When Russell Crowe, playing the Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius, leads his army into battle against the hordes of Germanic warriors in the opening scenes of Gladiator, the action gets very bloody, very quickly. Anyone who has seen the Ridley Scott-directed film will remember the extreme violence it portrays.
First of all, the Roman legionaries rain down a firestorm of burning arrows and catapulted projectiles. Then, marching forward in strict formation, they engage with the barbarians in vicious hand-to-hand combat. Next, in a pincer movement, the Roman cavalry gallops around the rear of the battle line, hacking down the enemy with their swords. Finally, they butcher any stragglers until the entire opposing army is destroyed.
Many historians agree these film scenes, set in 180AD, are historically accurate. Among them is Richard Abdy, curator of a new exhibition at The British Museum, in London, called ‘Legion: life in the Roman army’.
“It does feel convincing,” he tells MF, explaining how, when lined up for combat, legionaries – the infantrymen of the Roman army – would position themselves in three ranks, according to their seniority, just as
