage. Its use declined in the Later Empire due to its higher production cost and maintenance requirements.

Answer 3

The Romans had three types of armour. The lorica hamata, was an iron (sometimes bronze) mail armour with up to 30,000 rings in alternate rows of rings punched from iron sheets and rows of riveted rings from drawn wire that ran horizontally. The rings had an inside diameter of 5 mm, and an outside one of 7 mm. They created a very flexible, but reliable and strong armour. The shoulders had plates which ran vertically from about mid-back to the front, and were connected by brass or iron hooks. The lorica squamata was a scale armour made from small metal scales sewn to a fabric backing. The scales formed bands around the torso and overlapped in every direction. Although they were thin, their overlapping created multiple layers which were strong and flexible. They were made of iron or bronze, or alternating metals. The lorica segmentata was made of broad iron horizontal strips which were fastened at the front and back to internal leather straps with brass hooks and overlapped downwards. The strips were joined by leather laces. They were made of soft iron inside and mild steel on the outside, which made them harder and prevented them from becoming brittle. The shoulders and upper body and shoulders had shoulder guards made up of breast-plates and back-plates. . It gave greater protection than the Lorica hamata and its weight. This armour could be separated into four sections which would folded for easy storage. Its use declined in the Later Empire due to its higher production cost and maintenance requirements.

The manica was a segmented armour worn on one or both arms. Greaves, sheet metal protecting the legs, were common during the Republic, but less so in the Imperial army. Roman helmets were called galea or cassis, and their shapes varied a lot.

The Roman soldiers used the gladio, a short sword which was light and easy to handle in close combat. In the later Roman Empire a longer sword (the spatha) was introduced. The soldiers also carried a dagger (pugio) and two pila (plural of pilum). There were two models of the pilum (javelin) a heavy one and a light one. Originally it weighed between 2 and 5 kilos (4 and a half to 11 pound) and lighter versions were made later. It was 2 metre (7 ft. 7 in) long with an iron shaft 7 mm (0.28 in) in diameter and a 60 cm (24 in) long pyramidal head. The shank was not hardened and with its softness it bent on impact, so that when it stuck to the enemy's shield, it made it unusable as trying to pull it out would waste too much time. Its bending also made it unusable for the enemy. They also had six plumbatae(a name derived from plumbum, lead) clipped to the back of the shield. These were light darts.