Cingulum militare
Cingulum militare (war belt) is the name of the belt with which Roman soldiers girded their tunics . The pteryges and pugio were often attached to it. The shape consisted either of a hip belt, which was decorated with bronze plates, or later of two crossing leather straps that were tied around the waist. Probably at the end of the reign of Augustus , the apron made of leather strips was added with the crossed strap variant.
This belt was, so to speak, the soldier's “ID” when he was traveling without weapons or protective weapons and only in a tunic, coat and sandals: Whoever wore it was a soldier (“Omnes qui militant, cincti sunt.” Servius , Commentarius in Vergilii Aeneida VIII, 724). The loss of the belt represented a military dishonor or an unacceptable provocation by third parties for the soldier. In the event of a breach of duty , the belt was withheld and only returned to the soldier when he had rehabilitated himself. The dishonorable discharge from military service resulted in the final confiscation of the belt, among other legal consequences. Tacitus reported that soldiers caused a bloody scuffle in Rome because of the theft of their military belts.
It was lavishly decorated by the middle of the 1st century AD at the latest to underline its importance. These embellishments (buckle, fittings, and pendants) changed with fashion. The belt probably gained its importance through its function as a sword belt, but later it was also often worn without a sword, as the lifelike images on the grave monuments of the soldiers in all Roman provinces show.
literature
- Ross Cowan, Angus McBride: Roman Legionaries. Republic (58 BC - 68 AD) and Empire (161 - 284 AD). Siegler, Königswinter 2007, ISBN 978-3-87748-658-0 , pp. 24-26.
- The cingulum militare. In: Marcus Junkelmann : The Legions of Augustus. The Roman soldier in an archaeological experiment (= cultural history of the ancient world . 33). 6th edition. von Zabern, Mainz 1994, ISBN 3-8053-0886-8 , pp. 161-162.
Remarks
- ↑ Tacitus, Historien 2, 88. (English translation)