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A military tribune (Latin ''tribunus militum'', "tribune of the soldiers") was an officer of the
Roman army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...
who ranked below 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, ...
and above the
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 ...
. Young men of Equestrian rank often served as military tribune as a stepping stone to the Senate. The ''tribunus militum'' should not be confused with the elected political office of tribune of the people ''(tribunus plebis)'' nor with that of '' tribunus militum consulari potestate''.


Early Rome

The word ''tribunus'' derives from '' tribus'', "tribe". In Rome's earliest history, each of the three tribes (Ramnes, Luceres, and Tities) sent one commander when an army was mustered, since there was no standing army. The
tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on th ...
s were commanders of the original
legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...
of 3,000. By the time of the Greek historian
Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...
(d. 118 BC), the tribunes numbered six, and they were appointed by the
consuls A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...
. However, the process by which tribunes were chosen and assigned is complex and varies at different times.


Republican period

In the Republican period, there were six appointed to each legion. Authority was given to two at a time, and command rotated among the six. Tribunes were men of senatorial status appointed by the
Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...
. To attain the position of tribune, one only needed to be a member of the ruling class. By 311 BC the
plebeians In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins ...
acquired the right to elect sixteen tribunes of the soldiers, that is, four out of the six tribunes assigned to each of the four legions that formed the
Roman army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...
. Previously these places had been for the most part in the gift of
consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...
s or
dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in time ...
s. Titus Livius,
Ab Urbe Condita Libri The work called ( en, From the Founding of the City), sometimes referred to as (''Books from the Founding of the City''), is a monumental history of ancient Rome, written in Latin between 27 and 9 BC by Livy, a Roman historian. The wor ...
IX, 29, with translation and notes by B. O. Foster, Loeb Classical Library,
Additionally, in the early Republic, another type of military tribune was sometimes chosen in place of the annually elected consuls to be the heads of the Roman State. These are known in Latin as ''
tribuni militum consulari potestate A consular tribune was putatively a type of magistrate in the early Roman Republic. According to Roman tradition, colleges of consular tribunes held office throughout the fifth and fourth centuries BC during the so-called "Conflict of the Or ...
'' ("military tribunes with consular authority"). At the time only patricians could be chosen as consuls, but both patricians and plebeians could be elected as tribunes with consular authority. Instead of the usual two consuls, between four and six military tribunes were elected for the year. The reasons for this choice are obscure, though Livy often cast the decision according to the class struggles he saw as endemic during this period, with patricians generally favoring consuls and plebs the military tribunes. The office of "consular tribune" eventually fell out of use after 366 BC.


After the Marian reforms

After the
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 ...
of 107 BC (subsequently further formalised by the emperor
Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Drusus and Antonia Minor ...
) created a professionalized military system, legions were commanded by a legionary legate (''
legatus A ''legatus'' (; anglicised as legate) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman Army, equivalent to a modern high-ranking general officer. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the officer ...
''). Six tribunes were still posted to a legion, but their duties and responsibilities had changed, becoming more a political position than a military rank. The second-in-command to the legate was the ''
tribunus laticlavius In the Roman army of the late Republic and the Principate, the ("broad-striped tribune") was one of the six military tribunes in a legion. Usually, they were a young man around the age of 20 that belonged to a wealthy family. Or they were friend ...
'' or 'broad-stripe' tribune (named after the width of the stripe used to demarcate him on his tunic and toga), usually a young man of senatorial rank. He was given this position to learn and watch the actions of the legate. They often found themselves leading their unit in the absence of a legate, and some legions were permanently commanded by a broad-stripe tribune, such as those stationed in Egypt, as an Augustan law required that no member of the Senatorial Order ever enter Egypt. In contrast to the broad-stripe tribune, the other five 'thin stripe' tribunes were lower in rank, and were called the ''
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 ...
''. These 'officer cadets' were men of
equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...
rank who had military experience, and yet had no authority: they were allowed to sit on a court martial but they held no power in battle. Most thin-stripe tribunes served the legionary legate, yet a lucky few (such as
Agricola Agricola, the Latin word for farmer, may also refer to: People Cognomen or given name :''In chronological order'' * Gnaeus Julius Agricola (40–93), Roman governor of Britannia (AD 77–85) * Sextus Calpurnius Agricola, Roman governor of the mi ...
) were selected to serve on the staff of the provincial governor.''Agricola'', Tacitus, 5 According to
Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...
, they did not always take their appointment as seriously as they might, contrasting Agricola's tribuneship to his peers by saying " gricola did not like many young men who convert military service into wanton pastime, avail himself licentiously or slothfully of his tribunitial title, or use his inexperience to spend his time in pleasures and absences from duty".


Principate

Under
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
, the five equestrian tribunes were sometimes promoted from the rank of
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 ...
, and might advance to a command in the auxiliary cavalry 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 ...
.


See also

*
List of Roman tribunes The following is a list of Roman tribunes as reported by ancient sources. A tribune in ancient Rome was a person who held one of a number of offices, including tribune of the plebs (a political office to represent the interests of the plebs), Mi ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Military Tribune Military ranks of ancient Rome Ancient Roman titles Cursus honorum