Military tribune - Wikipedia Military tribune From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Part of a series on the Military of ancient Rome 753 BCE – 476 CE Structural history Army Unit types and ranks Decorations and punishments Legions Auxilia Generals Navy Fleets Admirals Campaign history Wars and battles Technological history Military engineering Castra Siege engines Triumphal arches Roads Political history   Strategy and tactics Infantry tactics Frontiers and fortifications Limes Limes Britannicus Antonine Wall Hadrian's Wall Saxon Shore Limes Germanicus Alb Limes Lauter Valley Limes Lower Germanic Limes Main Limes Neckar-Odenwald Limes Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes Wetterau Limes Danube–Iller–Rhine Limes Norican Limes Claustra Alpium Iuliarum Pannonian Limes Limes Alutanus Limes Moesiae Trajan's Wall Anastasian Wall Limes Sarmatiae Limes Arabicus Limes Tripolitanus Limes Mauretaniae  Ancient Rome portal •  War portal v t e A military tribune (Latin tribunus militum, "tribune of the soldiers") was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below the legate and above the centurion. Young men of Equestrian rank often served as military tribune as a stepping stone to the Senate.[1] 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. Contents 1 Early Rome 2 Republican period 3 After the Marian reforms 4 Principate 5 See also 6 References Early Rome[edit] The word tribunus derives from tribus, "tribe".[2] In Rome's earliest history, each of the three tribes (Ramnes, Luceres, and Tities) sent one commander when an army was mustered,[3] 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.[4] However, the process by which tribunes were chosen and assigned is complex and varies at different times. Republican period[edit] 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. By 311 BC the people 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. Previously these places had been for the most part in the gift of consuls or dictators.[5] 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, "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[edit] After the Marian reforms of 107 BC (subsequently further formalised by the emperor Claudius) created a professionalized military 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 or 'broad-stripe' tribune (named after the width of the stripe used to demarcate him on his tunic and toga),[6] 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.[7] In contrast to the broad-stripe tribune, the other five 'thin stripe' tribunes were lower in rank, and were called the tribuni angusticlavii. These 'officer cadets'[6] were men of equestrian 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) were selected to serve on the staff of the provincial governor.[8] According to Tacitus, they did not always take their appointment as seriously as they might, contrasting Agricola's tribuneship to his peers by saying "[Agricola 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".[8] Principate[edit] Further information: Tres militiae 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[edit] Tribune List of Roman tribunes Tribunus militum consulari potestate Subrius Flavus References[edit] ^ Dio, LXVII, 2. ^ Entry on tribunus, Oxford Latin Dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982, 1985 reprinting), p. 1972. ^ Varro, De lingua latina 5.80. ^ Polybius, 6.12.6. ^ Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita Libri IX, 29, with translation and notes by B. O. Foster, Loeb Classical Library, ISBN 0-674-99210-5 ^ a b Dando-Collins 2010, p. 42. sfn error: no target: CITEREFDando-Collins2010 (help) ^ Dando-Collins 2010, p. 40. sfn error: no target: CITEREFDando-Collins2010 (help) ^ a b Agricola, Tacitus, 5 v t e Ancient Rome topics Outline Timeline History Foundation Kingdom overthrow Republic Empire History Pax Romana Principate Dominate Western Empire fall historiography of the fall Byzantine Empire decline fall Constitution History Kingdom Republic Empire Late Empire Senate Legislative assemblies Curiate Centuriate Tribal Plebeian Executive magistrates SPQR Law Twelve Tables Mos maiorum Citizenship Auctoritas Imperium Status Litigation Government Curia Forum Cursus honorum Collegiality Emperor Legatus Dux Officium Prefect Vicarius Vigintisexviri Lictor Magister militum Imperator Princeps senatus Pontifex maximus Augustus Caesar Tetrarch Optimates Populares Province Magistrates Ordinary Consul Censor Praetor Tribune Tribune of the plebs 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