The Roman army was considered the most advanced army for its time. The reign of the Roman Empire lasted about 1,200 years and raised a huge army that occupied not only Europe, but also Africa and parts of Asia. The army defended the Roman Empire throughout its time and helped build its cities. Life in the Roman army was tough and training was sometimes rigorous. Soldiers could run twenty-five miles in full armor and equipment a few times a month. The soldiers trained daily and were kept in shape. However, there were times of peace, during these times soldiers learned skills, such as bricklaying. These skills helped build the Roman Empire, soldiers constructed buildings, bridges, roads and aquifers. There were strict requirements to meet before you could become a soldier. A soldier had to be male, be at least twenty years old, had to be born free, not a slave, and could not marry (this was later changed). Being a free person was taken very seriously. (Trajan to Pliny: "[An officer had discovered that two newly recruited soldiers were slaves]... it must be investigated whether they deserve capital punishment. It depends on whether they were volunteers or conscripts or If they are conscripts, the fault lies with the recruiting officer , if the replacements are the fault of those who gave them, if they showed up with full awareness of their condition, this is not to be attributed to them relevant that they had not yet been assigned to the units on the day they were approved for the first time and took the oath he requested them the truth about their origin." Letters of Pliny, (10.30), c. 112 AD. As quoted by Lloyd, James)The army recruited. his soldiers as volunteers and conscription. From the middle of the paper......previous structure of the army. All of these factors played key roles in the decisive battlefield victories and the history they left for the world to come. Today we look back at what the Romans did and follow some of those ways. Their structure has kept them going for over a thousand years, as has their ability to change with the times. Works cited “Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian Augustus”. The Biography.com website. 29 May 2014“Gaius Julius Caesar” Home Page Roman Empire. April 30, 2014Encyclopedia of world biography “Julius Caesar”. April 29, 2014New World Encyclopedia “Julius Caesar”. February 20. 2009