1
00:00:06,911 --> 00:00:12,144
The year is 15 CE, 
and the Roman Empire is prospering.

2
00:00:12,144 --> 00:00:14,266
Most of the credit will go to the emperor,

3
00:00:14,266 --> 00:00:16,661
but this success wouldn’t 
have been possible

4
00:00:16,661 --> 00:00:20,781
without loyal soldiers like Servius Felix.

5
00:00:20,781 --> 00:00:24,934
Servius enlisted as a legionary 
eight years ago at age 18,

6
00:00:24,934 --> 00:00:29,180
the son of a poor farmer
with few prospects.

7
00:00:29,180 --> 00:00:32,311
Unlike the majority of legionaries,
he doesn’t gamble,

8
00:00:32,311 --> 00:00:35,015
so he’s been able to save 
most of his wages.

9
00:00:35,015 --> 00:00:36,758
He’s even kept his viaticum,

10
00:00:36,758 --> 00:00:40,331
the three gold coins he received 
when he enlisted.

11
00:00:40,331 --> 00:00:45,599
If he survives until retirement, 
he’ll receive several acres of land.

12
00:00:45,599 --> 00:00:48,210
And he’s grown rather fond 
of a girl back home

13
00:00:48,210 --> 00:00:50,349
whom he intends to marry.

14
00:00:50,349 --> 00:00:54,011
But he’ll have to wait until he completes 
his twenty-five years of service

15
00:00:54,011 --> 00:00:55,645
before that can happen.

16
00:00:55,645 --> 00:00:59,571
And the life of a legionary 
is dangerous and grueling.

17
00:00:59,571 --> 00:01:02,790
Today, Servius’s legion, 
along with three others,

18
00:01:02,790 --> 00:01:07,530
has undertaken a “great march” 
of 30,000 Roman paces,

19
00:01:07,530 --> 00:01:11,201
the equivalent of nearly 36 kilometers.

20
00:01:11,201 --> 00:01:13,011
Servius’ armor and weapons,

21
00:01:13,011 --> 00:01:14,281
including his gladius,

22
00:01:14,281 --> 00:01:15,189
scutum,

23
00:01:15,189 --> 00:01:16,511
and two pila,

24
00:01:16,511 --> 00:01:19,082
weigh over 20 kilograms.

25
00:01:19,082 --> 00:01:22,219
And that’s not counting his backpack, 
or sarcina,

26
00:01:22,219 --> 00:01:27,230
which contains food and all the tools
he needs to help build the camp –

27
00:01:27,230 --> 00:01:27,991
spade,

28
00:01:27,991 --> 00:01:28,730
saw,

29
00:01:28,730 --> 00:01:29,600
pickaxe,

30
00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:31,489
and basket.

31
00:01:31,489 --> 00:01:35,020
Although Servius is exhausted, 
he won’t sleep much tonight.

32
00:01:35,020 --> 00:01:36,801
He’s been assigned the first watch,

33
00:01:36,801 --> 00:01:39,016
which means looking after 
the baggage animals

34
00:01:39,016 --> 00:01:42,601
and keeping alert
against a possible ambush.

35
00:01:42,601 --> 00:01:46,090
After he’s done, he lies awake, 
dreading the day ahead,

36
00:01:46,090 --> 00:01:50,070
which will force him 
to recall his worst nightmare.

37
00:01:50,070 --> 00:01:54,141
At dawn, Servius eats breakfast 
with his seven tent companions.

38
00:01:54,141 --> 00:01:58,841
They’re like a family, all bearing scars 
from the battles they’ve fought together.

39
00:01:58,841 --> 00:02:00,402
Servius is from Italia,

40
00:02:00,402 --> 00:02:03,988
but his fellow soldiers hail 
from all over the empire,

41
00:02:03,988 --> 00:02:07,019
which stretches from Syria to Spain.

42
00:02:07,019 --> 00:02:11,479
So they’re all far from home 
in the northern land of Germania.

