From top generals down to the lowest of legionaries, the Roman military was a well-oiled machine, in which each person had an important task within the overall organization. The top command of this military, during the early Empire, was dominated by the social and political elite. So much in fact that Roman aristocrats of good standing were encouraged to enter the military at an early age. Today we’ll be looking at these higher echelons of Rome’s military command structure, to understand what it took to become a general, and what positions you first had to rise through. We already made a video detailing the lower ranks in the Roman army, so if you’re interested you could find that in the description. By the Early Empire, a Roman legion had around five-thousand fighting men, who were commanded by a series of military officers. There were also higher officers who commanded multiple legions at once. To draw a modern comparison, a Roman legion is somewhat comparable in its size and officer make-up, to a modern US Army infantry brigade. And throughout the video, I’ll be making rough comparisons of Roman officers to modern US military ranks, to help you get a better sense of it. Before we jump in, I would like to say a word about the kind sponsor of this video, Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus. It’s an exciting turn-based tactical strategy game set in the eternal conflict of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 universe. Tacticus allows you to bring the universe’s most powerful warriors to a fast paced battlefield where you are in full control. This game is quick easy to learn but hard to master, with endless possibilities and strategies that could be made. You can expand your collection and lead over 70 legendary champions from 17 playable factions, with everyone of them feeling very unique and filling a specific role! 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By the early Empire, after first holding some minor administrative posts in their home provinces, equestians could pursue a set career progression called the Militia Equestris. This was a series of military positions reserved specifically for equestrians, and it allowed them to climb to the upper echelons of society. Along the way it would grant them experience, authority, and the ability to work underneath men of senatorial standing and make important connections. So if you were an ambitious equestrian looking to pursue a respectable career, your first step in this system was to become a Praefectus Auxilia, or an “Auxiliary Prefect”. The Auxiliary cohorts were allied units within the Roman army, and because they were made up of non-Romans, their command was the first position held by equestrians. But this by no means meant that it was an easy position to secure. Given that there were about 247 auxiliary cohorts in the entire Roman army, and each command position was for a duration of 3 years, then there were only about 83 Auxiliary Prefect positions open in any year, for the several hundreds of young ambitious equestrians in the Empire. But if you had the required talent and connections, you could be given this honor. Your given cohort would be made up of 500 non-Roman soldiers and would most likely be stationed on some border of the Empire, or attached to a legion on campaign. This position was designed to provide you with sufficient experience of commanding a formidable military unit. A rough comparison to the modern US Army would place these Prefects along the lines of a Company Commander, holding the rank of Captain. Your next position from here would be Tribunus Angusticlavius, or “Narrow-Striped Tribune.” Their name referred to the narrow red stripe which was present on their tunic, and although this rank was now a staff-officer position, it was this time within a Roman legion, now designed to provide you with administrative experience. Typically, you wouldn’t directly command troops while holding this rank. You would instead work under the legion commander and help him with various duties such as acquiring food and supplies, maintaining logistics, and taking care of general administrative duties. A legion commander would have 5 of these tribunes assigned to him, which were meant to free him from these lesser – but still very important – tasks. Advancing to this position was now more competitive. There were 5 equestrian positions within each of the 28 standing legions, and each still lasted for a duration of 3 years. So in any one year, the 83 Auxiliary Prefects would have to compete for only about 47 available Narrow-Striped Tribune positions. As a Narrow striped tribune, you could occasionally even be appointed to serve on the main staff of the overall general, as Tacitus tells us was the case for Agricola when he was a young officer. To draw a comparison to modern times, these equestrian Narrow-Striped tribunes held a very similar function to military staff – often referred to as the “Staff Shop”, who were responsible for logistics, security, administration, and communication in their unit – and a modern rank comparison could be that of a Captain or Major. It's worth mentioning that the alternative to serving as a narrow-striped tribune was to be an auxiliary tribune of a now 1000 strong auxiliary infantry cohort, or a miliaria, of which there were about 30 in the Empire. The final and highest standard military post for an equestrian was the Praefectus Alae, or Auxiliary Cavalry Prefect. There were only about 73 Alae, or cavalry units, so to command one you would have to compete for only 24 vacancies in any given year. Now commanding a 500-strong cavalry unit, you would be far more prestigious than those commanding infantrymen, but since you would still be commanding non-Romans, this was still an equestrian position - not a senatorial one. Since cavalry cohorts were viewed as more specialized and elite units, a modern rank comparison might be that of a Major. After serving 3 outstanding years with the cavalry, you will have finished your Militia Equestris career progression, which gave you military experience. Only the most talented individuals could be offered a fourth posting as prefect of a precious 800-strong cavalry ala, of which there were only 7 