ROMANS IN THE HOLY LAND

--WITH HINTS FOR CHURCH SHOWS, ETC.                                                                  2/16/05

       This page is in response to numerous questions about the role and appearance of Roman soldiers in Judea and the rest of the Holy Land during the life of Jesus Christ.  More and more churches are staging elaborate shows at Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter, and should be able to find help with costuming here.

        One major point is that the Roman soldiers in the Holy Land and mentioned in the Bible were probably all auxiliaries, not legionaries.  Judea at the time of Jesus' birth was a client kingdom, ruled by Herod the Great under Rome's authority.  He probably had his own troops for security and general military needs, though Rome may have sent him temporary reinforcements when necessary.  Some thirty years later, by the Crucifixion, Judea had become an equestrian province with Pontius Pilate as the current procurator or prefect.  He was of equestrian rank, not a senator, and therefore was not of high enough status to command a legion.  So his garrison was composed of auxiliary troops, with the nearest legions being stationed in Syria.  There may have been a few small details of legionaries or lone centurions on detatched duty here and there, but their tasks would not have had anything to do with the day to day operations in Judea.

       There is a reference in the Bible to "the Italian Cohort", apparently Cohors II Italica, composed (unlike most other auxiliary units) of Roman citizens from Italy.  There is some evidence that the cohort in garrison at Jerusalem was a cohors equitata, with both infantry and cavalry.  Most of the troops besides the Italians would have been Syrians or other locals, Greek-speaking non-citizens.  Some of the centurions may have been transferred from the legions as a means of promotion.  None of these soldiers would have been overly friendly or sympathetic towards the Jews--internecine strife was this region's specialty.

       See the page on Auxiliaries to see how they were equipped and dressed.  Auxiliary centurions would have been pretty much the same as those in the legions--see the page on Organization and Officers.

       An excellent book on this subject is Peter Connolly's The Holy Land, listed on the Bibliography page.  It is inexpensive and should be readily available.

       While the Twentieth Legion wears white or undyed tunics, you may find that putting your soldiers in red tunics and/or cloaks makes a good juxtaposition to Jesus and other "good guys" in white clothing or other colors.

        It should be noted here that Jews and other people in the Roman East did NOT dress as later Arabs, in long robes with khafia headdresses.  Clothing (and military equipment) in movies such as Mel Gibson's "The Passion" is generally VERY inaccurate!  Traditional dress was very much like Roman fashions, a knee-length tunic with clavi (2 vertical stripes) and rectangular cloak for men, and full-length tunic and cloak or wrap for women.  See the Civilian Clothing page for details.  For reenactors needing more detailed accuracy, The World of Roman Costume by Sebesta and Bonfante has a whole chapter on Jewish clothing, and Yigael Yadin's book Bar Kochba shows the garments and accessories found at En Gedi (summarized by Connolly).

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