veteran

The term veteran in ancient Rome designated a soldier at the end of his service, in whatever corps he had served (praetorian or urban cohorts, legions, auxiliary army, navy). Length of service is a concept that evolves with the same history of organization of Rome's army and within it the figure of the miles. The veteran, initially, is a volunteer soldier; he arms himself at his own expense and remains in service for the duration of the military campaign for which he was recruited. Later with the organization of the army and the creation of a real social and legal subject, "the professional soldier," the duration of service would also be fixed according to the military corps to which he belonged.