in the empire. But even if you didn’t get this post, you could still continue to the next stage of an equestrian’s career, which would this time involve predominantly administrative positions. You would spend 9-12 years as a junior and later senior Procurator, or procurator, helping administer the Empire’s vast bureaucracy in any province. Only after holding these military and administrative positions would you, now in your mid-to-late 40s, be eligible to apply for the Prefectures, though most equestrians would never achieve them. These positions were only appointed by the Emperor himself, and were of such importance that even Senators were not allowed to hold them, lest there be any conflicts of interest. And there would also only be ONE of each Prefect position in the entire Empire. Some examples include praefectus vigilum, commander of the police cohorts in the city of Rome; praefectus annonae, head administrator of the grain supply; praefectus Aegypti, the governor of all Egypt, and commander of its 2 stationed legions; and the highest position of all, praefectus praetorio, right hand man of the Emperor and commander of the elite Praetorian cohorts stationed in the city of Rome… As you can tell, these Prefectures were the absolute highest echelons of your social class, and came with BOTH command and administrative responsibilities. But because they are not exactly military positions, we can’t really equate them to any modern rank. There is one final equestrian position that is worth mentioning; that of a Praepositus, the temporary commander of a detachment of soldiers, or vexillatio. This position was a separate branch from the standard equestrian career ladder, but it could be held in between any positions, if the need for it arose. Essentially, when a detachment of men from one or several units was ordered to march to another location, a Praepositus was elected to act as its temporary commander for the entire trip. And we have evidence of some, like Valerius Lollianus, commanding very impressive forces during Lucius Verus’ Parthian war. It's important to note that this irregular position was not solely equestrian, and was sometimes held by centurions. The closest modern rank would be that of an Acting Major, in temporary command of an elite unit. To sum up the equestrian career ladder, I decided to include a very impressive career of a real equestrian who achieved remarkable heights. Marcus Petronius Honoratus’ first position was an Auxiliary prefect of the 1st cohort of Raetians, an auxiliary infantry cohort. He then became a narrow-striped tribune within the 1st Minervia Legion. For his last military position, he served as the Auxiliary Cavalry Prefect of the 2nd Ala of Thracians, an auxiliary cavalry cohort. From here, he advanced to the more administrative “procurator” positions, becoming a monetary procurator, an inheritance tax procurator, and the head procurator in 3 different provinces. He must have distinguished himself very well because his next position was as the Emperor’s personal finance minister. But despite this high achievement, Honoratus never secured any Prefecture positions, which gives you an idea of just how competitive they were. What's very interesting here is that even such unphysical administrative roles like governing a province or establishing logistics still required the initial military positions. So no matter how much of a gifted administrator you were, you wouldn't even be considered for the position if you weren't physically inclined and brave enough to command auxiliary cohorts on the edge of the empire and handle a harsh military life… It might sound quite counterproductive, but the Romans could rest assured that any high level administrator or government official would not only be literate, smart, and organized, but ALSO able bodied, physically inclined and ready to fight. The Romans always prioritized well-rounded aristocrats for the task of ruling the empire, and the higher senatorial class was even more so… But before we turn to the senatorial ranks, you might be surprised to know that the next highest military position was not held by an aristocrat. This was the “Praefectus Castrorum,” or Camp Prefect. This position was held by a highly experienced soldier of the Plebeian class who had risen through all the lower ranks in Rome’s army, and they were often veterans of twenty years or more. Officially, they were third-in-command of an entire legion, and could technically fully command it given the absence of the two senior commanders, both of whom were of senatorial rank. Because they were in charge of the overall training, organization and logistics of the legion, even the Equestrian Narrow-Striped Tribunes had to answer to them. This would be one of the rare instances when Roman social classes were reversed, but was also a vital link which brought key insight and experience from the lower ranks up to the generals and commanders above. The salary and status of a camp prefect was so high that upon discharge they could consider themselves elevated to the equestrian class. Therefore, it was a very competitive position that the average Roman citizen could aspire to hold. To compare this to the modern military, it would have to be none other than the highly revered Command Sergeant Major, who is also responsible for enforcing standards on performance, training, and organization; a well-respected position many enlisted soldiers aspire to hold. From here on, all higher military positions were strictly reserved for senators, who were all expected to advance through military positions. As a young senator – typically around the age of twenty – you would first be expected to join the military as a “Tribunus Laticlavius” or a “Broad-Striped Tribune.” This name referred to the wider stripe that was present on the tunics of senators, compared to the equestrian tribunes. This position was actually the first step in Rome’s famous “cursus honorum,” or “course of honors”, the traditional career ladder that every senator was required to climb. Just like with the equestrians, this first position was already very competitive, as there was only 1 three-year long position available in each of the 28 legions; meaning every year, there would