The Roman Hierarchy and Status System

[Hughie Dwyer]

Hello all,

While doing research on the Roman Empire, I noticed that much of it was based around the high-ranking officials of the time. My limited knowledge and research led me to wonder about a possible class system in place. Was there such a thing? 

I wasn't sure about who the Senate and Consuls were and was wondering if someone could fill me in on this. Also, how do Army Commanders and Centurions relate to these powerful people and (like in the case of Septimius Severus) how were some commanders able to become emperor? As well as this, who was the Praetorian Guard and who were they in relation to the Army?

 

From research, I have found out that much of an Emperor's power and stability comes from support of these people - especially the army. Therefore, I would be interested to know how the Roman Army was split up. I think that there were legions that were split up into legionaries. These were further spit up into centuries (commanded by a Centurion) of around 80 men. These 80 men were then split up into tents of around 8 men (is this all correct?)

Beyond this, I know that the Roman army had a cavalry unit but also an Auxiliary Unit. The Auxiliary unit was made up of non-citizens of the Roman Empire (until the reign of Caracalla) who were added to the Army with their specialist skills (such as Syrian archers). After a 25 year spell in the army, soldiers of the legions would be given land and money whereas Auxiliary soldiers were granted citizenship.

Finally, how did the army change over the course of time?

Please correct me if I am wrong (which is very likely). Any help is much appreciated.

Thank you

Hugh

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

See my podcasts thread of today.  I believe Emperors of Rome covers many of your questions.

[Coinmaster]

This book might be helpful, it gives a wonderful insight in Roman times.

 

[John Conduitt]

On 12/23/2022 at 8:03 PM, Hughie Dwyer said:

Hello all,

While doing research on the Roman Empire, I noticed that much of it was based around the high-ranking officials of the time. My limited knowledge and research led me to wonder about a possible class system in place. Was there such a thing? 

I wasn't sure about who the Senate and Consuls were and was wondering if someone could fill me in on this. Also, how do Army Commanders and Centurions relate to these powerful people and (like in the case of Septimius Severus) how were some commanders able to become emperor? As well as this, who was the Praetorian Guard and who were they in relation to the Army?

 

From research, I have found out that much of an Emperor's power and stability comes from support of these people - especially the army. Therefore, I would be interested to know how the Roman Army was split up. I think that there were legions that were split up into legionaries. These were further spit up into centuries (commanded by a Centurion) of around 80 men. These 80 men were then split up into tents of around 8 men (is this all correct?)

Beyond this, I know that the Roman army had a cavalry unit but also an Auxiliary Unit. The Auxiliary unit was made up of non-citizens of the Roman Empire (until the reign of Caracalla) who were added to the Army with their specialist skills (such as Syrian archers). After a 25 year spell in the army, soldiers of the legions would be given land and money whereas Auxiliary soldiers were granted citizenship.

Finally, how did the army change over the course of time?

Please correct me if I am wrong (which is very likely). Any help is much appreciated.

Thank you

Hugh

There was definitely a class system. If you came from certain families you were almost guaranteed a powerful role, while at the other end you might be a slave.

The Senate and Consuls were more of a Republic thing, before the Emperor became the supreme leader. They were ‘elected’ bodies who decided or guided policy.

As today, the person in charge of the army has the power. Read about Julius Caesar for how being a commander could give you enough power to become Emperor (although he was in the prelude to the position).

Edited December 25, 2022 by John Conduitt

[Steppenfool]

The difficulty in answering these types of questions is that the Roman Empire lasted between 500 and 1500 years depending on one's reckoning. The political/social/cultural/military systems changed drastically a handful of times times, and changed significantly a multitude of times. Furthermore, quite a lot of the specifics of the Empire aren't recorded particularly clearly due to the tradition of narrative history. As a result, a substantial amount of research,  puzzlework and even speculation are often required to even answer basic questions about things such as command structure. Evidence such as the primary narrative texts, inscriptions, laws, archeology are all used as evidence to try and form a coherent model. It is therefore prudent to limit precise questions to particular time periods and to read the academic literature on the subject. Of course there is often a basic popular account of how things were and transpired that is accepted by many people. However often when the surface is scratched and the actual evidence is examined, it becomes clear we do not really know that much for certain. This is also the reason that Roman historical facts and theories are regularly revised in light of new evidence or historiography.  

An example of the difficulty we have is the innovation of splitting the Roman force into two distinct groups, the mobile field army called the Comitatenses, and the border guard called the Limitanei. We are unsure who exactly is responsible for this, and the specifics of the reform. Diocletian and Constantine I both receive the credit for this in various circles, and some speculate that the change was started earlier and only consolidated by the aforementioned emperors. 

Edited December 26, 2022 by Steppenfool