ROM241
First Legion
The Roman military underwent significant change during the Late Roman Empire. Gone were the earlier armies of conquest and the later Roman army was much more built around the idea of defense as the Empire was constantly under siege. The soldiers were no longer the professional volunteers of the Early Empire and were made up more of compulsory conscription of both Roman citizens and a large number of Barbarians pressed into service. The Gladius, the short thrusting sword, was replaced by the Spatha, a longer sword. Further, the infantry use thrusting spears during this period and relied more on javelins than the previously used pilum as a missile weapon. After centuries of constant war of expansion and the defense of hopelessly far flung borders, the Roman Army of this period was far lower quality than in previous periods of the Empire and Republic.