Second in command of first century first cohort?

[Valhalla]

Hello-

 

First post to the board, just doing some reading on the Roman army. SInce the first century of the first cohort was double size, was there another centurion who was his second in command of the additional legion attached? If so, what was his title? Or did the Primus Pilus handle all the men as 1 big century and his optio was his second in command? and if so, did this Optio outrank the centurions in the remainder of the cohort? A lot of questions, I know but I'm sure someone with much greater knowledge of this can enlighten me. Thanks in advance -RIC-

[Northern Neil]

I believe that the centuries in the first cohort were 'double centuries', so that would suggest that the Primus Pilus was in sole command, but backed up by the other five centurions who were themselves more senior than the rest. As for optio's, I do not know - but I suggest that maybe there were two per double century, and they had no seniority over the rest.

[ASCLEPIADES]

Hello-

 

First post to the board, just doing some reading on the Roman army. SInce the first century of the first cohort was double size, was there another centurion who was his second in command of the additional legion attached? If so, what was his title? Or did the Primus Pilus handle all the men as 1 big century and his optio was his second in command? and if so, did this Optio outrank the centurions in the remainder of the cohort? A lot of questions, I know but I'm sure someone with much greater knowledge of this can enlighten me. Thanks in advance -RIC-

Salve, V. Welcome to UNRV.

 

And from UNRV: Military (SIC):

"Cohort I: ... Its direct commander was the Primus Pilus, the highest ranking and most respected of all the Centurions".

[caldrail]

Every centurion had an Optio - a 'chosen man', not quite a junior commander but more of a henchman. Centurions were responsible for maintaining discipline which was notoriously harsh in times of war (sometimes a little corrupt and lax in peacetime though) and inevitably if the men mutined the centurion was going to be first in line for retribution. For that reason, the centurion needed someone he could trust to back him up, to be his eyes and ears when he wasn't around, and the roman legions formalised what was a very basic human organisation. In normal duties a centurion would lead from the front, the optio bringing up the rear, both in combat and on the march.

 

Regarding the double century though - its important to realise that the century was chosen as a command unit because 80-100 men was about all a single man could comfortably control in the chaos of the battlefield. Therefore you would expect extra command personnel involved, although thats a modern perspective. The romans wanted as direct a line of command as possible - hence there were no 'middle-class' officers at all in the legions, and cohort leadership, although the cohort formed the standard battle formation within the legion, was not given a designated command rank. Adrian Goldsworthy suggests the senior centurion took command of the cohort. Others disagree, pointing at the lack of any evidence for cohortal command and the absence of cohort 'spirit', as religion played an important part of roman military life. My personal feeling (thats all it is) is that senior centurions may have commanded cohorts on an administrative level, but the co-operative cohort remained in place. Its difficult to see how this functioned - re-enactors don't congregate in sufficient numbers for practical research, but the disintergration of the legions at Cannae is useful in this respect. The centuries on the fringes of the roman advance, having been taught to observe local initiative and face the enemy where-ever possible, did so, and the formation withered away from the sides.

[Valhalla]

WOW!!

 

THanks for the fast replies and the great info. I'm actually doing some research for a scenario that I run for a role playing game group (yeah, I know, 44 and I started replaying the same stuff I did when I was an awkward 17 yr old geek). I'm trying to make the scenario as accurate as possible because I may submit it for publication. I basically want to make sure that all the info is as accurate as possible. If it gets published and there is wrong info, I'd like to minimize the amount of "you screwed up, dumbie" letters I may receive.

 

Basically, the scenario takes place on Hadrian's Wall with a distant fort on the wall being overrun by a supernatural creature summoned by the Picts. A few surviving auxillaries arrive at the main fort and the 1st century of the first cohort 1st cohort is dispatched to deal with the problem. Long story short, first spear eats it in the first attack while he holds back part of the century. Just want to make sure I put the correct/next in line for command in the position of leading the final attack, which will succeed.

Reread Breem's Eagle in the Snow to get some correct Roman names, ended up finishing for the 4th/5th time

 

Once again, Thanks -RIC-

Edited August 6, 2008 by Valhalla

[Primus Pilus]

Every centurion had an Optio - a 'chosen man', not quite a junior commander but more of a henchman. Centurions were responsible for maintaining discipline which was notoriously harsh in times of war (sometimes a little corrupt and lax in peacetime though) and inevitably if the men mutined the centurion was going to be first in line for retribution. For that reason, the centurion needed someone he could trust to back him up, to be his eyes and ears when he wasn't around, and the roman legions formalised what was a very basic human organisation. In normal duties a centurion would lead from the front, the optio bringing up the rear, both in combat and on the march.

 

Regarding the double century though - its important to realise that the century was chosen as a command unit because 80-100 men was about all a single man could comfortably control in the chaos of the battlefield. Therefore you would expect extra command personnel involved, although thats a modern perspective. The romans wanted as direct a line of command as possible - hence there were no 'middle-class' officers at all in the legions, and cohort leadership, although the cohort formed the standard battle formation within the legion, was not given a designated command rank. Adrian Goldsworthy suggests the senior centurion took command of the cohort. Others disagree, pointing at the lack of any evidence for cohortal command and the absence of cohort 'spirit', as religion played an important part of roman military life. My personal feeling (thats all it is) is that senior centurions may have commanded cohorts on an administrative level, but the co-operative cohort remained in place. Its difficult to see how this functioned - re-enactors don't congregate in sufficient numbers for practical research, but the disintergration of the legions at Cannae is useful in this respect. The centuries on the fringes of the roman advance, having been taught to observe local initiative and face the enemy where-ever possible, did so, and the formation withered away from the sides.

 

And there have been suggestions of a more active role in legionary command by the Primus Pilus... at least depending upon individual legates, tribunes, etc. in a particular legion (forgive me for not being aware of the source of those suggestions at the moment). That would theoretically lend credence to the notion that someone other than the Primus Pilus (perhaps the senior optio) took direct command of the first century. Perhaps it was possibly the mysterious 60th centurion who would seem to have lost his job when the first century of the first cohort was originally doubled... sometime in the later part of the 1st century AD.

[Primus Pilus]

Caveat to my own note above: There is no evidence of the 60th centurion as part of the 5 double centuries of the first cohort. The commanders of the these centuria were called the Primi Ordines and were titled independently of the other 9 cohors. They were:

 

Primus Pilus (centuria I)

(Primus) Princeps (II)

Hastatus (III)

Princeps Posterior (IIII)

Hastatus Posterior (V)

 

My previous note is complete speculation.

[ASCLEPIADES]

Here comes a primary military source, Caius Julius Caesar Commentarii de bello Gallico, Liber V, cp. XXIV:

 

Vnam legionem, quam proxime trans Padum conscripserat, et cohortes V in Eburones, quorum pars maxima est inter Mosam ac Rhenum, qui sub imperio Ambiorigis et Catuvolci erant, misit. Eis militibus Quintum Titurium Sabinum et Lucium Aurunculeium Cottam legatos praeesse iussit.

 

"One legion which he had raised last on the other side of the Po, and five cohorts, he sent among the Eburones, the greatest portion of whom lie between the Meuse and the Rhine, [and] who were under the government of Ambiorix and Catuvolcus. He ordered Quintus Titurius Sabinus and Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta, his legates, to take command of these soldiers".

 

Sabinus' Legion is commonly identified as the XIV.

The other five cohorts (half a Legion) clearly functioned as a sole unit under Cotta's command.

Caesar never used the cohorts as independent units by themselves.