Proto-Centurion question

[Matthew Amt]

Wikipedia is a very convenient tool but I have critical caution on some of it and most of it doesnt cover the subjects in detail so I've come here, as my knowledge needs to be practical as well as scholarly.

Also, I've taken to the sources (for the sake of convenience) used by the team of Rome Total Realism, a mod for a game I'm sure some of you are acquainted with.

Ave, Patrick! First off, my first rule of thumb is to Avoid Wikipedia Like the Plague. Yes, I have seen good information there, but so much is also so riddled with glaring errors that I am terrified at the thought of anyone actually trying to learn about the Roman army from it! I don't know anything about the game you mention, but I'd at least be VERY leery of using it for a source or for collecting sources.

My advice: Get a couple books!

Connolly, Peter. Greece and Rome at War, 2nd edition (Ack, sorry, I only have the ISBN for the first edition, 1998!)

Sekunda, Nick. Republican Roman Army 200-104 BC. Osprey Men-at-Arms Series #291. London: Osprey, 1994. ISBN 1-855325-985

Warry, John. Warfare in the Classical World. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980. ISBN 0-312-85614-8

Goldsworthy, Adrian. The Roman Army at War, 100 BC - AD 200. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. ISBN 0-19-815090-3

There's also an Osprey volume called "Early Roman Armies" which is quite good. Any of the books above should give you more information, and much better, than all of Wikipedia. And the Ospreys are cheap!

http://www.larp.com/legioxx/bibliog.html

I've pieced together the idea that the Centurion was first put in place by the Marius Reforms, if this is true, then what would have been the equivalent (if any), to the Centurion in the Manipular army in place during the Third Punic war? For instance rather than a Century of 80 men, a leader(officer) of each 120 man maniple, or a certain division thereof?
If so what would he have been called and how would he have been armed?

Eh? No, the post of centurion was about as old as the army itself! Each maniple was made of 2 centuries, about 60 men per century for the principes and hastati, and about 30 each for the triarii (plus velites, as I recall). Each century had a centurion, with that of the "forward" century outranking that of the "rear" century. The 80 man century is considered typical for the Empire, not the Republic.

That get you started? Good luck and Vale,

Matthew