10-13-2019, 08:22 PM
Hi All,
So my first post on this website. ?
I have a query concerning the rank structure of the late roman army (284 – 476 AD), specifically concerning when the rank of Praefectus would be used. (I believe this rank would ‘roughly’ sit above the senior centurion of a cohort, and below the commanding Tribune of a legion)
Historically I understand that the rank of Praefectus is descended from the rank of ‘Praefectus Castrorum’ or Camp Prefect, the third highest ranking officer in a Roman Legion after the commanding Legate and Tribune, and responsible for looking after the roman legionary camp and equipment.
First, a little background to set the context of this thread.
I’m currently in the process of writing a historical fantasy novel that depicts an extra-dimensional invasion of the Roman Empire and its neighboring kingdoms in the late fourth century AD by an race of Orc-‘ish’ invaders armed with early-mid gunpowder era level technology. (With some magic mixed in for good measure)
While fictional, as this book will feature the real-world Roman Empire of the late fourth century AD I wanted to make this depiction as accurate as possible in terms of the ranking systems and organizational structure used within the Roman army.
I’m not a qualified historian, however I do have a special interest in the Roman Empire and so I do have what I’d consider to be an above average knowledge base of this era.
This being said, I did make a few assumptions on the size of standard late roman army units and the officers who would command them that I’m now reevaluating, hence this post.
Firstly, I’m aware that the old system of Legions and Auxiliary Cohorts established by Augustus in the 1st Century AD was heavily reorganized by Emperor Diocletian and later Constantine, with the army being split between the Limitanei (Border Legions) and Comitatenses (Field Legions), whilst both Emperors of the East and West maintained their own Escort armies comprised of elite Palatini (Palace) grade troops. (At least in theory. In practice as I understand it these units would be frequently mixed and disbanded into field armies as Roman Emperor’s and the General’s they appointed periodically pulled troops for defense or campaign from wherever there were troops available to pull from)
This novel will largely revolve around a cohort (and its officers) of Limitanei based at the Romano-British fortress of Arbeia in 376 AD. For anyone unfamiliar with this real-world location, Arbeia was the eastern most fortress of Hadrian’s Wall, originally built around 160 AD as a standard auxiliary fortress containing a garrison of about 600 men.
What I’m currently unsure about is what specific rank of officer would command a garrison of a standard auxiliary fortress of this size.
Initially (for some reason) I made an assumption that the maximum sized ‘permanent’ unit of the Late Roman Army would have been a Cohort, 600 men strong for the Limitanei (infantry and cavalry) and a double strength Cohort of about a thousand men for a Comitatenses field legion. In both cases my understanding was that these battalion and regimental sized formations would fall under the command of a Tribune, with several such garrisons or double strength field Cohorts being grouped together into a border army or field army under the command of their respected Dux (Duke) or Comes (Count).
However, having done a little further research i understand now that a legion of the Late Roman Army typically consisted of a minimum of 2 Cohorts, the first of which would be double strength. As a result late roman Legions for both the field and border armies would typically number between 1000 - 2000 soldiers under the command of a Tribune, with a centurion acting as commander of each Cohort.
My understanding is that the Cohort occupying Arbeia would be under the command of a Senior Centurion (Primus Pilus), however for simple story telling perspective I would prefer the commander of this garrison to be an officer of above Centurion rank, but I’m guessing 600 men on paper would be beneath a Tribune’s remit to command.
To provide further context on why I’d like the commander to hold a rank superior to Centurion, this is because his subordinate (a major character for the first half of the book) is a Centurion. While a Cohort would have a minimum of 6 centurions, from a story telling view I find it a lot easier to right interactions between characters whose ranks are not nearly identical.
With this in mind, would I be could correct in theorizing that a former auxiliary fortress built for a standard strength Cohort (600 men including a cavalry contingent) could be commanded by a Praefectus?
This would in my opinion make sense as Praefectus would be ‘master’ of a camp, such as an auxiliary fortress.
Thank-you for any assistance you may be able to provide in advance, and kind regards
Tim
So my first post on this website. ?
