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Centuria
''Centuria'' (, plural ''centuriae'') is a Latin term (from the stem ''centum'' meaning one hundred) denoting military units originally consisting of 100 men. The size of the century changed over time, and from the first century BC through most of the imperial era the standard size of a centuria was 80 men. A ''centuria'' is also a Roman unit of land area corresponding to 100 '' heredia''. Roman use Political In the political context the ''centuria'' was the constituent voting unit in the assembly of the centuries (Latin ''comitia centuriata''), an old form of popular assembly in the Roman Republic, the members of which cast one collective vote. Its origin seems to be the homonymous military unit. The comitia centuriata elected important magistrates like consuls and praetors. Military History The ''centuria'' dates all the way back to the earliest armies of the Roman Kingdom being described in Plutarch's account of the life Romulus, however it is only mentioned in passi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comitia Centuriata
The Centuriate Assembly (Latin: ''comitia centuriata'') of the Roman Republic was one of the three voting assemblies in the Roman constitution. It was named the Centuriate Assembly as it originally divided Roman citizens into groups of one hundred men by classes. The centuries initially reflected military status, but were later based on the wealth of their members. The centuries gathered into the Centuriate Assembly for legislative, electoral, and judicial purposes. The majority of votes in any century decided how that century voted. Each century received one vote, regardless of how many electors each Century held. Once a majority of centuries voted in the same way on a given measure, the voting ended, and the matter was decided.Taylor, 40 Only the Centuriate Assembly could declare war or elect the highest-ranking Roman magistrates: consuls, praetors and censors.Abbott, 257 The Centuriate Assembly could also pass a law that granted constitutional command authority, or "Imperium", to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Centurion
A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 legionaries. In a Roman legion, centuries were grouped into cohorts and commanded by their senior-most centurion. The prestigious first cohort was led by the ''primus pilus'', the most senior centurion in the legion and its fourth-in-command who was next in line for promotion to Praefectus Castrorum, and the primi ordines who were the centurions of the first cohort. A 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. Centurions also served in the Roman navy. After the 107 BC Marian reforms of Gaius Marius, centurions were professional officers. In Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the Byzantine army's cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Centurion
A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 legionaries. In a Roman legion, centuries were grouped into cohorts and commanded by their senior-most centurion. The prestigious first cohort was led by the ''primus pilus'', the most senior centurion in the legion and its fourth-in-command who was next in line for promotion to Praefectus Castrorum, and the primi ordines who were the centurions of the first cohort. A 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. Centurions also served in the Roman navy. After the 107 BC Marian reforms of Gaius Marius, centurions were professional officers. In Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the Byzantine army's cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establishment of the Roman Empire, Rome's control rapidly expanded during this period—from the city's immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world. Roman society under the Republic was primarily a cultural mix of Latin and Etruscan societies, as well as of Sabine, Oscan, and Greek cultural elements, which is especially visible in the Roman Pantheon. Its political organization developed, at around the same time as direct democracy in Ancient Greece, with collective and annual magistracies, overseen by a senate. The top magistrates were the two consuls, who had an extensive range of executive, legislative, judicial, military, and religious powers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Consul
A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspired) after that of the censor. Each year, the Centuriate Assembly elected two consuls to serve jointly for a one-year term. The consuls alternated in holding '' fasces'' – taking turns leading – each month when both were in Rome and a consul's ''imperium'' extended over Rome and all its provinces. There were two consuls in order to create a check on the power of any individual citizen in accordance with the republican belief that the powers of the former kings of Rome should be spread out into multiple offices. To that end, each consul could veto the actions of the other consul. After the establishment of the Empire (27 BC), the consuls became mere symbolic representatives of Rome's republican heritage and held very little ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tactics Of The Roman Century In Combat
Roman infantry tactics refers to the theoretical and historical deployment, formation, and manoeuvres of the Roman infantry from the start of the Roman Republic to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The focus below is primarily on Roman tactics: the "how" of their approach to battle, and how it stacked up against a variety of opponents over time. It does not attempt detailed coverage of things like army structure or equipment. Various battles are summarized to illustrate Roman methods with links to detailed articles on individual encounters. The original Roman army was made up of '' hoplite''s, whose main strategy was forming into a ''phalanx''. By the early third century BCE, the Roman army would switch to the maniple system, which would divide the Roman army into three units, ''hastati'', ''principes'', and ''triarii''. Later, in 107BCE, Marius would institute the Marian reforms, creating the Roman legions. This system would evolve into the Late Roman Army, which utilized ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Kingdom
