#Centurion for honor professional

The most senior centurion of the legion was the Primus Pilus who commanded the first century of the first cohort. The best centurions were then promoted to the first cohort, called Primi Ordines, commanding one of the five centuries and also taking on a staff role. ĭuring the Imperial era, centurions gradually rose in seniority in their cohort, commanding centuries with higher precedence, until commanding the senior century and therefore the whole cohort. Veteran legionaries often worked as tenants of their former centurions. Ĭenturions received a much higher rate of pay than the average legionary. Julius Caesar, for instance, made the first cohort of five double strength centuries. Later, generals and emperors further manipulated these numbers with double and half-strength units. After the Marian reforms a century typically composed of around 80 men, with six such centuries forming a legionary cohort.

During the Mid-Republic these centuries were grouped in pairs to make up a maniple, each century consisting of 30 - 60 men. In the Roman infantry, the centurions commanded a centuria or 'century'. Note the prominent display of the vine staff, his sign of office. Ī cenotaph to Marcus Caelius, a centurion of Legio XVIII killed at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. In Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the Byzantine army's centurions were also known by the name kentarch (Kentarches).

#Centurion for honor professional

After the 107 BC Marian reforms of Gaius Marius, centurions were professional officers. Centurions also served in the Roman navy.

The prestigious first cohort was led by the primus pilus, the most senior centurion in the legion and its third-in-command.Ī centurion's symbol of office was the vine staff, with which they disciplined even Roman citizens, who were otherwise legally protected from corporal punishment by the Porcian Laws. In a Roman legion, centuries were grouped into cohorts commanded by their senior-most centurion. hekatóntarkhos) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century ( Latin: centuria), a military unit of around 80 legionaries. A historical reenactor in Roman centurion costume.Ī centurion ( / s ɛ n ˈ tj ʊər i ə n/ Latin: centurio, pl.