Caliga: the Roman Military 'sandal' DOCUMENTARY

The Roman military boot, maybe one of the most famous types of footwear. The Roman empire was forged by it's soldiers wearing this open sandal. But was this the only type of shoe known in ancient Rome or did they also wore closed shoes? And how well did it protect them against the elements?
In this video we will take a very detailed look at Roman military footwear.
Make sure to check out Erve Eme archeological park in Zupthen The Netherlands!
erve-eme.com/
If you are a true history buff, you should not miss Ancient Warfare magazine!
www.ancient-warfare.com
Music: Rome Total War 1 Jeff van Dyck
Rome Total War 2 Richard Beddow
Graphic design: German Reber
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[@krein6121]

Even the cat passing by in the background makes it up to the atmospheric feeling of the many little scenes you guys have set up to show us! This is wonderful work, bless you and thank you.

[@ImperiumRomanumYT]

Thanks Krein! We try our best and we are glad you enjoy it:)

[@FelixstoweFoamForge]

Hobnails are indeed awful on anything slippy. I once went flat on my arse in a local supermarket when wearing a pair of hobnailed Italian surplus Carabinieri boots. Unlike the fatally embarrassed Centurio Julianus, I survived with only damage to my dignity!

[@shinobi-no-bueno]

What a turn of events; he was feeling so badass, then embarrassed and then quite dead :/

[@FelixstoweFoamForge]

@@shinobi-no-bueno I wonder what his last thoughts were? "Oh bugger, there goes my discharge bonus and pension"

[@HornyIndianMan]

This series is so Excellent. I wish historical content on this format and of this quality was the norm. Any and all periods of antiquity could be brought to life with the sober, concise description and attention to visual detail you provide. I hope your as successful as you clearly deserve to be.

[@johnadams5245]

agreed too many of these "history" videos are just a some assholes who cant pronounce words with total war footage in the background i dunno how they get views, possibly they use bots to get the views thank you, this is awesome video

[@ImperiumRomanumYT]

Thank you Greg, we put a lot of effort in our video's and we are glad people such as yourself are enjoying it this much!

[@ahmadtheIED]

@@ImperiumRomanumYT Enjoy it while it lasts. Right now your comment sections are all people smartly and correctly quoting obscure and exact figures in order to come together in a community designed to boost our intellectual curiosity. Yea that's all over when you get big mate. You're not the first excellent history channel I've been an early sub to.

[@Spaghetti989]

Agreed! Amazing detail of the history!

[@anemicsilence]

👍👍👍

[@pudgeboyardee32]

as a machinist one of the benefits i have received is 'shoe money' to go and buy safety boots. the direct term used is shoe money still to this day. my germanic ancestry burns at the longevity of the roman empire. i couldve sworn my forefathers burned it down once or twice, but here i am spending shoe money.

[@w.reidripley1968]

Bcs gold solidi don't burn...

[@davidbell1619]

Live with it.

[@tyleraragon6200]

I can't imagine how calloused, thick, and hard the foot of the experienced legionary was. 20miles regular march or 30 miles on forced march per day with that leather nearly on the same spots all day. I've often seen referenced of the scar on their chin/neck where the helmet fastener was, but I've never seen anyone talk about the surely savage feet.

[@CelticCari]

I think it's wouldn't be worse than walking nowadays. I have friends who go hiking around 30 to 50 km a day as tourguides in the Alps, and no one ever has problems with their feet. I personally can not imagine about chaving on the chin - friends and I already have worn helmets for days and never had any problems. Apart from that I think that they would have been clever enough to invent something else if it had caused problems, wouldn't they?

[@BlackOps78321]

Put a nice .. foot, on yourself, ya. -rome, circa 1000BC

[@CelticCari]

@@BlackOps78321 best boi

[@Waldemarvonanhalt]

The socks they wore would felt from the friction.

[@CelticCari]

@@Waldemarvonanhalt if you have good-fitting caligae, the friction is actually not worse than from a modern shoe

[@thabomuso6254]

The shoe is incredibly overlooked in military history. From its invention many thousand years ago and up until the middle of the 20th century, it has been the main military transport item in armies. It is taken so much for granted that it has been largely ignored. You can get by with decent or even poor weapons, but since shoes are used daily for hours on end in both peacetime and during war, bad shoes can quickly destroy an army. A soldier with damaged feet cannot march, or even walk shorter distances and least of all fight. It was also very interesting to see get a simple but important overlook of the economic system evolving around Roman military shoe production and how it evolved into a fashion of its own, mixed with local cultures and economies. Great job and I wish to see more of these video looking at the small but hugely important parts of the Roman army, such as logistics and military hygiene.