43
00:02:11,479 --> 00:02:14,081
Servius’s legion 
and three others with him today

44
00:02:14,081 --> 00:02:18,371
are under the command of
Emperor Tiberius’ nephew Germanicus,

45
00:02:18,371 --> 00:02:23,271
named for his father’s military successes
against the Germanic tribes.

46
00:02:23,271 --> 00:02:25,952
Each legion has close to 5,000 men,

47
00:02:25,952 --> 00:02:28,800
divided into cohorts of about 500,

48
00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:33,960
further subdivided into centuries 
of around 80-100 men.

49
00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:36,611
Each century is commanded by a centurion.

50
00:02:36,611 --> 00:02:41,329
An aquilifer, or eagle-bearer, marches at
the head of each legion

51
00:02:41,329 --> 00:02:43,992
carrying its eagle standard.

52
00:02:43,992 --> 00:02:47,472
The centurions march beside 
the legionaries belting out orders,

53
00:02:47,472 --> 00:02:49,870
“Dex, sin, dex, sin,"

54
00:02:49,870 --> 00:02:52,650
“Right, left, right, left,"

55
00:02:52,650 --> 00:02:57,459
starting with the right foot as the left 
is considered unlucky or sinister.

56
00:02:57,459 --> 00:03:00,331
Despite the strict discipline, 
there’s tension in the air.

57
00:03:00,331 --> 00:03:03,340
Last year, some legions 
in the area revolted,

58
00:03:03,340 --> 00:03:07,070
demanding better pay 
and a cut in the length of service.

59
00:03:07,070 --> 00:03:09,829
Only their general’s charisma
and negotiating skills

60
00:03:09,829 --> 00:03:12,510
prevented wholesale mutiny.

61
00:03:12,510 --> 00:03:16,460
Today is a “a just march,” 
only 30 kilometers.

62
00:03:16,460 --> 00:03:20,980
As the marshes and forests of Germania 
lie beyond the empire’s road system,

63
00:03:20,980 --> 00:03:25,001
the men must build causeways
and bridges to make headway,

64
00:03:25,001 --> 00:03:28,871
something they’ve recently spent 
more time doing than fighting.

65
00:03:28,871 --> 00:03:33,970
Finally, they arrive at their destination,
a place Servius knows too well.

66
00:03:33,970 --> 00:03:37,041
It’s a clearing on the outskirts 
of the Teutoburg Forest,

67
00:03:37,041 --> 00:03:40,811
where six years ago during the
reign of the Emperor Augustus,

68
00:03:40,811 --> 00:03:43,842
Germanic tribes under 
their chieftain Arminius

69
00:03:43,842 --> 00:03:47,434
ambushed and destroyed three legions.

70
00:03:47,434 --> 00:03:49,473
Proceeding along a narrow path,

71
00:03:49,473 --> 00:03:53,719
the legions were attacked from 
forest cover under torrential rain

72
00:03:53,719 --> 00:03:55,933
with their escape blocked.

73
00:03:55,933 --> 00:03:59,136
It was one of the worst defeats 
the Romans ever suffered

74
00:03:59,136 --> 00:04:01,915
and Augustus never lived it down.

75
00:04:01,915 --> 00:04:05,858
Servius was one of the few survivors.

76
00:04:05,858 --> 00:04:11,101
Servius still has nightmares of 
his comrades lying where they fell.

77
00:04:11,101 --> 00:04:16,173
But now the army is back to bury 
the dead with full military honors.

78
00:04:16,173 --> 00:04:18,131
As he helps in the task,

79
00:04:18,131 --> 00:04:23,791
he can’t help wondering whether the bones
he handles belonged to someone he knew.

80
00:04:23,791 --> 00:04:27,830
Several times he wants to weep aloud, 
but he pushes on with the task.

81
00:04:27,830 --> 00:04:31,265
The glory of the Empire 
can go to the crows.

82
00:04:31,265 --> 00:04:35,660
All he craves is to retire 
on a small farm with his wife-to-be,

83
00:04:35,660 --> 00:04:39,485
if the gods should spare his life 
for seventeen more years.