Table of Contents
How much was a Roman legionary paid?
Pay. From the time of Gaius Marius onwards, legionaries received 225 denarii a year (equal to 900 Sestertii); this basic rate remained unchanged until Domitian, who increased it to 300 denarii.
Did Roman soldiers get paid well?
Writing in the mid second century BCE, Polybius (1) estimated soldiers’ pay being around two obols (2) a day which during the year would equate to 120 denarii and for a cavalryman’s pay at 180 denarii. Obviously, the value of the money and its purchasing power was dependent of the economic circumstances of the time.
How often were Roman soldiers paid?
Roughly: During the early Republic, soldiers were paid 180 old-style denarii annually. During the later Republic, soldiers were paid 112.5 new-style denarii annually. During the early Empire, pay was 225 denarii annually (pay doubled by Caesar).
How much did the average Roman soldier make?
Average pay was 2.5 sesterces per day. There were 4 sesterces to a Denarius. So 2.5 times 365 days divided by 4:1 equals 228.1. So the more precise gross pay is 2.47 sesterces per day….Average pay for Roman Legionnaire.
Legionnaire | Auxiliary | |
---|---|---|
Net pay, annual | 115 | 78 |
Average bonus, spread over 3 years | 25 | |
Average annual net pay during 25 year career | 140 | 78 |
How did Romans pay their soldiers?
Being so valuable, soldiers in the Roman army were sometimes paid with salt instead of money. Their monthly allowance was called “salarium” (“sal” being the Latin word for salt). This Latin root can be recognized in the French word “salaire” — and it eventually made it into the English language as the word “salary.”
What was the average salary of a Roman soldier?
The average salary of a legionary, the official title of a Roman soldier, was approximately only 112 denarii per year. This amount was doubled during the reign of Julius Caesar to 225 denarii annually.
What if you were a Roman legionary?
Say you’re a Roman legionary. You’ve made it through 15 years of campaigning, living on the frontier, and constructing public works projects. You joined the legion as a young man of 20 years with no money and nowhere else to turn. Through your years of service, the legion gave you a family and a band of brothers.
How much did Caesar’s legionaries get paid?
“Caesar doubled the pay of his legionaries so that they received 225 Silver Denarri a year, which implies that before this reform they were receiving something like 112.5 denarri.” The gap between Gaius Marius’s reforms (107 BC) and Julius Caesar’s imperium is very large – about half a century.
How much did Centurions make in ancient Rome?
The cost of food and arms for each soldier was deducted from his salary, which was contingent on his rank. Centurions were paid considerably higher rates. The lowest-ranking centurion made approximately 3,750 denarii per year.