[@ahmadtheIED]

Napoleon's 'Army of Italy' didn't have more than 1,500 pairs of shoes, boots, tacks, riding bootery or stockings, all to outfit well over 15,000 men. He reportedly wrote, "The finest booty we have captured from the Austrians in Italy is a wealth of shoes. My men may finally move as per my command".

[@Ass_of_Amalek]

I've read some accounts of concentration camp survivors about surviving internment on work details that emphasized that getting good shoes was the only concern of equal priority as getting enough food, since very small foot injuries could easily escalate to the point of inability to work.

[@Artanis99]

Interestingly your point about shoes was very significant in American Civil War as South did not have enough shoes to supply their army and North got "Big brain" idea of making universal shoe (same for both left and right foot) that was extremely uncomfortable (but a little bit better than marching barefoot). Not to mention that I've heard rumor that modern US Army boots were so terrible in Iraq and Afghan conflicts that the US soldiers were not capable to march any considerable distance without accumulating enough bloody blisters to last a lifetime (I suspect too much plastic in the boot to drop costs and not letting the foot breathe).

[@gd88467]

@@Artanis99 Yeah we call them McDonald hamburger soles. They are very thick and uncomfortable. Thats why troops pushed to be able to purchase their own shoes and the military to authorize certain brands.

[@corneliusdavenport1169]

@@Artanis99 Not sure where you heard that modern footwear story but I can tell you from experience, its BS.

[@eoinlittle320]

The live action clothes and scenes makes this a hundred times better than any other documentary!!

[@deathdeathington]

It's a testament to documentary skills that you can take a mundane(?) item and make such an interesting video about it. I feel like I'm opening a window into the past every time I watch one of your videos. Thank you for this glimpse into the lives of Romans.

[@yannick6389]

Yet another great movie from Imperium Romanum! They even know how to make an item about shoes so interesting that you watch until the end.

[@Mgyuh]

Excellent video, love what you are doing. Your content is entertaining, but also extremely informative, I think teachers can use this great effect in the classroom. Thank you for putting in so much work dedication into your videos. I have a suggestion for a video, if you would have it; grooming and cleanliness in the Roman legions, its a very broad topic that I haven’t seen other channels covering. Cheers!

[@ImperiumRomanumYT]

Thanks! Your suggestion has been noted :)

[@froggystyle642]

I am watching a video about sandals from a military viewpoint at 1am on a Friday night/Saturday morning, and I love it. Great channel, keep it up :)

[@kazumakiryu3397]

I can’t believe I watched a video on shoes and now want to make some for myself this video was great 👍

[@MojoMaddog]

Love the video! Very well done and presented, looking forward to the next one!

[@Oblivisci........]

Love you guys and your series. Solid content and thanks from Colorado.

[@fatalfury66]

Loving this channel! So glad i found it!

[@AbnormalObs]

Absolutely top notch as always!

[@hannibalb8276]

Love these deep dives into the more niche aspects of history, great job.

[@blueocean9305]

Please keep these videos coming. Well done! Thanks

[@keller1334]

The production quality and narration are top notch. Please keep them coming as I look forward to every video.

[@hansgruber3064]

I love this series of videos, it's amazing to think how iconic the Caliga is seeing it was only in use for a hundred years or so. I've been to Vindolanda a few times and the collection of shoes and other leather artefacts is amazing. They also have tents, shield covers and even a toy mouse.

[@ConcreteSocks]

Great video and love the total war music in the background

[@SlimRhyno]

Thank you for making these videos. They are very entertaining and informative, and are an excellent resource for people like me!

[@ezdante41]

Amazing channel! Fantastic work from the team. I love the format and the recreation work! Keep going and I'm sure you'll become a big youtube channel in no time!

[@pelewads]

I just came across your Channel, as a recommendation from Invicta, and all I have to say is... WOW!!! Your specificity is incredible. I can't imagine the amount of research. You bring up points, that I wouldn't even think of. You guys rock!

