Legion

A legion was the primary military unit of the Roman Empire. A legion usually consisted of 5000 to 6000 heavy infantry known as legionaries, and commanded by a general called a legatus (Legate), most often it was organized in ten cohorts with the first cohort being twice the size of the others. A Roman legion usually operated with a large body of allied troops known as the auxilia (auxiliary).

A cohort consisted of 480 men plus 6 centurions. A cohort would generally be subdivided into several (usually three) manipuli (maniple) which in turn was split into two centuriae (century).

The employment and use of legions in the Empire is similar to the use of modern armies and army divisions. See Roman legion.

Although rarely used today, the term survives in compounds such as "the French Foreign Legion".

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There is also Legion software and legion the forummer.