Military tribune

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A military tribune (Latin tribunus militum, "tribune of the soldiers", Greek chiliarchos, χιλίαρχος) was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below the legate and above the centurion. The tribunus militum should not be confused with the elected political office of tribune of the people (tribunus plebis).

Early Rome

The word tribunus derives from tribus, "tribe."^[1] In Rome's earliest history, each of the three tribes (Ramnes, Luceres, and Tities) sent one commander when an army was mustered,^[2] since there was no standing army. The tribunes were commanders of the original legion of 3,000. By the time of the Greek historian Polybius (d. 118 BC), the tribunes numbered six, and they were appointed by the consuls.^[3] 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 Senate. To attain the position of tribune, one only needed to be a member of the ruling class — ability was not taken into account.^{[citation needed]}

Additionally, in the early Republic, military tribunes were sometimes chosen in place of the annually elected consuls to be the heads of the Roman State and were sometimes elected to represent the Plebians. These are known in Latin as tribuni militum consulari potestate, "Military 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 eventually fell out of use after 366 BC.

After the Marian reforms

After the Marian reforms created a professional system, legions were commanded by a legionary legate (legatus). 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, a young man of Senatorial rank. He was given this position to learn and watch the actions of the legate. The other five tribunes were slightly lower in rank, and were called the tribuni angusticlavii. These were men of equestrian rank who had military experience.

Principate

Under Augustus, the five equestrian tribunes were sometimes promoted from the rank of centurion, and might advance to a command in the auxiliary cavalry or Praetorian Guard.

See also

• Tribune

References

1. ^ Entry on tribunus, Oxford Latin Dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982, 1985 reprinting), p. 1972.
2. ^ Varro, De lingua latina 5.80.
3. ^ Polybius, 6.12.6.