[@kalgrave497]

I am so happy yall did a video on this, Because trying to find good vids on shoes is a pain in the ass. Thank you for doing the research !!!!

[@capedmarauder]

Thanks for a great video. I was lucky enough to watch a traditional game of Pelota in the Basque region of France. They played this game, and all the other exhibits of the evening, in traditional rope soled espadrilles, with the ribbons laced up their legs. It certainly didn't hinder their performance and it was a very exciting game! It dawned upon me that these were probably some of the first 'training shoes'.

[@marendur]

This channel never ceases to amaze-me.

[@dunklederkleson7285]

Thanks guys! Love the content! Just found you and can’t wait to catch up and binge watch!! I miss informative historical content like this so much!! Now that for 15 years history channel and discovery has just become ancient aliens and big foot hunters I’m so glad I found this

[@turtlenoheart]

This is amazing! I've been waiting for a channel like this since I was a little boy.

[@debarpandutta6722]

I appreciate your hard work

[@crothrash1]

well done lads, great content, just keep going, good luck to you!

[@KokkarChoor2900]

This is the best channel on rome I have ever seen,bound for glory just like rome

[@GasserNorm]

Excellent video and highly informational. Bravo.

[@JP-su8bp]

Solid presentation, thank you.

[@alexmontgomery255]

You hit a home run with this video. Well done.

[@ComePoopAtMyHouse1]

Great channel. You guys are going to get big. Quality content

[@MrDanfra]

Mooie video weer mannen! Kan niet wachten op de volgende..

[@AMX86]

Wonderful informative information. Thank you.

[@geebards]

Very useful video and many thanks for making it.

[@KVW22]

This is fascinating. Keep up the good work, it's much appreciated

[@ImperiumRomanumYT]

Thanks Joshua!

[@feaanor]

Great docu! Cheers from Italy, grazie!

[@bedewedwithpleasure]

Am enlightened. Thank you!

[@pedrocsantos8]

Can't wait for the next video!

[@dhruvchaudhary9442]

amazing as always

[@meguemil8542]

An amazing video as always!

[@netizencapet]

The Josephus quote demonstrating the perils of hobnails and the superbly apt example of 7000 shoes found some 2000 years later at a 1500 soldier garrison confirming the 3-pairs-a-year standard issue reported in Roman sources were delightful. You have treated your narrow subject well. Thumbs up!

[@ImperiumRomanumYT]

Thank you very much, great to hear you enjoyed (and remembered!) those examples :D

[@carolmarr6607]

Good to see and hear about ancient Roman history and archaeology. Great that you bring this to life.

[@ImperiumRomanumYT]

Exactly what we're trying to do; bringing it to life! Thanks :)

[@Sutti4844]

great video as always!

[@kaneable7310]

great content. Please keep it coming.

[@thcdreams654]

Awesome content. Very informative.

[@morgan97475]

Very cool video....thanks for this. As a fan of Roman history as well as being a retired infantryman, I found this video quite enlightening.

[@THX-to6gg]

Fascinating

[@NomeDeArte]

11:18 Love you left the cat. Invicta bring me here, already suscribe. Your videos have an amazing quality. Best wishes from Argentina!

[@77chance]

Love this channel!

[@AndreLuis-gw5ox]

Nice video! Learning about the daily lives of the romans is very interesting

[@revengeoftheromansorceress]

I was prior infantry, I can say the sandal was pretty efficient. The sandals made your feet breathe, and wouldn't create blisters. Less chances getting foot fungus, because so wasn't much moisture. The boots we have today, creates more blisters, foot fungus because all that build up of moisture and friction. The only thing boot really protects is from debris, no rocks going underneath the sandal and your foot. I wish modern military would adapt from the Roman Sandal.

