CENTURION (

See also:

• LAT

Lat. centuria)  , in the ancient Roman army, an officer in command of a centuria, originally a body of a hundred infantry, later the sixtieth part of the normal legion . There were therefore in the legion sixty centurions, who, though theoretically subordinate to the six military tribunes, were the actual working officers of the legion . For the most part the centurions were promoted from the ranks: they were arranged in a complicated order of seniority; the senior centurion of the legion (primus pilus) was an officer of very high importance . Besides commanding the centuries of the legion, centurions were " seconded " for various kinds of special service, e.g. for staff employment, the command of auxiliaries . See further ROMAN ARMY .