jan 1, 396 BC - Roman Soldiers Paid Salary for the First Time

Description:

The Latin word salarium originally "salt money", i.e., the sum paid to soldiers for salt or the price of having soldiers conquer salt supplies and guard the Salt Roads (Via Salaria) that led to Rome. But there is no evidence for this assertion at all. Some people even claim that the word soldier itself comes from the Latin sal dare (to give salt), but mainstream sources disagree, noting that the word soldier more likely derives from the gold solidus introduced by Diocletian in 301 AD.