Centurions

[cornelius_sulla]

How much is known these days about how you worked your way up the ranks to become a Centurion?

[Lost_Warrior]

From the Roman Legion page:

 

They were generally moved up from the ranks, but in some cases could be direct appointments from the Emperor or other higher ranking officials.

 

IIRC, the Centurion appointed an Optio from the ranks (the Optio was the Centurion's second in command). The Optio then became the next Centurion.

 

I can't recall what came before Optio though.

[caldrail]

The Principal, a sort of NCO of the conterbernium, the eight man squad of 'close companions'.

[Julius Ratus]

I have a question relating to this topic (sorry if I am thread-jacking). Once a centurion (including Primus Pilus), could a man of less than noble birth rise up any further? Could he become a military tribune, or was he stuck as an NCO?

Edited April 2, 2008 by Julius Ratus

[Northern Neil]

He could become a 'camp prefect' which was second in command to a legate, and outranked the military tribunes. I think though that NCO is not quite the correct term for a centurion; a low ranking one commanded the same amount of troops as a modern captain, a cohort centurion roughly equates to major, and a Primus Pilus had a command on a par with a colonel.

 

Even the optio had the responsibility a modern lieuftenant exercises. The NCOs were the Immunis, tesserarius and signifer - if my shaky memory serves me correctly.

[caldrail]

There's no direct equivalent of the modern NCO. The Principal was effectively a sort of team leader, a senior man of the group, the man who answers for the barrack-room. The Immunis, Tesserarius, & Signifer had different responsibilities and the authority that went with them.

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

I may be wrong here but I'm sure Ive read somewhere that a soldier who had started out as a legionary and served with distinction to reach the highest possible rank available to him which I believe was Camp Prefect (?) He had finally come to the end of his 25 year service and earned his right to return home, due to his exemplary record he was then awarded with a place in the senate.

 

Does anyone know whether this actually happened or have I completely made it up .

 

Ill try and find the book I read it in.

[caldrail]

Promotion wasn't the same as you might expect in a modern army. Although it was possible for an ordinary soldier to rise to higher ranks, you had to be a pretty exceptional guy. After all, you were pushing up through a glass ceiling.

 

I'll go further. It wasn't possible to work your way up through the ranks to become a centurion. That avenue of advancement didn't exist within the cohort. Instead, you needed to make a name for yourself, to get noticed by your superiors for your courage and ability to win respect. Popularity wasn't necessarily required. It also depended on your ability to bribe effectively too. People weren't made centurions as a matter of course, because centurions didn't necessarily retire and the post usually became avialble because the former centurion had been killed in battle, so the given the centurions role as the prime warrior of the cohort, that was the sort of guy they needed to replace him.

Edited April 4, 2008 by caldrail

[Ingsoc]

Why do you think Centurions didn't retire after their term of service ended? Zvi Yavetz think that service in the Roman Army and achieving the rank of centurion was factor of social mobility and said (citing Syme, RR, 353-4 and Valerius Maximus, 6.8.7) that after their military service ex-centurions serve as high magistrate in the municipium, were elevated into the rank of eques and some even got into the senate.

[caldrail]

Centurions were not required to retire, they were entitled to continue serving beyond the normal limit of service. The common soldier serves a long period, twenty years or more, and he is rewarded with citizenship, a pension payment, possibly some land in a captured province. He was not rewarded with a career, and since he was only a common soldier anyway, it wasn't expected that he would rise above his station.

 

As regards the centurianate, it wasn't possible to to enter this select group simply by being a legionary and serving a long period - all soldiers did that - and you needed to be a certain personality type and show ability. However, it was possible to become a principales ('junior officer') which included such positions as Tesserarius, Signifier, or Cornicularius. These would be considered permanent active duty assignments that carry special status rather than ranks as we understand them, however becoming one of them entitled a man for consideration for advancement to the centurianate. Thats easy to see in terms of a modern promotion ladder - it just isn't so. Its been estimated that a soldier might take as long as fifteen to twenty years to achieve the status of centurion even assuming he meets the right criteria (and since it took so long to get there, why would he want to retire soon after?)

 

There were also administrative positions within the legion that carried status rather like the active duty ones, the beneficariius for instance. Immunes were soldiers excused active duties, usually because they were assigned as admin clerks or because they some artisan skills in demand, but the title of immunis is temporary and carries no status, however desirable it may have been for the average soldier.

 

Further, there were ad-hoc positions that might vary from legion to legion. Some men were assigned as instructors or torturers for instance. Like the active duty positions, these would have carried a certain status with them.

 

It was possible to be commisioned directly as a centurion on entry to service. Either because you were an equestrian, recommended by someone with influence, or because you had already served as an urban magistrate.

 

I must stress that there is NO promotion ladder for the common soldier. To achieve a promotion he must impress upon his seniors that he is cut from superior cloth, or he will remain amongst the rank and file for his length of service. Ordinary soldiers are just that - they have no career structure and serve until discharged by ill-health, disability, or the finish of their alloted term.

 

Centurions are something different. As career officers they have differing levels of status within their order, commanding a century to begin with and hopefully reaching the highest grade of Primus Pilus by which stage they assume command of a cohort.

Edited April 5, 2008 by caldrail