page_title: Roman military personal equipment
section_title: Helmets
hierarchical_section_title: Roman military personal equipment / Helmets
caption_attribution_description: Elmo da parata, bronzo, da Theilenhofen (Iciniacum), 150-200 ca
context_page_description: Roman military personal equipment was produced in small numbers to established patterns, and it was used in an established manner. These standard patterns and uses were called the res militaris or disciplina. Its regular practice during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire led to military excellence and victory. The equipment gave the Romans a very distinct advantage over their barbarian enemies, especially so in the case of armour. This does not mean that every Roman soldier had better equipment than the richer men among his opponents. According to Edward Luttwak, Roman equipment was not of a better quality than that used by the majority of Rome's adversaries. Other historians and writers have stated that the Roman army's need for large quantities of "mass produced" equipment after the Marian Reforms and subsequent civil wars led to a decline in the quality of Roman equipment compared to the earlier Republican era:
  "The production of these kings of helmets of Italic tradition decreased in quality because of the demands of equipping huge armies, especially during civil wars...
context_section_description: Roman helmets, galea or cassis, varied greatly in form. One of the earliest types was the Montefortino helmet used by the Republic armies up to the 1st century BC. This was replaced directly by the Coolus helmet, which "raised the neck peak to eye level and set a sturdy frontal peak to the brow of the helmet".
caption: Cavalry parade helmet, latter half of the 2nd century AD, from the German limes.
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