In about 100 B.C., Gaius Marius took command of the Roman citizen army and created a professional fighting force - the Roman Legions. for the first time, troops received a salary and went through intensive training. to increase their mobility, the men carried their own supplies and prepared their own food. Known as Marius's mules, the troops of the Legions were a mighty fighting force. But the Legions were more than soldiers. Author Susan Provost Beller describes how legionaries brought Roman ways to the local populations, influenced the creation of roads and buildings, and much more. Punctuated with primary source quotations, this engaging story reveals the legacy the Roman Legions gave the Western world.