Milites were the trained regular footsoldiers of

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 ...

, and later a term used to describe " soldiers" in Medieval Europe.

Roman Era

These men were the non-specialist regular

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

s that made up the bulk of a

legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 1 ...

's numbers and were the social superiors of ordinary footsoldiers known as pedites. Alongside soldiering, they also performed guard duties, labour work, building and other non-combat roles, which increased their status in urban centers. Milites would usually have to serve for several years before becoming eligible for

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. It ...

to become

immunes The ''immunes'' were Ancient Roman soldiers who possessed specialized skills. They were exempt from the more tedious and dangerous tasks other soldiers were required to do, such as ditch digging and rampart patrol. Becoming an immune Prior to be ...

and thus become specialists with better pay.

Medieval Era

The Latin term eventually became synonymous with "

", a general term that, in Western Europe, became associated with the mounted

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

, because they composed the professional military corps during the Early Medieval Era. The same term, however, was expanded to mean less distinguished infantry soldiers (''milites pedites''). During the

13th century The 13th century was the century which lasted from January 1, 1201 ( MCCI) through December 31, 1300 ( MCCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan, which stretched from Eastern Asia to Eastern E ...

the term referred to the mounted horsemen who lacked knight-status, but still had similar properties and obligations to the dubbed knights. Other usages include the " Milites Templi," referring to the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon ( la, Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici), also known as the Order of Solomon's Temple, the Knights Templar, or simply the Templars, was a Catholic military order, o ...

, or Milites Sancti Jacobi (

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; es, Orden de Santiago ), is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the Patron Saint of Spain, "Santiago" ( St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgr ...

). From the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

root, "" derived words such as "

Military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distin ...

" and "

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

References

Military ranks of ancient Rome Latin words and phrases {{Military-stub