The officers and ranking system of the Roman army
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This video covers many of the ranks that were crucial to the operation of not only the legions, but entire provinces, and in turn, the Empire itself! For some reason, these were so "forgotten" to the public, that it took a considerable amount of research to present. There are still more ranks known to us, which I excluded to mention due to the video's length, but which I will be sharing in KZhead community posts. It is also important to note that not all centurions were recruited from the ranks. Some were given the position right away, if they were members of the equestrian order or municipal aristocracies. Such centurions would also be seen in a higher regard that those that raised from the ranks.
Sources:
B. Rankov. (1999) "The Governor's Men" in The Roman Army as a Community Goldsworthy & Haynes eds., Portsmouth:Rhode Island
Y. Le Bohec. (2016). Encyclopedia of the Roman Army Wiley Blackwell.
CIL III, 00839: edh-www.adw.uni-heidelberg.de...
CIL II 04122: eda-bea.es/pub/record_card_1.p...
ILS 02382: edh-www.adw.uni-heidelberg.de...
P. Kovâcs, Á. Szabó. (2009). Tituli Aquincensis. nr. 00499: edh-www.adw.uni-heidelberg.de...
CIL XII, 02234: db.edcs.eu/epigr/dessau/de-a0...
D. J, Breeze. (1969). The immunes and principles of the Roman army. Doctoral thesis, Durham University. etheses.dur.ac.uk/10478/
I can't help but imagine the glorious aquilifer, in all his gear and pomp, marching into battle with his spreadsheets trying to figure out who spent those 20 coins reserved for grain purchase
*Looks back* dammit Marcus those were meant for lunch tomorrow.
I can just imagine an aquilifer sword drawn stomping into the barracks going "SO TAX EVASION IS IT? MARCELLUS?"
They also had to keep the books for the burial accounts for every legionary. It was deducted from his salary before payday to guarantee him a nice headstone with all his accomplishments on it.
Such is the life of a US Army GPC holder
great imagination. Fake history anyway.
"Buckle up Legionaires. When I was in your sandals, we have only two sticks and a rock for the whole cohort. We have to share the rock!."
Hi sarge!
Not sure what that quote is from..but they didn't wear sandals
@@Sharigan561From Halo CE I believe
@@svarthofde2492 well that would make more sense lol
Share the rock? Centurions don't share shit expect the rod.
History is more interesting when it is told, instead of read by someone who isn't interested. I saw a huge improvement when i was teached by an actual historian. This channel gives that vibe, keep it up!
I am glad you can hear my fascinstion of the topic, haha. Thanks for the kind words!
“Teached”
You’re grammar teacher must have been Ben Stein 😂
People in the comments making fun of bad grammar probably don't even know more than 1 language.
@@BatCostumeGuy It’s a joke Batman, relax bro. Why don’t you flex your supposed comprehension of multiple languages to whoever the fuck sent you the unnecessary bat signal.
This quite explains Augustus' fury with Varus for losing 4 legions (actually, 3 Legions, per comments). They represented thousands of man-years of experience among these officers and no ordinary draft would replace them. That's probably why the Romans usually didn't consider a legion to be seasoned until it had existed for 20 years. Superb video, btw!
Thought that mf had 3
@@cheekybastard1423 lol...You are correct. I'll leave my error up so your post doesn't lose relevance... and I'll live with its ignominy.
I thought it was 3 legions?
@@analander9222 You are correct. I'll leave my error up so your post doesn't lose relevance... and I'll live with its ignominy.
@@thomashazlewood4658 i never looked at that event in that angle before. You have opened my eyes. I used to think augustus was being a 5 year old kid about losing soldiers in a war, why can't he just recruit more men instead? Disastrous battles were rare but not unseen.
fun fact diocletion got rid of most of these administrative roles in a legion and replaced them with civilians because sometimes whole areas depended upon a legion for its administration and when a legion would get destroyed it would cause the region to be destabilized as well
While that does make sense to me, I would imagine that caused a lot of chaos for the military structure of the Roman Army. And possibly a good bit of unrest in the ranks. Being told your rank no longer exists and then being tossed into a lower position overall.
@@serathaevistille995 I doubt they were tossed lower.
I think an interesting video would be about the engineering skills of the legionnaires. They were certainly remarkable. I would love to learn how they aware so good at it and what techniques they used
I heard an Italian man on the internet say that the legionnaires were supposed to always work while wearing their armor. I'm not sure if it's true but that would be even more remarkable.
