role of Roman centurions

[eugene]

What was the role of Roman centurions in the battles of Republican era? Which sources and modern researchers deal with this subject?

[Bryan]

I'd go with Polybius, Book 6, for the description of their duties. As to battle, their role isn't exactly spelled out, as Rome wasn't institutionalized enough to state they had to do "such and such." In the most basic sense, they were the commanders of the centuries and maniples, it was their job to lead them in battle, which meant in those times, leading from the front. Which means they would have most likely always been in the front rank, next to the standards (which it appears they had a duty to protect).

I recommend reading Peter Connolly, Adrian Goldsworthy, and Ross Cowan for more information. Also there are MANY topics in this forum that discusses it. Use the search function, RAT is a treasure trove of useful information.

[Stackferret]

You might like to have a read of a translation of Vegetius - 'De Rei Militari'. Although he is very late (4th/5th century CE) he actually says that he made use of books written by 'The Ancients' (which haven't survived through to today) and were probably written around 1st BCE/1st CE. The only real problem with him is to make sure you know when he is referring to the earlier writers and when he is referring to the Army set-up in his own time.
He seems to be advising his (unknown) emperor of means of maximising the Army's efffectiveness at a time when they were short of men.
Hope this helps.
Dana

[M. CVRIVS ALEXANDER]

Caesar.