A Roman soldier was called a legionary. You could enlist in the army at age 18 and had to do 25 years of service. The Viaticum was the name of the money given at the start of the job. Roman soldiers were normally not wealthy so they were plebians. A legion contained 100 men. Roman soldier uniform consisted of a shield , short sword , kilt , belt , helmet , dagger ,sandals and a jacket.