@@jethrovaningen I don't know for certain, but I do think most of the times that they built their camps a fraction of the legion would be building without armor on while the remaining part would stand guard. If they were in imminent danger though, they would built it while wearing their equipment on, an example that comes to mind is during Caesar's second invasion of Britain, they did so because of the dangers of briton chariot attacks.
I have a video planned that goes over a lot of their building skills. It will be in a video about how they crossed rivers and lakes. Some of their bridges and methods were very fascinating and were completed in incredible time!
@@HistoriaMilitum Excellent!
@@jethrovaningen stop questioning the metatron.
Fun fact: the names of two of the main characters of the TV series Rome, Vorenus and Pullo, were taken from Caesar's De Bello Gallico. In real life they were 2 centurions vying for the position of primipil, as the primus pilus was abbreviated. Caesar described their heroics, with one saving the life of the other, IIRC. No, I don't have that from Wikipedia. I had Latin in high school and read it then, so my memory is slightly rusty. 😋As Latin goes, Caesar is actually pretty easy as he wrote (or dictated) in a clear classical Latin, like a soldier and not some stuck up noble back in Rome who thought he was measured in how convoluted his sentences were (*cough* Cicero *cough*).
You should start posting videos on this :D would definitely watch them
@@moonshine3678 I certainly would make a terrible job of it. I never said I was *good* at Latin. In fact, I was terrible. I found computers far more interesting way back then. As so often it wasn't until later in life, when I was out of the clutches of terrible teachers, that I rediscovered my interests. But that's quite possibly why I liked Caesar and Pliny (the Younger) best: even with my bad Latin grades, I found them understandable. Others were incomprehensible to me, with their showing off their "leet skillz" of the convoluted worst that Latin grammar has to offer. Don't get me started on the poets...
@@michaelhoffmann2891 You say you’re bad at it. But already you’re teaching me something I never knew :D I believe in you
@@moonshine3678 I agree lol
Cicero still triggers my fight or flight response. I did my Latinum in an accelerated program so we went from books written to teach Latin straight to Cicero. Not a fun time at all, kinda scared me off and made me take Spanish instead of Latin in the end.
There was a quote from somewhere I can't quite recall that said the legionairs were engineers that did some fighting in their day off. Which is a tongue in cheek way of describing the legion life but it hints at truth.
Like Alexanders companions said in Baktria: "We are mules. Mules that kill."
"The legions were engineers that occasionally engaged in combat"... a well deserved quote indeed!
@@Kozak806 Not to mention they also built the roads as they went. Hence the saying "All Roads lead to Rome".
It's an attitude that persists today. There's a joke among Marines that the symbol for the infantry shouldn't be crossed rifles; it should instead be crossed brooms or shovels given how much time they spend cleaning or digging versus actually using their weapons.
South African infantry corps had a crossed pick and shovel on shoulder flash.
Even 2000 years ago, the ancients knew reading was the key to advancement in one's career. Who'd a thunk it?
Not just reading but SPEAKING... Oratory... the Rich would send their children to the schools of Athens...
I think the order of authority is important to contextualize. For the regular soldier the Optio was most likely the second in command after the Centurio and the first person soldiers listened to, much like a platoon sergeant in modern armies. And while the others might technically be above him, they might not be in matters regarding the century itself as they are detached from it. Just because the quartermaster is higher ranking than even the platoon commander does not mean he actually holds any command over the platoon, except in matters regarding supplies etc.
Nice.
Is like a medic then... "Sir, as the team medic, when it comes to the health of the men, including you, I outrank everyone" ~ Kix
@@CHRF-55457 I would say that is accurate from my own time in uniform. Happy new year! ~Gus
Most people never stop to think that if you removed enlisted people from the military you would not have an army, navy, marine corps, or air force. You will hear all kinds of praise heaped on military officers, and hear them called bulldog this, mad dog that, old Ironsides, blood and guts, but when you look at the body count of those who actually fought in those military campaigns you will find few officers among the dead or the maimed. The elite takes the credit, while the troops do the fighting. The military does not give a damn about enlisted men and women. The draft was stopped so that the wealthy would not have to go out and fight to protect their wealth. Imagine getting out of the draft by claiming that you have a bone spur in your heel, getting a deferment because you are in college, because you have a religious objection to taking another person's life, but if you happen to be poor and cannot afford one of these scams you are sent to prison if you refuse to go fight against people who have never done a damn thing to you. I taught my children to never volunteer for military service. let them bring back the draft without any deferments or private doctor scams to get out of serving. There would be damn few wars if that happened.
