What did a Roman legionary or gladiator actually earn, and what can that tell us about the societies they served? If we look beyond grand battles and legendary rulers, the economic details of these roles reveal the real – and deeper – connections between war, wealth, and social mobility in Antiquity.

To broader questions of class, opportunity, and the state’s mechanisms for rewarding loyalty or exploiting spectacle. Let us begin with the Roman military. In the late Republic, a legionary’s annual stipend was 225 denarii, equal to around 900 sesterces.