The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History - Karatunov.net

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A p p e n d i x
held for one year, but some officers served longer; for instance, the future Emperor
Trajan remained in this post for a few years. Promotion and next post: enro
ll m ent in the Sen a te , and a su cce s s i on of ju n i or magi s tracies su ch as the
quaestorship, a posting to different provinces performing mostly civil administration,
and then a post as legionary legate, granted by the emperor.
Praefectus Castrorum
Camp prefect , t h i rd in command of a legi on . The camp prefect was from the
equ e s trian order, an ex peri en ced of f i cer, a lon g - s erving cen tu ri on who may
have been appointed directly to the army as a centurion, who then worked his
way up to the post of primus pilus, the first centurion of the first cohort of a legion,
or much more rarely he may have risen from the ranks to reach the post of
cen tu ri on and acqu i red equ e s trian statu s . Some camp prefects had served as
pri mus pilus t wi ce , in different legi on s . Prom o ti on and next po s t : a few camp
prefects gained further promotion, sometimes going on to posts in the Praetorian
Guard, and some of them were appointed as procurators in the provinces.
Tribunus angusticlavius
“Narrow stripe” tribune, five in each legion. Equestrian officer with some previous
military experience, usually as a praefectus commanding a quingenary auxiliary
cohort. The duties of the tribuni angusticlavii varied, mostly comprising
s t a f f work , but they could take command of det ach m ents of l egi on a ries from
time to time, to perform specific tasks or to convey groups of men to selected
destinations. Promotion and next post: the most common posting was as praefectus
of a quingenary auxiliary ala. The more prestigious posts as tribunes of
the milliary cohorts and alae were reserved for the successful few who wished to
pursue a military career. The milliary cohorts were fewer in number than other
auxiliary units, and there was never more than one milliary ala in any province,
so the number of legionary tribunes and auxiliary prefects exceeded the number
of posts.
Centurions
Ot h er Ra n k s
The primus pilus was the senior centurion of a legion, being the first centurion
of the first co h ort , wh i ch usu a lly con t a i n ed five do u bl e - s trength cen tu ries of