only be about 9 B road-Striped Tribune positions open for the several dozen young ambitious senators in Rome. If you got in, then as a Broad-Striped Tribune you would immediately serve as the second-in-command of an entire legion, and sometimes hold full command in the absence or death of the legion commander. So the very first position held by a young senatorial man was already quite important. Using modern terms, a Broad-Striped Tribune is comparable to the executive officer of a US Army Brigade of 5000 men, who is likewise the 2nd in command responsible for managing the day-to-day activities of the unit, and a person who holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Just imagine if this was the first job of the young adults in the top 1% today… It wouldn’t be unfair to say that many Roman commanders were amateurs by today’s standards. The next rank from here was Legatus, or “Legate”; the main commander of an entire legion. This was a very senior position within the Roman army, and aside from their duties in the legion, legates worked as close advisors to the overall general. Although a senator only needed to have been a tribune to be qualified for this position, legates were usually older and far more experienced men, and we often see former consuls and praetors applying and becoming legates, despite the fact this was technically a lower rank. So as a broad-striped tribune in your 20s, good luck applying for the mere 9 yearly available positions for legate. This is actually very similar to the modern case of “you need 10+ years of experience to apply for this entry level position”. Chances are, you won’t get it, and this was because Rome realized the benefit of only having highly experienced men commanding its precious legions. So it became commonplace for senatorial men to hold the rank of legate only after holding higher magisterial positions first. Comparing a legate to a modern US Army brigade commander, we could say they held the rank of Full Colonel, the most senior commander of the unit. These top three positions in a Roman legion – the Praefectus Castrorum, Tribunus Laticlavius, and Legatus – are comparable to the idea of the “command team” within the modern military. This team typically refers to the commander, executive officer, and sergeant major – often referred to as the CO, XO, and CSM. The “command team” are the top individuals responsible for running the organization on a day-to-day basis, and they are the main leaders of a brigade of 5000 men. It’s interesting to note that we can see traces of this idea of the “command team” within the Roman army, and we can see how there are striking similarities in the makeup and responsibilities between the top 3 positions of an ancient Roman legion, and that of a modern army command. After being a broad-striped tribune, more than 10 years of solely administrative positions awaited you before you could become a praetor, or praetor, from which you would have to be chosen by the Emperor himself to become a Legatus Augusti Pro Praetore, an Augustan Legate with Pro Praetorian powers. This was the official title of a governor of an Imperial province, which typically had a strong military force stationed within. Depending on the area, there could be anywhere from 1 to 4 legions stationed within your province, plus Auxiliaries, and as the governor you would have the power to command this provincial army with the consent of the current Emperor. This was the highest military command position achievable for anyone who wasn’t the Emperor himself. In modern terms, it would correlate to the rank of a General of 1 to 5 stars… But if you weren’t selected by the Emperor to govern an Imperial province, you could be selected by the Senate to govern a Senatorial one, under the title of Legatus Pro Praetore. These were generally the more peaceful and demilitarized regions of the empire, but the few auxiliary cohorts, or if you’re lucky, 1 legion, would be under your full command. At any time, a Praetor could be elevated to the rank of consul, which although still had the same legal authority as praetor, commanded a greater reverence and informal authority. After successfully serving your term as any of these 4 ranks, you would find yourself among the highest respected men in Roman society. But some of these men, perhaps still hungry for some command and status, would continually apply and dominate the positions of legate, being easily given command of a full legion to serve under and advise younger governors, and pass down their valuable experience to younger officers… To sum up the senatorial careers, lets again do it by looking at a very impressive REAL career. Senator Popilius Carus Pedo chose to write his career backwards, probably to show off. Starting off as a broad striped tribune, he distinguished himself in Hadrian’s campaigns in Judea. He then served in the solely administrative posts of Questor and Tribune of the plebs, before finally becoming Praetor, though serving as a judiciary instead of a provincial governor. Only after this was he given full command of the 10th Fretensis Legion as its legate. He then continued to hold very impressive non-military posts, becoming an administrator of several roads including the great triumphal road, overseer of the Imperial treasury, and administrator of all public buildings in the city of Rome. He was then personally chosen by the new Emperor Antoninus Pius to finally govern the whole province of Germania Superior, along with its several veteran legions. To complete his career with the final and most illustrious title, Carus was given a consulship. Make sure to watch our video about the battle-hardened lower ranks of the Roman army, here. This video was made in collaboration with Timothy, the host of the “Rome Retold” Podcast. I added it to the description, so please make sure to check out and show him some support! Last 10 second reminder: Don’t forget to click the link in the description to try out Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus, and put your military strategy skills to the test, and join a passionate community of gamers and Warhammer fans! Our special thanks to all Patreons for making this video happen. I hope to see you all in the next one!