[@mossbogger8366]

nah boots are great for temperature protection in the cold, or to keep sun rays off your feet. ever had a sun burn on your feet? yea it aint great. plus if you ever want to race up a mountain sides in sandals vs me in boots, ill take that bet all day long. you'll just end up breaking your ankle or bleeding everywhere after slicing yourself on a rock. boots keep your ankle rigid and much hard to twist or break your ankle on unsure footing

[@revengeoftheromansorceress]

@@mossbogger8366 both have their pros and cons. Yet, if their sandals weren't effective how else did they build such an efficient military machine? The problems you mentioned can easily fixed with linen, just wrap your foot like a sock. If you go through a swamp, having a Roman sandal can dry out quicker. A boot your foot is soaked, then you have to air dry. Also can create foot rot if not treated properly. If they merged a Roman sandal with a boot. It can very highly effective.

[@mossbogger8366]

They didn’t have competition from people in modern made boots that is for sure in fact there’s less than 300 million people on earth at the time the Romans conquered the world so I know people like to carry on about how great the Romans were but the fact of the matter is if there was only 300 million people alive right now the entire world could be easily conquered by almost anyone

[@mukkaar]

Boots are overall better much shoe for military. If you are long distance hiker, hiking sandals can actually be pretty good choice. Since you can just stop and take out any debri that may slip at your leisure, and you can choose where you walk. Avoiding places where sandals are not good, like places with sharp rocks, irritating poisonous plants or insects/animals. No. Sandals just would not work for military. Military boots are made sturdy so it supports your ankles to prevent sprains, so you can more easily traverse any terrain and to protect you from any external organism or items. There are problems with boots, but there are many reasons why modern armies have chosen them time after time. Pro's far overweight the cons.

[@johnnylyonns79]

Love these .good job men

[@ducomaritiem7160]

Strakke content jongens! Ga zo door!

[@schucklekii6475]

great stuff you guys make

[@MLCloneCODgamer]

I never thought of shoe consumption of the legions. But yeah, amazing how good the Romans were at logistics. It also really says something about the powerful scope of the Roman economy to be able to supply so many materials to far fetched frontiers for so many men. Very informative, very well made. Love your channel!

[@Misha-jb9mg]

This is more interesting and enjoyable and has far higher production value than any netflix "documentary" on Rome.

[@nahiro12345]

I love the total war music at the end. Might play some today. :D

[@maapaa2010]

Incredible

[@MikeVogel22]

Great video guys!

[@fiilthy]

Cat! I was going to subscribe anyway, but the cat was a bonus. Cheers from Canada!

[@Iceguide]

zoals gewoonlijk, geweldige en interessante inhoud

[@justlikeme2797]

Finally a video after so long. I have been waiting all this time. Can you do a video about the batavian revolt during the year of the fourth emperor?

[@lotnewlifewhy5190]

To be fair, planning, staging, recording videos such as these to be at least 10 minutes long, and to maintain it to a high quality, three weeks to a month is very reasonable.

[@dustash1578]

Cool channel. "Little boots" was so cute for such a short time. I suggest videos on roman cults: Sol, Mars and Mithras would be interesting with a military angle in mind; l think a "day-in-the-life" style video would be good and maybe something about individual or small group combat tactics.

[@hydroaegis6658]

This really hammers in that we live in an era of abundance. Everyone I know have 4-12+ pairs of shoes for every weather, season, and occasion you can think of.

[@RP-mm9ie]

Excellent.

[@philly83]

I'm rewatching this while wearing a pair of caligae I recently purchased

[@gorgosanma]

New sub here. Very well done, the explanations and the acting scenes really make everything very clear.

[@ImperiumRomanumYT]

Awesome, welcome to the club! Glad to hear you like it, and we're still only getting started ;)

[@worldtraveler930]

Keep up the good work!! 🤠👍

[@masonmoore43]

Great vid!

[@alexanderiles4428]

Hello, Fantastic video. The only thing I would say is that there were around six hundred soldiers at Vindolanda. With families there may have been fifteen hundred people there. There the larger fort of Housesteads nearby had eight hundred to a thousand soldiers there.

[@kevincoulombe6742]

A really excellent presentation

[@ImperiumRomanumYT]

Thanks Kevin!

[@knappe3223]

Amazingly good

[@johnmcadam7493]

Odd segway: as someone who does alot of camping, hiking, canoeing and kayaking I have completely switched from heavy hiking boots to Vibram's. Imagine doing several portages, heavy packs and Canoe, in which I used Vibram's only. They are light. They dry quickly. Excellent grip. The one down side is that you have to pay attention to the trails or stones and tree roots will cause some jams ... but ... you are much more focused on the trail's agronomy if you will. Likewise, wrestling shoes have become my everyday training shoe. Runner and hikers are gone. My feet have never been happier.

