When we think of the Roman army, one image that comes to mind is the uniformity of the troops: all soldiers in a cohort wearing identical armor and equipment, a sea of metal and leather advancing relentlessly against the enemy. At least this is the vision that entertainment media has transmitted to us since forever.
Archaeology and history clarify that, for example, different types of helmets coexisted among Roman ranks because not all soldiers could afford to acquire the latest protective innovations (Fernández, 2019, p. 69). So, what gave the Romans their cohesive appearance on the battlefield? Nothing more and nothing less than the color of their tunics.
The Tunic
Soldiers' equipment started with typical civilian clothing, the tunic, which could be made of different styles and fabrics (wool or linen). Geographical variations (and consequently cultural ones) led soldiers to develop tastes different from those in the streets of Rome (although primarily these textile centers were Egypt and Gaul (Speidel, 2009, p. 246)). The tunics, like the rest of the equipment, had to be purchased by the soldier from a vendor or directly from Rome itself; if they did not do so, the state would provide them at the cost of deducting it from their salary (Matyszak, 2009, p. 55).
White Tunics
Within the world of white tunics, we differentiate two types of uses: military and ceremonial. Generally, it has been assumed that soldiers in military exercises wore a plain white tunic (probably the color of wool), reserving red for combat. However, it is worth mentioning that there has been debate about the exclusive use of red by centurions and decurions to distinguish them from the rest of the troops who would wear white (Menéndez, 2010, p. 243).
One of the most compelling arguments supporting historians who favor the first color is that when a military emergency arose during the Republic era, a red banner was placed in front of the Capitol for infantry and a blue one for cavalry (Gilbert, 2004, p. 40).
Regarding those used on special occasions such as victory celebrations, soldiers also wore this color, although it had to be with a blanched tunic known as the tunica alba (Speidel, 2009, p. 245), perhaps to convey a sense of purity. One method used for whitening clothes was using urine, though Romans did not consider it hygienic. These special occasions could include marches like those organized by Vitellius, in which the legionaries displayed their white tunics with decorations (Méndez, 2010, p. 245).
An exception to add in this section is the mention of white tunics used in the maritime domain, according to Suetonius, which were used in the eastern fleet (D’Amato, 2009, p. 19).
Red Tunics
If armor did not have to be identical, red tones also had no reason to be uniform. The main reason is that the dye was obtained from the herbaceous plant rubia or madder, whose roots were boiled with fabric to produce this color and then rinsed in seawater to fix it (Martínez, 2014, p. 287), resulting in a shade that depended on the soil where the plant had grown (Martínez, 2014, p. 272).
What is certain is that when cleaning clothes, dye would transfer to other garments in water tanks, resulting in similar colors (Matyszak, 2009, p. 57). One characteristic of this dye is its poor resistance to sunlight, so at the end of a campaign, it was common for soldiers to return with a tunic that had turned pink (Matyszak, 2009, p. 57).
It is worth noting that this color was not limited to its use on land, but was also employed at sea, as evidenced by traces of red dye found in the fleet of Miseno belonging to Julius Sabinianus (D’Amato, 2009, p. 19).
Blue Tunics
The use of blue seems to have been reserved for the Roman navy, specifically for higher ranks. The reason for its use went beyond military considerations, as it was the color of Neptune, the god of the sea (D’Amato, 2009, p. 18), which promised good luck.
During the Late Roman Empire, naval troops already wore blue-green tunics to blend in more easily with the waves of the sea during day and night (D’Amato, 2009, p. 19), complemented by blue-gray sails on ships (D’Amato, 2009, p. 34).
Conclusion
As María Julia Martínez García explains in her doctoral thesis, we must consider that colors in Antiquity (as today) had a meaning beyond economic and social aspects and that humans naturally associate them with various things. For example, red is associated with fire, bravery or strength.
This was known in the Ancient Age, as evidenced by Gaius Julius Caesar's description in his work The Gallic War, where he describes the Britons as "enemies who painted themselves blue to appear terrifying on the battlefield" (César, 2021, Book V, 15, p. 381).
Romans were not behind in this aspect either; and it is that the choice of red color (intentionally or not) could have been one of the most accurate for their context: Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans believed that this pigment had magical powers (Martínez, 2014, p. 269). Additionally, it was the color of blood; thus, it concealed wounds from enemies (Fernández, 2019, p. 69) and was also cheap to produce as it was almost always available (Matyszak, 2009, p. 57). Other colors also had meanings as we have seen: the purity of white or the representation of Neptune through blue. What is clear is that colors reflect that, apart from utility, they carried a meaning for their wearer.
Bibliography
César, J. (2021). The Gallic War. Bilingual edition by Antonio Ramírez de Verger. Ediciones Cátedra.
D’Amato, R. (2009). Imperial Roman Naval Forces 31 BC-AD 500. Osprey Publishing.
Fernández Rojo, B. (2019). A Brief History of Armies: The Roman Legion. Nowtilus.
Gilbert, F. (2004). The Roman Soldier at the End of the Republic and During the High Empire. Éditions Errance.
Martínez García, M. J. (2014). Succedanea, adulterations, and forgeries of dyeing materials in the ancient Mediterranean textile industry: the transmission of a technical tradition through Roman Egypt papyri. Universidad de Valencia. Retrieved from: https://roderic.uv.es/handle/10550/41087
Matyszak, P. (2009). Legionary: The Roman Soldier’s (unofficial) Manual. Thames and Hudson.
Menéndez Argüín A. R. (2010). The praetorian guard in campaign. I: equipment. Habis (41), 241-261.
Nalda, G. (2018). The evolution of the Roman army and its applications to museology: the museum of the Roman army. Universidad de Valladolid.
Speidel, M. (2009). Dressed for the occasion. Clothes and context in the Roman army. Oxbow Books.
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