,
Egypt, 1st century BC – 1st century AD
Caligae (:
caliga) are heavy-duty, thick-soled
openwork boots, with
hobnailed soles. They were worn by the lower ranks of Roman cavalrymen and foot-soldiers, and possibly by some centurions. A durable association of
caligae with the common soldiery is evident in the latter's description as
caligati ("booted ones"). In the early 1st century AD, the soldiery affectionately nicknamed the two- or three-year-old
Gaius "
caligula" ("little boot"), because he wore a diminutive soldier's outfit, complete with small
caligae. Occasionally, hobnailed
caligae must have proved inconvenient, especially on hard surfaces;
Josephus describes the killing of a
caliga-shod Roman centurion who had slipped on the
Temple of Jerusalem's marble floor during an attack. and "the thunderous sound of an attack by a hobnailed army (
caligati) must have been terrifying". Indeed, the
Tannaim (Jewish sages or
Chazal) of
Roman Judea limited their community's use of
caligae in response to an instance when many Jews in hiding had misinterpreted their sound as that of approaching Romans and were killed in the resultant stampede (see Babylonian
Talmud, Shabbat 60a).
Caligae would have been cooler on the march than enclosed boots. In warm,
Mediterranean climates, this may have been an advantage. In northern Britain's cold, wet climate, additional woven socks or raw wool wadding in winter may have helped insulate the feet, but
caligae seemed to have been abandoned there by the end of the 2nd century AD, in favour of civilian-style "closed boots" (
carbatinae). By the late 4th century, this seems to have applied throughout the Empire. The emperor
Diocletian's
Edict on Maximum Prices (301) includes set prices for footwear described as
caligae, but with no hobnails, made for civilian men, women and children. ==Design and manufacture==