[@PeterJavi]

I think having to pay attention to the terrain is a fairly big reason why those military sandals went out of fashion. When you're hiking by yourself, an open shoe, or a very light shoe is optimal, especially over long distances, however when you're in a closed formation, fairly tightly packed together and your focus is not on the terrain, getting caught on tree roots, or stubbing your toes against loose rocks is a big issue, especially when you need to force yourself to keep walking, even if it happens five or six more times. Where I go hike, I need to pay a fair bit of attention to mountainbikers. I went exactly the other way around after getting hurt by wearing shoes that were too light on one of my hikes.

[@christophyt3445]

Excellent video! Sort of ends on a cliffhanger, though. Why was the caliga only popular for one century? What was used before, what came afterwards?

[@nickkerber1145]

One of the big issues is that it became increasingly impractical for half of the roman army, which was fighting in northern england and along the rhine in germany. Sandles are fine in tbe mediterainian climate, not so great in german winter

[@burningphoneix]

What a great documentary. You guys make even seemingly boring topics like what shoes soldiers wore into interesting videos.

[@ImperiumRomanumYT]

Thanks man, love to hear that! :)

[@SithLord2066]

I like your explanation that the hobnails were primarily to make the shoes last longer. It makes sense.

[@PRWolf]

Great video!!

[@ipadatscholen]

Great! I'm going to use this as an introduction to a craft activity where my grade 4 makes their own Caliga 👍

[@freebornjohn2687]

Very informative video. I'd like to know more about what footwear people used in the past especially in Northern Europe where its often cold and wet and also freezes in the winter.

[@DoFiFuCl]

Well done guys!!

[@aldosigmann419]

Very informative!

[@johnspizziri1919]

Outstanding!!@

[@buckwylde7965]

I had a pair of caliga made for my feet 15 years ago. Not sandals for the beach, but sandals for kicking ass on the world. Excellent for hiking, nails provided great traction even on rough rock. Made the mistake of wearing them into a grocery store with a nicely polished linoleum floors, it was like l walking on ice! Took a while to get into compared to modern shoes, but quick to get out of. New puppy decided they tasted good. Have thought of having a pair made with studded snow tire tread soles.

[@greengrasse120]

Loving everything about this channel!! I saw both videos on Invicta using your footage, super impressive and engaging. It breaks my heart a little to see such starkly modern haircuts/styling in otherwise totally immersive scenes. (In the watchtower video there’s straight up a woman with a cheerleader style high pony) From my very limited knowledge, I don’t know that there’s much material/textual evidence of hair styling in this area and period but I think it would be worth it to make things more plausible. Of course the actors shouldn’t change their appearance for the sake of the videos, but maybe you can cover the fresh undercuts with a wig/hairpiece haha I am by no means an expert on any of this and I hugely commend this channel for the amazing work you do. Just wanted to highlight an area where I think a little more consideration could go a long way

[@ImperiumRomanumYT]

Thanks for your honest and positive feedback Grace, and great to hear you're loving our work :D! We agree with you on the hairstyling part, we really try to pay more attention to it nowadays by either wearing it more authentic, covering it up authentically, or at least not going to the barber shortly before a filming weekend haha (edit: we're not uploading everything exactly in chronological order of filming, so bear with us for a while longer :p)

[@TyLarson]

Well done!

[@ericmichaud6676]

Your videos are so well done! How long are the puttees that you used on your feet to protect them? What fabric did you use? Thanks :)

[@pendantblade6361]

This popped in my recs not my subs, gotta ring that bell I guess.

[@lievepief]

You guys rock!

[@gabrielgabriel3852]

Good content. You should come to Romania. We have some amazing roman legacy.

[@Julie-yu3kf]

Super nice!

[@sunriselady2716]

Love it

[@unstoppable-ar3292]

thanks 🙏👍

[@gaufrid1956]

An excellent video! Easy for me to go shoeless at home here in Mindanao Philippines but if required to march as the Roman legionaries were daily obviously the caligae were a good choice!

[@Costas_Bantalidis]

glad to see you guys dont skip leg day

[@optimusprinceps9875]

Great video