The Roman Kingdom (also referred to as the Roman monarchy, or the regal period of ancient Rome) was the earliest period of Roman history when the city and its territory were ruled by kings. According to oral accounts, the Roman Kingdom began with the city's founding 753 BC, with settlements around the Palatine Hill along the river Tiber in central Italy, and ended with the overthrow of the kings and the establishment of the Republic 509 BC. Little is certain about the kingdom's history as no records and few inscriptions from the time of the kings survive. The accounts of this period written during the Republic and the Empire are thought largely to be based on oral tradition. Origin The site of the founding of the Roman Kingdom (and eventual Republic and Empire) had a ford where one could cross the river Tiber in central Italy. The Palatine Hill and hills surrounding it provided easily defensible positions in the wide fertile plain surrounding them. Each of these features c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Legion
The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period of the Roman Empire (27 BC – AD 476). Size The size of a typical legion varied throughout the history of ancient Rome, with complements ranging from 4,200 legionaries and 300 equites (drawn from the wealthier classes – in early Rome all troops provided their own equipment) in the Republican period of Rome (the infantry were split into 10 cohorts each of four maniples of 120 legionaries), to 4,800 legionaries (in 10 cohorts of 6 centuries of 80 legionaries) during Caesar's age, to 5,280 men plus 120 auxiliaries in the Imperial period (split into 10 cohorts, nine of 480 men each, with the first cohort being double-strength at 960 men). It should be noted the above numbers are typical field strengths while "paper strength" was sli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hundertschaft
''Hundertschaft'' (centuria, group of a hundred) is a German term to denote a military or police group of around one hundred members. Historically the Germanic tribes created fighting groups of 100 men. This term is not used in the modern German military (although it is roughly the size of a company, which is a bit larger). It is currently used by the ''Bereitschaftspolizei'' (riot police) of the '' Landespolizei'' (state police) and ''German Federal Police'' to designate company-sized police reserve units. See also *Centuria ''Centuria'' (, plural ''centuriae'') is a Latin term (from the stem ''centum'' meaning one hundred) denoting military units originally consisting of 100 men. The size of the century changed over time, and from the first century BC through most ... Military history of Germany Law enforcement in Germany Military units and formations by size {{Law-enforcement-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marian Reforms
The Marian reforms were reforms of the ancient Roman army implemented in 107 BC by the statesman Gaius Marius, for whom they were later named. The reforms originated as a reaction to the military and logistical stagnation of the Roman Republic in the late 2nd century BC. Centuries of military campaigning throughout the Mediterranean and increasing invasions and uprisings across Roman territory had stretched the human and physical resources of the Roman army. Marius proposed radical alterations with the intention of creating a more professional, permanent, and dynamic Roman army. The reforms revolutionized the Roman military machine, introducing the standardized legionary, the cohort unit and drastically altering the property and weaponry requirements for recruitment. The reforms also put the responsibility of supplying and managing an army in the hands of the general. Marius also granted citizenship and land to all Roman soldiers. The consequences of these reforms had a significan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manipular Roman Army
The Roman army of the mid-Republic, also called the manipular Roman army or the Polybian army, refers to the armed forces deployed by the mid-Roman Republic, from the end of the Samnite Wars (290 BC) to the end of the Social War (88 BC). The first phase of this army, in its manipular structure (290–c. 130 BC), is described in detail in the '' Histories'' of the ancient Greek historian Polybius, writing before 146 BC. The central feature of the mid-Republican army was the manipular organisation of its battle-line. Instead of a single, large mass (the phalanx) as in the Early Roman army, the Romans now drew up in three lines (''triplex acies'') consisting of small units (maniples) of 120 men, arrayed in chessboard fashion, giving much greater tactical strength and flexibility. This structure was probably introduced in c. 300 BC during the Samnite Wars. Also probably dating from this period was the regular accompaniment of each legion by a non-citizen formation of roughly equal s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Contubernium (Roman Army Unit)
The ''contubernium'' (Latin: “tenting-together”) was the smallest organized unit of soldiers in the Roman Army and was composed of eight legionaries, essentially the equivalent of a modern squad, although unlike modern squads contubernia seemed to serve no tactical role in battle. The men within the contubernium were known as ''contubernales''. Ten contubernia, each led by a ''decanus'', were grouped into a '' centuria'' of 100 men (eighty legionaries plus twenty support staff), which was commanded by a centurion. Soldiers of a contubernium shared a tent, and could be rewarded or punished together as a unit. See Decimation (punishment) Organization The contubernium was, at least very late in the period (though it is possible the title existed in the late Republic and early Principate), led by a ''decanus'', who might be considered roughly as the equivalent of a junior non-commissioned officer. However, there is no evidence of a decanus exercising any kind of battlefield c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
