The Roman Army, 31 BC–AD 337: A Sourcebook

The officers 61
On the side of the stone is a longer inscription celebrating the devotion of Minicius
Italus to Aquileia, which was probably his home town, and his personal intervention
with Trajan on its behalf. After military service in Lower Germany, Italus rose to
be procurator of Asia and then acting governor of the province, perhaps after the
execution of the proconsul Sextus Vettulenus Civica Cerealis on the orders of
Domitian in AD 88; he was in office as prefect of Egypt in AD 103.
SENIOR OFFICERS
Senators held the most important positions in the command of the
Roman army. Although only one of the six military tribunes was of
senatorial rank, each legion was commanded by a legatus legionis, a
senator usually of praetorian status. In provinces where only one legion
was stationed the commander of the legion was also provincial governor
(with the exception of Africa where from the time of Gaius the command
of the III Augusta was distinct from the civil administration of the
province). Provinces containing several legions and auxiliary units were
governed by a senator of consular rank who was supreme commander
of all the troops therein. Usually these men had previously held at least
one military tribuneship (normally in their early twenties) and legionary
legateship (normally in their mid-thirties). Similarly if an army was
assembled for a campaign, the senior commanders were senators of
consular rank. Only Egypt, and after AD 198 the new province of
Mesopotamia, were governed by equestrian prefects, although
containing legionary troops.
In their choice of commander emperors were therefore limited by
traditional Roman respect for age, experience, and social standing, and
the upper class ideal that senators were naturally competent to serve
the state in whatever capacity it demanded. There was no military
academy in Rome and no systematic preparation of men for military
command or for service say, as British or eastern specialists. Senators
held a wide variety of posts, including many in civil administration,
each one an individuality, and often with periods of inactivity. It is
therefore debatable how many senators had significant experience of
active service, or indeed how far this was a requirement for
advancement. Then, the time spent by senators in command of an army
was relatively short, since most held no more than two posts, up to six
years in all. However, some senators did acquire long experience of
military command, and over a limited period, most notably in the
northern wars of Marcus Aurelius, a more concentrated effort was
made to assemble and retain men of proven ability in senior commands.