From the civil wars of the Late Republic to Constantine's bloody reunification of the Empire, elite corps of guardsmen were at the heart of every Roman army. Wh

For four centuries, from the civil wars of the Late Republic to Constantine's bloody reunification of the Empire, elite corps of guardsmen were at the heart of

The Roman centurion, holding the legionaries steady before the barbarian horde and then leading them forward to victory, was the heroic exemplar of the Roman wo

The legionary soldier of the early Empire period, with his distinctive segmented armor, is one of the images most closely associated by popular imagination with

Much has been written about the Roman army and the mighty legions that conquered their empire and then defended it for centuries against all comers. But little