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27-464: A legionary cohort of the early empire consisted of six centuriae , or centuries, each consisting of 80 legionaries, for a total of 480 legionaries. Early in the Republic, each centuria consisted of 100 men, hence their name. Each centuria was commanded by a centurion , who increased in seniority from the sixth to the first centuries; thus, the centurion of the sixth century was the most junior in

54-431: A banner or signum which was carried by a signifer . Also, each century provided a buccinator , who played a buccina , a kind of horn used to transmit acoustic orders. On the battlefield, the centurion stood at the far right of the first row of men next to the signifer, while the optio stood at the rear, to avoid, if necessary, the disbanding of the troops and ensure the relay between typical closed order lines used by

81-450: A cohort would consist of, on paper, 480 legionaries, 6 centurions, and 24 junior officers, with logistical support provided by 60-120 slaves, and 60-120 mules. Ten cohorts of 480 legionaries would comprise a legion. Like the ranks of the centurions, cohorts would also follow a pattern of seniority; a legion's tenth cohort was its most junior, while the first cohort was the most prestigious, with its ranks filled with either veteran troops, or

108-511: A key position—that of maintaining a legion's honor. An aquilifer plays an important role in the landing of Roman soldiers in Britannia , as accounted by Julius Caesar . In de Bello Gallico IV. 25, Britons put up stiff resistance against the Roman landing party, therefore the legionaries delay to avoid engaging with the enemy. To spur on the troops, the aquilifer shouts out, so that all

135-566: A laurel wreath. It was mounted on a narrow trapezoidal base and mounted on a pole that was held aloft. The aquilifer 's position was accordingly one of enormous prestige, and he was ranked immediately below the centurions and above the optiones , receiving twice the pay of an ordinary legionary ( Brunt 1950 ). Aquilifers carried a small circular shield called a parma that could be strapped on if their hands were already full ( Allen 1908 ). Aquilifers were very easily recognizable not only because of their standard but because they always wore

162-531: A stone-throwing torsion-powered catapult. Vegetius stipulates that they were transported fully-assembled on ox-drawn carts, to ensure the onager was ready for immediate use. Additional equipment, such as rams , towers , or larger ballistae were added as needed. Thus, by extrapolation, a legion had an artillery train of some sixty scorpios and ten onagers . Although not part of a legion, some paramilitary corps in Rome consisted of one or more cohorts: Furthermore,

189-407: A total of 800 men, as opposed to six centuries of 80 men. It was the unique honour of the first cohort's aquilifer to carry the legion's aquila , or eagle, standard into battle, which possessed a quasi-religious importance to the legionaries. Loss of an eagle was considered a mark of extreme shame and disgrace for a legion. A legion's first cohort also had an imaginifer , who carried an imago of

216-400: A type of fur: as wolf fur was worn by the vexillarius and bear fur by the signifer , a lion fur was given to the aquilifers . The furs were worn as capes with the head of the animal strapped to the helmet of the bearer. The idea that great disgrace would fall upon a legion should its eagle fall into enemy hands or the symbolism of its passage being barred by enemies places aquilifers in

243-439: Is speculated that in this period a century may have referred to a Phalanx block and was perhaps the main tactical unit on the battlefield. After the adoption of the manipular Roman army in 340 BC the centuria took a backseat to the maniple as the main military unit used by the Roman army. In Livy 's The History of Rome and Polybius ' Histories, centuria do not appear by name but both writers do mention subdivisions of

270-470: The Latin word cohors was used in a looser way to describe a rather large "company" of people (see, for instance, cohors amicorum ). Centuriae#Military Centuria ( Latin: [kɛn̪ˈt̪ʊria] ; pl. : centuriae ) is a Latin term (from the stem centum meaning one hundred) denoting military units originally consisting of 100 men. The size of the centuria changed over time, and from

297-408: The Roman army. The centuria consisted of a hundred soldiers: 80 combat legionaries, with 20 support staff making up the remainder of the 100 men. Each contubernium (the minimal unit in the Roman legion) consisted of ten soldiers who lived in the same tent while on campaign or the same bunk room in barracks. In the imperial period, but likely not the republican period, the first cohort was twice

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324-884: The Romans, chaos ensues as soldiers from different divisions group themselves to the closest standard rather than their assigned one, disturbing battle formation greatly ( Julius Caesar 1994–2000 ). Few aquilifers are recorded individually in history. An exception to this is Lucius Petrosidius, who is mentioned by Caesar in Commentarii de Bello Gallico , his first hand account of the Gallic Wars . The Latin text says "Ex quibus Lucius Petrosidius aquilifer, cum magna multitudine hostium premeretur, aquilam intra vallum proiecit; ipse pro castris fortissime pugnans occiditur" ( Julius Caesar 1914 , V:37), which translates to "From which Lucius Petrosidius, an Eagle-bearer, although hard pressed by

351-461: The best recruits. The commander of the first cohort's first century was known as the primus pilus or primipilus , a legion's most senior centurion. The primus pilus was eligible for promotion to praefectus castrorum or camp prefect, the third most senior officer in a legion, responsible for the day-to-day administration of a legion. The first cohort was an aberration in that it consisted of five double-strength centuriae , each of 160 men, for

