02-07-2008, 06:59 PM
The century as a term seems to have its origins in the voting assemblies of the Republic. The information that follows is from a quick google search and pulled up a document from the site of the Univerity of Texas: http://www.utexas.edu/depts/classics/do ... epGov.html
The basic information is that the Centuriate Assembly was organized into 193 centuries based on wealth and age and directly correlates to the military organization of men by these same categories.
The Tribal Assemby was also organized into tribes then centuries.
Then, we get back to that age-old question of "which came first, the chicken or the egg?" Did the Assembly organization into centuries come before or after the military organization into centuries? - that is something which goes back into Rome's more legendary past.
The comment has come up in various threads, and I will air it here: Why do barracks blocks in the forts/fortresses have more rooms than just the 10 needed to house 10 contubernia of 8 men each in a century (80 men). Of course, my response is that they would have needed storage space for century-owned common gear, and perhaps additional "office" or separate sleeping space for the Tesserarius/Signifer/Optio, etc. rather than living with the other men in the century.
Regarding the place of calones(camp servants) in the unit: The Army of the middle Republic, seems to have had regular non-combantant men attached to it, perhaps from the capite censi who could not serve as full soldiers. During the Principate, many soldiers owned one or more personal slaves, and these might have also been "loaned" to the army, whether voluntarily or under orders, I don't know. Sara Elisa Phang discusses the soldiers' slaves in her book, "The Marriage of Roman Soldiers", including the tasks they performed.
I don't believe that these calones and/or slaves (in the Principate) would be figured anywhere in the count of men in a century. The middle Republic's non-combatants, on the other hand, might have been figured in somewhere on the strength of a century in the legion as many(or all?) of them were free citizen men, just lacking minimum property.
With time the Roman Army changed, and there is not just one answer to the questions about the century as a military unit.
Quinton Johansen
Marcus Quintius Clavus, Optio Secundae Pili Prioris Legionis III Cyrenaicae
The basic information is that the Centuriate Assembly was organized into 193 centuries based on wealth and age and directly correlates to the military organization of men by these same categories.
The Tribal Assemby was also organized into tribes then centuries.
Then, we get back to that age-old question of "which came first, the chicken or the egg?" Did the Assembly organization into centuries come before or after the military organization into centuries? - that is something which goes back into Rome's more legendary past.
The comment has come up in various threads, and I will air it here: Why do barracks blocks in the forts/fortresses have more rooms than just the 10 needed to house 10 contubernia of 8 men each in a century (80 men). Of course, my response is that they would have needed storage space for century-owned common gear, and perhaps additional "office" or separate sleeping space for the Tesserarius/Signifer/Optio, etc. rather than living with the other men in the century.
Regarding the place of calones(camp servants) in the unit: The Army of the middle Republic, seems to have had regular non-combantant men attached to it, perhaps from the capite censi who could not serve as full soldiers. During the Principate, many soldiers owned one or more personal slaves, and these might have also been "loaned" to the army, whether voluntarily or under orders, I don't know. Sara Elisa Phang discusses the soldiers' slaves in her book, "The Marriage of Roman Soldiers", including the tasks they performed.
I don't believe that these calones and/or slaves (in the Principate) would be figured anywhere in the count of men in a century. The middle Republic's non-combatants, on the other hand, might have been figured in somewhere on the strength of a century in the legion as many(or all?) of them were free citizen men, just lacking minimum property.
With time the Roman Army changed, and there is not just one answer to the questions about the century as a military unit.
Quinton Johansen
Marcus Quintius Clavus, Optio Secundae Pili Prioris Legionis III Cyrenaicae
Quinton Johansen
Marcus Quintius Clavus, Optio Secundae Pili Prioris Legionis III Cyrenaicae
Marcus Quintius Clavus, Optio Secundae Pili Prioris Legionis III Cyrenaicae
