WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Roman legion (Latin: legiō, [ˈɫɛɡioː]), the largest military unit of the Roman army, comprised 5, 200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and 5, 600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period of the Roman Empire (27 BC – AD 476).

Detailed explanation-2: -During the Roman Empire, legion referred to a division of the army that numbered between 3, 000 to 6, 000 soldiers. As a result, we use legion to refer to a large number of soldiers. However, legion is now used more generally to mean any big group of people or things.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Roman army was divided into legions, each comprising about 4, 800 infantry and 120 cavalry. A legion was subdivided into 10 cohorts, comprising 480 men apiece, and each cohort was subdivided into six centuries comprising 80 men apiece-not 100 as the name suggests.

Detailed explanation-4: -The earliest contemporary account of a Roman legion is by Polybius, and it dates to around 150-120 BCE; this is referred to as the manipular legion, although the manipular legion probably developed around the middle of the 4th century BCE.

Detailed explanation-5: -The three main categories of ranks in the Roman legion were centurions, tribunes & prefects, and the legion legate. Centurions were responsible for a century of troops, tribunes and prefects oversaw either one or two cohorts, and the legate was the overarching commander of the legion.