Legions and Agricola Flashcards
Daddy Jingas
How many cohorts are in a legion?
10
cohorts 2 through 10 had how many centuries?
6
A century contained how many men?
about 80, led by the centurion
What were 4 differences about the first cohort?
- most prestigious. 2. contained 5 centuries. 3. these centuries had 180 men. 4. commanded by senior centurions.
What are the senior centurions titled?
primi ordines
who assisted each centurion?
optio (deputy)
what did the signifer and tesserarius do?
organized guards, distributed paswords
who was responsible for training and disciplining a century?
centurion
what was the symbol of a centurion’s rank?
the vitis, a cane that was used to punish soldiers
The most senior of the centurion were called the
primus pilus, they were at least 50 years old and only served 1 year.
The commander of the camp, and highest ranking official is called the
praefectus castrorum.
The top of the centurion is the praefectus castorum, but who is the officer commanding the legion?
legatus
What other title does the legatus hold?
He is a senator in Rome, usually in his mid thirties.
Who assists the legatus?
6 tribunes.
One of these 6 tribunes is special. why?
He is the tribunus laticlavius. He is of noble birth and is acting as an apprentice before starting his political career.
The other 5 tribunes are known as
the tribuni angusticlavii. (from the equites class)
Who has the broad stripe and who has the narrow stripe?
broad - laticlavius. narrow - angusticlavis
were the tribuni overall from the wealthier class.
yep
Who spent more time in the army, the tribuni (senior officers) or the centurions?
centurions spent more time in army (most of their life).
If all but the first cohort had 9 cohorts, with 6 centuries in each cohort and with 80 men in each century, how many men were there in all (for cohorts 2-9)?
about 4320
how many men in the first cohort ( remember there were 160 men per century and there were 5 centuries)?
800 men
Each century was led by an optio and primi ordines (for cohort 1) oroption and centurion (cohorts 2-9). But what other 3 men were with each of the 9 cohorts.
- tesserarius. 2. signifer. 3. cornicen (horn player).
Who is Tacitus and what did he contribute to history?
son in law of Agricola. He wrote down Agricola’s life story.
When and where was Agricola born.
AD 40 in southern Gaul (Roman colony of Forum Iulii).
Did he serve in the Roman army?
yes. IN 60 AD he witnessed the revolt in Boudica.
What happened in AD 70 that gave him huge political success?
Commanded a legion successfully and was promoted to governorship of Aquitania (France) in Gaul.
In AD 78 he returned to Britain as governor. What were his 3 main military achievements at this time?
- conquest of Wales. 2. victory at Mons Graupius. 3. extended roads and forts in northern Britain.
He was also known to Romanize Britain in what 2 ways?
- built Roman- style communities. 2. convinced people to live by Roman law instead of fighting it.
