Senior Centurion of Cohort

[Anonymous]

I've read in many of the standard references that we do not know for certain that the senior centurion, the Pilus Prior, commanded the cohort, but it is assumed that he did. Has there been any recent knowledge or revelation confirming or clarifying this?<br>
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I have read that the senior decurion of a turma did command the entire turma. Is it reasonable to use this as a precedent for a senior centurion to command a cohort?<br>
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<p></p><i></i>

[Guest]

Salve,<br>
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Though there existed a hierarchy among the various centurions of a legionary cohort, it cannot be proven with the extant source material that the most senior centurion acted as the cohort's commander. The <i> pilus prior</i>, <i> princeps prior</i> and <i> hastatus prior</i> would have been in charge of the three <i> manipuli</i> with the <i> pilus posterior</i>, <i> princeps posterior</i> and <i> hastatus posterior</i> acting as their deputies. Though the <i> pilus prior</i> was most senior of these six and was thus listed first in inscriptions, actual references that show him in command of the entire cohort are absent from the extant source material. It remains an assumption that he did.<br>
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It is in Polybius, book 6 that it is described that the senior <i> decurio</i> would command the <i> turma</i>. By imperial times there was only one <i> decurio</i> per <i> turma</i> in the auxiliary cavalry units, though the <i> duplicarius</i> and <i> sesquiplicarius</i> filled in the roles of the subordinate dekarchs. A more direct infantry counterpart would be the division Polybius describes for the right - and left centurions (to be equated with <i> prior</i>, front, and <i> posterior</i>, rear, in Latin), the former in command of the maniple with the other taking over when he was not available.<br>
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Regards,<br>
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Sander van Dorst <p></p><i></i>