378-515: The cohort, while the centurion of the first century was the most senior. In order of increasing seniority, the six centurions were titled hastatus posterior , hastatus prior , princeps posterior , princeps prior , pilus posterior , and pilus prior . The pilus prior would command the cohort overall. The nomenclature of the ranks was derived from the Republican manipular legions , where troops were grouped into three rankings; hastati for

405-487: The contubernium, and was most likely the longest-serving legionary of the eight. The decanus organised the erection of the unit's marching tent, and ensured his tent-mates kept things tidy. A contubernium was assigned one to two pack mules , which would carry heavier equipment and the contubernium's mill , for grinding their daily grain ration into flour. These duties would be carried out by camp slaves , of which one to two would be assigned to each contubernium. They tended to

432-599: The first cohort ). The term centuria was later used during the Spanish Civil War to describe the informal bands of local militiamen and international volunteers that sprang up in Catalonia and Aragon in October–November 1936. Aquilifer An aquilifer ( Latin: [aˈkᶣɪlɪfɛr] , "eagle-bearer") was a one of the signiferi in a Roman legion who carried the eagle standard of

459-535: The first century BC through most of the imperial era the standard size of a centuria was 100 men. By the time of the Roman Empire , ordo became a synonym of centuria (in 4 BC it was used for a maniple ). In the political context the centuria was the constituent voting unit in the assembly of the centuries ( Latin : comitia centuriata ), an old form of popular assembly in the Roman Republic ,

486-434: The legion. The name derives from the type of standard, aquila , meaning " eagle " (which was the universal type used since 106 BC), and ferre , the Latin word for bringing or carrying. Before that time, the wolf , boar , bull and horse were also used. The eagle standard was the most important possession of the legion, and its loss was a terrible disgrace. The aquila emblem generally had up-raised wings surrounded by

513-415: The maniple of around 60 men that centurions commanded. The only point of disagreement between the two was the number of these units in a maniple; Livy says 3, while Polybius says 2. Livy is writing of a time 150 years before Polybius, so the number of men in this unit may have changed over that period. A century was commanded by a centurion , who was assisted by an optio and tesserarius . It had

540-537: The members of which cast one collective vote. Its origin seems to be the homonymous military unit. The comitia centuriata elected important magistrates like consuls and praetors . The centuria dates all the way back to the earliest armies of the Roman Kingdom being described in Plutarch 's account of the life of Romulus , however it is only mentioned in passing as a subdivision of Romulus' force. It

567-412: The most inexperienced, followed by principes , and finally triarii for the most experienced. Pilus was a name for a maniple of triarii, reflecting their use as spearmen, pilum being the Latin word for a javelin . A century of 80 men was divided into ten contubernia , each of eight men, who shared a single A-frame tent together. A contubernium was led by a decanus , appointed from within

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594-455: The most junior centurion in a legion received around ten times the standard rate of pay, while the most senior legionary centurion could receive some forty times the standard rate of pay. The centurion was assisted by an optio , who served as his second-in-command, and typically received double the legionary rate of pay. Third in seniority was a tesserarius , who exercised command over the nightly guard duties, and were responsible for distributing

621-433: The pack mule, ensured legionaries had water on the march, and camp duties such as cooking, washing, and other specialised skills such as smithing or carpentry . While encamped, younger legionaries may be sent out to fetch fodder, firewood, and water for the contubernium. A century of 80 men would be commanded by a centurion , assisted by four junior officers. The pay of a centurion fluctuated depending on their seniority;

648-534: The reigning Emperor , typically a three-dimensional relief of their likeness made of beaten metal. Each cohort also had a small artillery corps. According to Vegetius , a 4th-century Roman author, each century was equipped with a scorpio , a small torsion-powered ballista, for a total of six per cohort. A contubernium would be deputed to operate the weapon, when required. Like most ancient artillery, these weapons were likely used in fixed positions for infantry defence, or in sieges. Each cohort also had one onager ,

675-424: The size of the other cohorts. Each of its five centuriae was a double centuria of 200 men (rather than 100). The first cohort thus consisted of 1,000 men. Centurions of these first-cohort double centuriae were called primi ordinis ("first rank"), except for the leader of the first centuria of the first cohort, who was referred to as primus pilus (the name denoted the first maniple , Latin : pilus , of

702-654: The soldiers can hear him, that despite the common lack of initiative, he would have fulfilled his office for both Julius Caesar, his general, and for the public (pūblicae) thing (reī) ( i.e. for the republic); he then immediately jumps from the ship and makes his way to the shore with the eagle so that others may be inspired to follow him. The text reads as such: "'Desilite', inquit, 'commilitiones, nisi vultis aquilam hostibus prodere; ego certe meum rei publicae atque imperatori officium praestitero'. Hoc cum voce magna dixisset, se ex navi proiecit atque in hostes aquilam ferre coepit" (Mueller and Julius Caesar 2013). Unfortunately for

729-493: The watchwords for the camp. A tesserarius was typically paid one-and-a-half times the standard rate of pay. A century also had a signifer , who carried the century's standard into battle, and also served as the unit's treasurer, keeping track of the pay and expenses of the men. Signifers typically received double pay. Lastly, a cornicen , equipped with a cornu , served as a signaller, and received double pay. These officers would have their own support staff, tents, and mules. Thus,

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