I have a query concerning the rank structure of the late roman army (284 – 476 AD), specifically concerning when the rank of Praefectus would be used. (I believe this rank would ‘roughly’ sit above the senior centurion of a cohort, and below the commanding Tribune of a legion)
Historically I understand that the rank of Praefectus is descended from the rank of ‘Praefectus Castrorum’ or Camp Prefect, the third highest ranking officer in a Roman Legion after the commanding Legate and Tribune, and responsible for looking after the roman legionary camp and equipment.
First, a little background to set the context of this thread.
I’m currently in the process of writing a historical fantasy novel that depicts an extra-dimensional invasion of the Roman Empire and its neighboring kingdoms in the late fourth century AD by an race of Orc-‘ish’ invaders armed with early-mid gunpowder era level technology. (With some magic mixed in for good measure)
While fictional, as this book will feature the real-world Roman Empire of the late fourth century AD I wanted to make this depiction as accurate as possible in terms of the ranking systems and organizational structure used within the Roman army.
I’m not a qualified historian, however I do have a special interest in the Roman Empire and so I do have what I’d consider to be an above average knowledge base of this era.
This being said, I did make a few assumptions on the size of standard late roman army units and the officers who would command them that I’m now reevaluating, hence this post.
Firstly, I’m aware that the old system of Legions and Auxiliary Cohorts established by Augustus in the 1st Century AD was heavily reorganized by Emperor Diocletian and later Constantine, with the army being split between the Limitanei (Border Legions) and Comitatenses (Field Legions), whilst both Emperors of the East and West maintained their own Escort armies comprised of elite Palatini (Palace) grade troops. (At least in theory. In practice as I understand it these units would be frequently mixed and disbanded into field armies as Roman Emperor’s and the General’s they appointed periodically pulled troops for defense or campaign from wherever there were troops available to pull from)
This novel will largely revolve around a cohort (and its officers) of Limitanei based at the Romano-British fortress of Arbeia in 376 AD. For anyone unfamiliar with this real-world location, Arbeia was the eastern most fortress of Hadrian’s Wall, originally built around 160 AD as a standard auxiliary fortress containing a garrison of about 600 men.
What I’m currently unsure about is what specific rank of officer would command a garrison of a standard auxiliary fortress of this size.
Initially (for some reason) I made an assumption that the maximum sized ‘permanent’ unit of the Late Roman Army would have been a Cohort, 600 men strong for the Limitanei (infantry and cavalry) and a double strength Cohort of about a thousand men for a Comitatenses field legion. In both cases my understanding was that these battalion and regimental sized formations would fall under the command of a Tribune, with several such garrisons or double strength field Cohorts being grouped together into a border army or field army under the command of their respected Dux (Duke) or Comes (Count).
However, having done a little further research i understand now that a legion of the Late Roman Army typically consisted of a minimum of 2 Cohorts, the first of which would be double strength. As a result late roman Legions for both the field and border armies would typically number between 1000 - 2000 soldiers under the command of a Tribune, with a centurion acting as commander of each Cohort.
My understanding is that the Cohort occupying Arbeia would be under the command of a Senior Centurion (Primus Pilus), however for simple story telling perspective I would prefer the commander of this garrison to be an officer of above Centurion rank, but I’m guessing 600 men on paper would be beneath a Tribune’s remit to command.
To provide further context on why I’d like the commander to hold a rank superior to Centurion, this is because his subordinate (a major character for the first half of the book) is a Centurion. While a Cohort would have a minimum of 6 centurions, from a story telling view I find it a lot easier to right interactions between characters whose ranks are not nearly identical.
With this in mind, would I be could correct in theorizing that a former auxiliary fortress built for a standard strength Cohort (600 men including a cavalry contingent) could be commanded by a Praefectus?
This would in my opinion make sense as Praefectus would be ‘master’ of a camp, such as an auxiliary fortress.
Thank-you for any assistance you may be able to provide in advance, and kind regards
Tim
Real Name: Tim Hare
