The ''primus pilus'' or ''primipilus'' was the senior

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 ...

of the first

cohort Cohort or cohortes may refer to: * Cohort (educational group), a group of students working together through the same academic curriculum * Cohort (floating point), a set of different encodings of the same numerical value * Cohort (military unit) ...

in a

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 o ...

, a formation of five double-strength centuries of 160 men, was called the ''primus pilus''; he was a career soldier and advisor to the

legate Legate may refer to: * Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class :*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period *A member of a legation *A representative, ...

. The ''Primus Pilus'' would remain in command for one year. They could continue to serve in the army after their term ended if there was a vacancy in command or if they wished to become an independent commander of an ''

auxilia The (, lit. "auxiliaries") were introduced as non-citizen troops attached to the citizen legions by Augustus after his reorganisation of the Imperial Roman army from 30 BC. By the 2nd century, the Auxilia contained the same number of inf ...

'' unit or the '' praefectus castrorum''. During the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

, emperor Claudius created the office of ''primus pilus iterum''. To become the ''primus pilus iterum'' an officer must have formerly served as a tribune in the '' vigiles'', '' cohortes urbanae'', or

Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin: ''cohortēs praetōriae'') was a unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors. During the Roman Republic, the Praetorian Guard were an escort fo ...

. The ''primus pilus iterum'' would hold the responsibility of a Praefectus castrorum but with higher pay. The ''primus pilus'' was a well paid position. They could accumulate enough wealth to become part of the equestrian class. Even if they failed to gather such wealth, they were promoted to the equestrian class after retiring. Only eight officers in a fully officered legion outranked the ''primus pilus'': The legate ('' lēgātus legiōnis''), commanding the legion; the senior tribune ('' tribunus laticlavius''); the Camp Prefect ('' praefectus castrorum''); and the five junior tribunes (''

tribuni angusticlavii A ''tribunus angusticlavius'' ("narrow-striped tribune"; plural: ''tribuni angusticlavii'') was a senior military officer in the Roman legions during the late Roman Republic and the Principate. The ''tribunus angusticlavius'' was a junior milit ...

''). The ''primus pilus'' centurion had a place in the war councils along with the military tribunes and the Legate.

References

Ancient Roman titles Military ranks of ancient Rome {{mil-rank-stub