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Seniority
#1
Hi

I have a couple of questions I hope you can help with...

Can anyone offer any guidance on the seniority of different ranks? With a legion is fairly straight forwards, or within an auxiliary unit although cavalry uses different ranks so...

What is the order of seniority (assuming they all were awarded their rank today)?

A legion centurion
An auxiliary centurion
An urban cohort centurion
A praetorian centurion
A legion Decurion
An Auxiliary Decurion
A legion Optio as "acting centurion"
A legion Optio
An Axilliary optio as acting centurion
An auxilliary Optio
A legion supernumerary centurion
A legion primus Pilus
An Auxiliary primus Pilus


Secondly, on signing up as a new legionary, or auxilliary, what happened? How long did they train for? Do we know anything of the routine or regimen new recruits were subjected to? Did they do a general trading period with other recruits before being assigned to their tent party? When did they get their gear?

My only real insight here stops at using heavy wooden training swords to strengthen sword arms as a general sword fighting training.

Lastly, did common grunts get any training in specialist bits of gear. For example using a bow?


Any other related info would be fantastic

Cheers

John
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#2
Basically the seniority and payment depends on the unit type: fleet -> auxilia/ala -> legion -> cohorts in Rome.

centurio classis

centurio cohortis
decurio cohortis (equitata)
decurio alae

centurio legionis

centurio vigilum
centurio cohortis urbanae
centurio praetorii

centurio primi ordinis legionis
primipilus

For example a centurio of an auxilia gets about 5 times the salary of a miles cohortis (750 HS), while a centurio legionis gets 15 times the salary of a miles legionis (900 HS). The salary in the urban cohorts and praetorians is the highest. I am not sure about the centurions of the vigiles.
In the cohorts/alae (not legion) you also have the centurio princeps or decurio princeps, who is the highest rank of the cohort/ala and propably deputy commander.

As discussed in this other thread, there is no official rank of an "optio acting as centurio" temporarily. However, an optio who was already designated for centurio was called optio spei, was a duplicarius (2 times salary) and one of the highest ranks of the principales (NCOs ), if not the highest at all.

There is no such thing like a legion decurion, because a decurio is a cavalry commander only or an auxiliary primus pilus, because this rank is legion only.

The rank of a centurio supernumerarius depends. He could be of any rank. Usually we find them in the civil administration of a province, but in order to get payed, they need to be on the payroll of a military unit.

After recruitment the tirones were send to their unit and after 3 months of basic training in the cohort, they became miles gregarius. But training did never end officially in the roman army.

A storybook career ex caliga could be:

Tiro
Miles gregarius
Librarius et immunis
Tesserarius
Optio
Centurio cohortis
Centurio legionis
Centurio primi ordinis
Primipilus

However, careers vary greatly.
Ut desint vires, tamen est laudanda voluntas
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#3
Many thanks Frank!

I had assumed that a Decurion would command the small cavalry contingent that was part of a legion. Were those all seconded from a cavalry unit? I wasn't sure if perhaps a centurion would command any Speculatores within a legion or a Decurion.

The auxiliary 'primus Pilus' I was really thinking the senior centurion within the auxiliary unit.

So an Auxilliary Decurion would outrank a legion Optio Spei? However a legion Centurion would outrank an auxilliary Decurion?

Just as a quick aside on the "acting centurion", it is more that the centurion role is performed by someone of another rank, rather than the individual's rank temporarily changing?

Thanks again

John
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#4
Quote:I had assumed that a Decurion would command the small cavalry contingent that was part of a legion.
We know of an Optio Equitis Legionis. So the romans used the traditional terms of the legion for this small cavalry unit of couriers and explorers. Afaik there is no evidence that they were commanded by a centurio. For administrative purposes they were perhaps on the payroll of the 60 centuries anyways. Perhaps one of the tribunes commanded them supported by this optio.


Quote:Were those all seconded from a cavalry unit? I wasn't sure if perhaps a centurion would command any Speculatores within a legion or a Decurion.
No, the Equites Legionis were soldiers on the payroll of the legion. Perhaps you mix that up with the Equites Singulares Consularis or Equites Singulares Legati Augusti pro Praetore. This was a unit of about 500 men seconded from the alae in the province. They were used as bodyguards of a province governor (Legatus Augusti pro praetore, Proconsul/Proprateor or Procurator) and for special deployment. An ordinary Legatus legionis had usually no Singulares.

Speculatores are something different. They are a kind of secret police force acting for a povince governor. They are high rank senior principales seconded from the legions. Higher in rank than an optio or a beneficarius consularis but not higher than an optio spei or a cornicularius consularis.

If you are interested in the NCOs of the legion you should look for some articles of David Breeze. He is the expert, if it comes to principales.


Quote:The auxiliary 'primus Pilus' I was really thinking the senior centurion within the auxiliary unit.
These guys are called Centurio Princeps or Decurio Princeps. Their function is comparable to the Pilus Prior of a legionary cohort. But not comparable with a Primus Pilus Prior of an entire legion. A Centurio Princeps or Centurio Pilus Prior is still a centurio of a cohort a ordinary officer. A Primus Pilus and probably other centuriones primi ordinis is an high officer (field grade officer) like tribunes and praefects and member of the generals staff. A Primipilus Iterum is even higher, perhaps rather comparable to a legate.


Quote:So an Auxilliary Decurion would outrank a legion Optio Spei? However a legion Centurion would outrank an auxilliary Decurion?
Yes an optio is a principales (NCO) and duplicarius (2 times salary). A decurio is an officer like a centurio and gets 5 times the salary of an equites.
A centurio legionis (15 times salary) is always of higher rank than a centurio of a cohort or a decurio of a turma. A decurio alae has the same function in the cavalry a centurio cohortis has in the infantry. The turma is the century of the ala, even if just 32 men strong. But legion is always of higher rank than auxilia/ala. However, I am not sure, if a centurio princeps cohortis could come close to a lower rank centurio legionis.


Quote:Just as a quick aside on the "acting centurion", it is more that the centurion role is performed by someone of another rank, rather than the individual's rank temporarily changing?
If a centurio is dead or out of town, the optio commands the centuria until the centurio comes back or a new centurio arrives. He is still an optio, and nothing changes with the optios rank. It is that simple. If an optio was already designated for centurio and is waiting for final promotion, he is called optio spei, but he is still 2nd in command after his centurio.

Perhaps you mean a vexillatio? If e.g. an optio is commanding a unit of 80 men as fort garrison at the border, he is called Praepositus Vexillationis. But his rank is still optio. Praepositus is just a function, not a rank.

Well, if somebody is commanding a numerus (irregular but permanent units in early and mid empire) as Praepositus Numeri, it sounds like a kind of rank. But this job is usually done by a centurio or higher anyways. So again the rank is centurio not praepositus.
Ut desint vires, tamen est laudanda voluntas
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#5
Many thanks again Frank. It is a fairly complex business in detail, although the basic concepts seem simple enough.
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