Roman Britain. Мартемьянова Н.В. - 11 стр.

                                        11


    Rome maintained the largest professional army of the ancient world. Its men
were well equipped and highly trained, and operated in strict formation on the
battlefield.
0 E
    Magistrates and councilors, elected (1)_____the property-owing class, raised
fine public buildings (2)_____ towns, which now served (3)_____ their tribal
capitals.(4)_____ answered to Rome (5)_____the Governor- whose toga bore
the broad purple stripe (6)_____distinguished him as a Senator.
1
    It was the Centurions (mostly elevated from the ranks) (7)_____provided the
continuity (8)_____tradition essential (9)_____a disciplined fighting force.
Often conservative and brutal, they were always feared (10)_____frequently
hated (11)_____their men.
2
The Optio was nominated by the Centurion as (12)_____deputy. His knobended
staff was used to prod the ranks (13)_____line, and he carried the 'orders of the
day' in a pouch (14)_____his belt.
3
    Standard - bearers normally wore shirts of mail (15)_____scale amour. As a
mark of (16)_____status, and to convey appropriate ferocity, they wore the
skins of bears or wolves. Standard - bearers also had responsibility (17)_____the
safekeeping of soldiers pay and savings.
4
    The legions were the crack troops of the Roman army ( the heavy infantry),
sent (18)_____for campaigns of conquest (19)_____the empire, or to suppress
revolt (20)_____its frontiers. These men were specialists and craftsmen of all
kinds, capable       of bringing the mechanisms of Roman rule to a
(21)_____conquered territory and particularly the engineers and architects who
could create the physical infrastructure of a new province.