The sagum was a garment of note generally worn by members of the Roman military during both the

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

and early

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

. Regarded symbolically as one of war by the same tradition which embraced the

toga The toga (, ), a distinctive garment of Ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white wool, and was worn over a tunic. In Roman historical tra ...

as a garment of peace,{{cite encyclopedia , editor =

Henry Nettleship Henry Nettleship (5 May 1839 – 10 July 1893) was an English classical scholar. Life Nettleship was born at Kettering, and was educated at Lancing College, Durham School and Charterhouse schools, and gained a scholarship for entry to Corpus Chr ...

and

J. E. Sandys Sir John Edwin Sandys ( "Sands"; 19 May 1844 – 6 July 1922) was an English classical scholar. Life Born in Leicester, England on 19 May 1844, Sandys was the 4th son of Rev. Timothy Sandys (1803–1871) and Rebecca Swain (1800–1853). Livin ...

, encyclopedia = Dictionary of Classical Antiquities , title = Sagum , url = http://www.ancientlibrary.com/seyffert/0557.html , accessdate = 2007-02-03 , year = 1894 , url-status = usurped , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070202081018/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/seyffert/0557.html , archivedate = 2007-02-02 it was slightly more practical, consisting of a simple rectangular segment of cloth fastened by a leather or metal clasp and worn on top of the armor. The fabric was unwashed wool, saturated with

lanolin Lanolin (from Latin 'wool', and 'oil'), also called wool fat, wool yolk, wool wax, sheep grease, sheep yolk, or wool grease, is a wax secreted by the sebaceous glands of wool-bearing animals. Lanolin used by humans comes from domestic sheep br ...

(which made it water-resistant); it was traditionally dyed bright red.

Notes

Military history of ancient Rome Roman-era clothing Robes and cloaks