AE 1981 777

[Nathan Ross]

Not in this late period.

Aha - yes, looking through the inscriptions database I see there were quite a few centenarii who are clearly high-ranking civilian officials.*

I would guess the derivation is, firstly, procuratori centenario, then (3rd century?) egregio viro procuratori centenario, then egregio viro centenario, until the word centenario alone connotes high rank. In one case (CIL 05, 01680) even a eunucho palatino centenario and a vir ducenarius.

However, in the example I cited above, AE 1989, 00641, Valerianus the centenarius is the father-in-law of the ordinarius Castus (if I'm reading it right). Would a vir egregius civilian official really be so related to the lowly ordinarius of a provincial legion? As this is in a military context, wouldn't it be more obvious to read both as military ranks?

Clearly both centenarius and ducenarius did denote military ranks during this period, as we find in the Concordia inscriptions, Codex Justianiana etc.

As you probably know, Brunt proposed that prot. ducenarii = primi ordines:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/40310480 - go to p. 70.

I didn't! And my JSTOR account unfortunately doesn't stretch to that article... It sounds an interesting theory. But as ducenarii also occur in the agens in rebus (CIL 10, 07200: ducenario agente in rebus et praeposito cursus publici, early-mid 4th century), and the agentes, while holding military ranks, were not centurions, surely a ducenarius of the protectores might be something similar? (i.e. an officer of the imperial household guard, the title later transferring to the scholae and then the new-style auxilia)...

EDIT * - from the reign of Commodus, according to the redoubtable Fergus Millar here.