[5] Diamandi was active in the Greek regions of Thessaly and Macedonia during World War II, supporting the Italian and German occupation forces and promoting the creation of an autonomous Aromanian (Vlach) state, envisioned as the "Principality of the Pindus", a name also used for a similar attempt in 1917, in which Diamanti had also been involved.
Diamanti left Greece by the summer of 1942 for Romania and Nicolaos Matussis, an Aromanian lawyer, already active as second-in-command, replaced him in the organization.
Another important figure in the Roman Legion was the Aromanian Vassilis Rapotikas, who led the paramilitary units.
According to a recent estimate by Kostas Verros, 400-450 men were enlisted (200 under Rapotikas, 200 under smaller units in Thessaly, 40 under the command of Georgios Metsiobounas, who was a close associate of Diamandis, and 12 high school students who received arms from the Italians).
[4] According to an estimate by Georgios Exarchos, based on an interview of Matussis, there were only 126 opportunists enlisted, mostly of Albanian descent.