Roman Soldier Sandals Spike

Caligae singular caliga were heavy duty thick soled openwork boots with hobnailed soles.

Roman soldier sandals spike. The spikes or nails in the bottom of the shoes caused them to dig into the ground so that they would not slip and fall during the fight. The roman battle sandals were the best in the world for protecting the feet of the soldier. Gradually local shoe making crafts were incorporated and jubilant soldiers returned to rome proudly sporting their ethnic shoes as souvenirs from successful campaigns. The other thing these sandals provided was traction.

The spikes allowed them to in the words repeated four times in ephesians 6 10 14 stand firm in the battle. Free shipping by amazon. He distinctive footwear most identfied with the roman soldier was the sandal called the caligae but there were other types also. Caltrops were known to the romans as tribulus or sometimes as murex ferreus the latter meaning jagged iron literally iron jagged thing.

Often the soldiers would be fighting in slick or muddy terrain. The roman soldier sandals were fitted with metal spikes on the bottom of the sole. Caliga comes from the latin callus meaning hard as hobnails were hammered into hard leather soles before being sewn onto a softer leather lattice. These spikes helped them maintain their footing.

They were also used in the battle of carrhae in 53 bc. The shoe tack turned the humble sandal into militarized hob nailed sandals ideal for protection and traction to optimized grip for the marching soldier and combatant. In ancient greek the word tribalos meant three spikes. 3 8 out of 5 stars 12.

They were worn by the lower ranks of roman cavalrymen and foot soldiers and possibly by some centurions.