With the Marian Reforms, joining the Roman army became a full-time occupation. Men trained all year round, not just during the campaign season when Rome was under threat. Legionaries were expected to be able to fight in a number of formations with a variety of weapons. These skills were then tested in mock training battles. The captured Jewish leader, Josephus, witnessed such drills and offered a vivid account of the violence that took place “...it would be fair enough to call their drills bloodless battles and their battles bloody drills”.
