id author title date pages extension mime words sentences flesch summary cache txt en-wikipedia-org-2727 Roman legion - Wikipedia .html text/html 8273 604 65 The republican legions were composed of levied men that paid for their own equipment and thus the structure of the Roman army at this time reflected the society, and at any time there would be four consular legions (with command divided between the two ruling consuls) and in time of war extra legions could be levied. The size of a typical legion varied throughout the history of ancient Rome, with complements of 4,200 legionaries and 300 equites (drawn from the wealthier classes – in early Rome all troops provided their own equipment) in the republican period of Rome (the infantry were split into 10 cohorts each of four maniples of 120 legionaries), to 5,200 men plus 120 auxiliaries in the imperial period (split into 10 cohorts, nine of 480 men each, plus the first cohort holding 800 men). Ranking within the legion was based on length of service, with the senior Centurion commanding the first century of the first cohort; he was called the primus pilus (First Spear), and reported directly to the superior officers (legates and tribuni). ./cache/en-wikipedia-org-2727.html ./txt/en-wikipedia-org-2727.txt