Posted on 11/28/2022 3:02:16 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Soldiers served an average of 25 years in the imperial Roman army. In the face of relentless campaigning, harsh discipline, and brutal demographic realities, how likely were they to survive to retirement?
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:08 Terms of service
1:33 Death in battle
2:42 Wondrium
3:55 Fatal discipline
4:41 Disease in the ranks
5:33 Sweet release
5:59 The odds of survival
7:53 Hadrian's WallHow Many Roman Soldiers Survived to Retirement? | toldinstone | 396,157 views | November 11, 2022
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
Many of them were supported in their old age by The Human Fund.
If they were in Varus’s legion they didn’t need to worry about retirement.
They got lucrative jobs in aerospace companies
Give Me Back My Legions!
So the actuaries in Rome figured that giving 100 hectares to 5% of soldiers who made it to retirement well covered the cost.
You can bet that there were more than a few Crassus types waiting around to “pay cash” for the promised properties.
Settling retired soldiers into relatively new or sparsely populated provinces probably led to money for someone, somewhere, somehow. Having Roman settlement where it can generate produce, meat, wine, and/or tax revenue may have figured into it. If a commander / emperor had a big chunk of territory in his possession, getting the state to pay him for it so he could distribute it piecemeal to some of his former soldiers would make him popular and flush with cash.
Makes sense. A few parallels to the US, although a few different requirements, none of which for rendering actual service to society.
They got land and money and were highly reg. They could run for office and eve progress up the cursus nobilis
Retirement be good
A Roman soldier is just about to retire with a nice pension after 25 years when the emperor orders every 10th man killed aka Decimation. He was number 10.....
The emperor pockets the pension.
Still done today at GE where 10% are fired in every dept every year regardless and other companies decimate their companies usually right before Christmas.
Uh, no.
“Decimation was never a common punishment”
https://www.livius.org/articles/concept/decimation/
Did they invest in a CDI(k) plan?
“I’d be curious what most of them did afterwards.”
Bought a bar in Miami.
LOL
Haha, nice!
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