punic-era roman uniforms

[aphillathehun]

So what is the latest thinking on what punic romans should look like in terms of uniform colors, shield colors, feather on top of the helmet colors?  I have AMPW.  I don't remember what it says about uniforms, but I seem to recall it says shields were undecorated solid colors in this period.

-a

[gostgost]

Roman Military Dress by Sumner is a good book.Late republic early empire,he thinks white uniforms with perhaps a red tunic for "best "

[guitarheroandy]

The Punic Wars Roman army was still not a full-time professional force - the soldiers bought all their own kit. I suspect that little or nothing was therefore fully uniform. (Although Polybius mentions purple and black helmet feathers.) We know nothing about shield designs/colours. My own WIP Republican Roman force has tunics in a wide range of reds/red-browns, a very pale blue and cream/white. I'm even giving them mixed shield colours/designs within the units, but then my force is meant to represent late 4th/early-mid 3rd century - Samnite Wars, Pyrrhic War, 1st Punic War kinda thing...so an early manipular legion. I suspect in those early days there was even less uniformity...

[Duncan Head]

So what is the latest thinking on what punic romans should look like in terms of uniform colors, shield colors, feather on top of the helmet colors?  I have AMPW.  I don't remember what it says about uniforms, but I seem to recall it says shields were undecorated solid colors in this period.

Probably "the latest thinking" (or mine, anyway) is:

- Mostly red tunics, maybe (assuming you're depicting them in battle). Nick Sekunda in the "Early Roman Armies" Osprey turned up a couple of examples of early Roman/Latin hoplites in red, and Graham Sumner's "Roman Military Clothing" books found a couple of quotes including one to the effect that "in the days of the consuls" Roman soldiers would put on red tunics on the day of battle. Which suggests a preference for red "for best", but not real uniformity. On the other hand armies on long service were occasionally supplied en masse with tunics by allies, so might have ended up in a relatively uniform undyed off-white or even some other colour depending on local fabrics.

- Feathers still black and crimson, that's straight from Polybios. May not apply to Latin allies, only to citizens?

- Earliest evidence for a scutum design is from about 100 BC - see here, hanging on the pillar at right. Plain colours may still be your best bet for earlier.

[FierceKitty]

I really don't buy the plain scutum idea. Everyone else decorated the things, and so did later Romans. Absence of evidence, as they say, is not....

[MartinR]

My Republican Romans wear a range of tunics ranging from red through white to grubby tan, mainly depending on how well equipped they are. The Hastati tending to be the worst.

Plumes, black, red although for some odd reason I've done all the triarii with purple plumes.

Shields are anyone's guess, I did mine fairly plain with some units have a few highlights.

[Wiegraf]

My Romans are in red and white tunics for the most part but I don’t think there’s be an exact standard. It’s just convenient for wargaming.

I read red, white, black and even purple plumes and feathers were all pretty common in the legions. Forget where I read that but it seems most choose those colours anyways!

[FierceKitty]

Non-Latinists here might like to remember that purpureus isn't quite identical to our word purple; it can imply brilliance or just a strong red.

[Wiegraf]

Non-Latinists here might like to remember that purpureus isn't quite identical to our word purple; it can imply brilliance or just a strong red.

Ah.. well, Purple still looks badass.

[Duncan Head]

I really don't buy the plain scutum idea. Everyone else decorated the things, and so did later Romans. Absence of evidence, as they say, is not....

Evidence of plain shields, however, is .... C3 BC fresco (though I think you might find later dates suggested elsewhere). OK it may be a legendary scene, but it's strongly suggestive.

My own Polybian army has two legions, with plain red and white shields respectively, and their respective associated allied legions/alae with red-and-black and white-and-blue shields.

Non-Latinists here might like to remember that purpureus isn't quite identical to our word purple; it can imply brilliance or just a strong red.

I can't, anyway, offhand think of any Latin author mentioning purpureus as a colour for plumes or crests. I suspect that references to "purple" plumes in the legions may be a translation of Polybios' (Greek) phoinikois (as done here). I usually translate that word as crimson, myself, since it's used for Spartan clothing, for instance, and we have porphyreos for a "real" purple.

[aphillathehun]

Thanks to everyone for the responses.  I believe I will go with tunics in a variety of red shades, plumes in black and crimson, and solid shields.

One last question for you, Duncan.  When you said your Italian allied allae are in two color shields, is that one color over the other, or one color side-by-side with the other?