An , plural ( lat, italic=yes, optiō, , from , "to choose", so-called because an was chosen by a

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 ...

), was a position in a '' centuria'' (century) of a

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 ...

similar to that of an

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

. The main function of an was as an , the second-in-command of a century, although there were many other roles an could adopt. were vital in the Roman army. An was stationed at the rear of the ranks to keep the troops in order. Their duties would include enforcing the orders of the centurion, taking over the centurion's command in battle should the need arise, supervising his subordinates, and a variety of administrative duties. pay was double the standard legionary pay and they were the most likely men to replace the centurion if the position became vacant.

Types of

Titles held by included: *: chosen man on prison duty ( incarceration). *: being groomed for promotion to the rank of centurion. *: being groomed or marked out for promotion to the rank of centurion. *: soldier in charge of the prison cells. *: 'chosen man of the ''; second-in-command and rear rank officer of a ; classed as a ''

duplicarius Duplarius (plural ''duplares''), ''duplicarius'' or ''dupliciarius'', was an inferior, low-ranking Roman officer, who received double rations or increased payment valuing the 2nd ration based on their valor. As part of cavalry, one decurio, one dupl ...

'', a soldier receiving double basic pay; he carried a (wooden staff). *: 'chosen man of the centurion'; same as . *: soldier in charge of guard posts. *: 'chosen man among the dragon bearers', a late Roman senior standard bearer. *: in the legionary or Praetorian

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

( meaning ''horse''). *: soldier in charge of a workshop. *: soldier in charge of boats. *: soldier attached to headquarters. *: who held supervisory rank ( from the 2nd century onwards); not all who had the title of held this status. *: in the elite cavalry bodyguards. *: being groomed for promotion to the rank of centurion. *: of military police. *: assistant to a

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 the ...

. *: orderly in charge of a hospital.

Uniform

Unlike the centurion, the

cuirass A cuirass (; french: cuirasse, la, coriaceus) is a piece of armour that covers the torso, formed of one or more pieces of metal or other rigid material. The word probably originates from the original material, leather, from the French '' cuira ...

was not the distinguishing part of the 's uniform. The identifying part would be his helmet; this would have had plumes of horse hair or feathers on either side of his helmet that could be accompanied by a helmet crest. An 's armour would be more like those of the common

legionary The Roman legionary (in Latin ''legionarius'', plural ''legionarii'') was a professional heavy infantryman of the Roman army after the Marian reforms. These soldiers would conquer and defend the territories of ancient Rome during the late Republi ...

. He could wear the ''

lorica segmentata The ''lorica segmentata'' (), also called ''lorica lamminata'' (see Lorica segmentata#Name, §Name), is a type of personal armour that was used by soldiers of the Roman army, consisting of Laminar armor, metal strips fashioned into circular band ...

'' or a ''

lorica hamata The ''lorica hamata'' (in Latin with normal elision: ) is a type of mail armor used by soldiers for over 600 years (3rd century BC to 4th century AD) from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. ''Lorica hamata'' comes from the Latin ''hamatus'' ( ...

'' as well as have his ''

gladius ''Gladius'' () is a Latin word meaning "sword" (of any type), but in its narrow sense it refers to the sword of ancient Roman foot soldiers. Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those of the Greeks, called '' xiphe'' (plural; singular ''xi ...

'' on the right, not the left, side. One thing that did separate him from the common legionary was the staff (called a ), which was used to keep the legionaries in line. This staff would be roughly as tall as the himself. often carried wax tablets on which they kept the orders of the day.

Vegetius on

References

{{reflist Ancient Roman titles Military ranks of ancient Rome

Types of

Uniform

Vegetius on

See also

References