Did you know that the Romans didn’t pay their soldiers with salt at all?

The claim that Roman soldiers were paid with salt is an urban legend. Although salt was indeed a valuable commodity in ancient times, used for preserving food and sometimes even as a trade item, Roman soldiers were not literally paid in salt.

The confusion likely stems from the word “salarium,” which refers to the salary that Roman soldiers received. “Salarium” is derived from the Latin word “sal,” which means salt. Some historians believe this is because part of the soldiers’ salary was used to buy salt, but this does not mean they were paid in salt itself.

Instead, soldiers in the Roman army received their pay in the form of money (coins), goods, or land as a reward for their service. The idea that they were paid in salt is therefore a misconception.

The image accompanying this article is from Freepik.com