@@maxxmabemwe4859 Part of the reason why the German Army was so cohesive even after numerous defeats is that its officers were with the soldiers. The chance of an officer surviving the war was actually lower (even amongst generals) than the average soldier's... this is partly due to the stab in the back myth of WW1, everyone felt obligated to do their best, officers were mandated to actually lead the common soldier into battle or take responsibility for the failures. This resulted in a high morale even in the hardest of times. The problem with this method was that around '44 the Wermacht started to run out of skilled officers... Even at the general's level. Training a lieutenant or a captain takes considerably longer than training the rank and file soldiers. When it comes to generals promotions from colonel of even major ranks were possible due to the losses.
Centurion at 86 years old. He must have been one tough hombre!
Even if he wasn't in a combat unit for the last leg of his career, just following the army on campaign is hard living! And the wealth of experience he must have been able to mentor younger officers, who would later on outrank him, yet still respect him immensely. Pretty tough man indeed.
His name was Hardus Assus.
@@joeyjamison5772 Thanks!!
@@joeyjamison5772 hard ass? wow cool name
@@joeyjamison5772 or Hardus Testisus :D
this video is really relatable ... my papa once told me, if you want to be a successful leader, you have to be well rounded in all fields happening in your work. he was a head chef. but he doesn't just cook, he also manage people, help manage business (along with the owner,) even to their promotional campaigns, he is well learned.
not all people are born leaders; no matter how much experience you have. some just don't have the desire to "lead"
@@ChickenMcThiccken And some have desire, yet should never lead.
@@ChickenMcThiccken that is true, but if you are assigned a position to lead, you must learn to and force yourself. or you can do something else like get someone who is charismatic or talented at speech to help get your orders/instructions followed, the only problem is that it might open competition in the long run. i was a class president at school, but i am not good at "talking/persuading" people, the only thing i can say that i have is the vision for our room to look presentable and organized, plus i am sometimes too honest that i sometimes hurt people's feelings. and since I don't have an ability to "talk", i assigned my secretary to do the talking for me and get my mates to listened. I was lucky that she was loyal to me and was willing to follow my instructions, and we were in good relations. i also got my escort and muse to enforce rules for me. i knew that all i needed to do is for my officers to do the little shenanigans for me so that i can focus on the bigger picture. edit) i know how to do the "little shenanigans" , i just assigned others to do it for me to free up some space i am a member in a few clubs at school, and as a class president, me and other pres. attends meetings held by actual adult school officers, instructing us how to get things done. and i am not the type of teen who's obsessed at school trying to get the highest grade, i try to limit myself to less but more important responsibilities, so that i can have free time to do things i like. but sometimes, when my officers are absent i do their chores myself i averaged 91 the whole S.Y, or A- for Americans. class 2019-2020 is always fun for me
@@garji2477 i don't quite understand that... because to me, if you have a "desire" for something, you will always find ways to get that thing you were desiring even if it's physically and mentally exhausting.
@@ChickenMcThiccken now what i was trynna say is that i am not born to lead, because to be a good leader you must also be charismatic, which is im not that much. i do have brains, yes, but you can't get.your plans done and get people to follow if you're.not that good at talking. so i tried to find a solution to my "handicap" which is getting my secretary to do the talking for me.
"Years of experience in various tasks is needed to effectively lead men". I wish this was still applied to managers of today. Unfortunately, in many cases it isn't, and many managers really have no clue of what they are talking about.
You're an underrated channel, this content is absolutely brilliant and detailed, I actually didn't know there was 3 kinds of pay classes within the Legions of Rome
there were other possible career endings other than praefectus castrorum (camp chief), such as praefectus fabrum (military engeneers chief) and praefectus equitum (knights chief) all equivalent in rank and prestige, leading to believe there were separate branches in the roman army, which were highly specialized
What a superb video, did not know how many disciplines there were in a Century, how many positions of rank, incredible, your pronunciation of the names are excellent, more please
I’d be the officer in charge of the legionary wine supply on campaign.
No way would I want to be the one held responsible if it went missing on campaign lol.
@@rc59191 I think everyone would be justifiably pissed of that happened.
Soldier, have you been drinking Arr!! "Just a bit Caesar" Guard, Flog this man, Yes Caesar.😅🤣😂
Ill keep an eye out for ditch herb if we run out of wine-grape!
Carpe vinum
Engineering and military tactics, the Romans were ahead of their time. There is a reason why they conquered most of Europe.
This is a really interesting video! It's hard to find people going into such detail about how the legions actually worked
Thank you for the praise! There is more where that came from. I have a lot more in-depth videos planned ;)
Concise and informative. Never knew how many distinct positions there were in a century alone. Elucidates just how flexible and well-rounded the legions were. Thank you.
I just recently stumbled upon this and Historia Civilis' channel and I have been completely hooked on ancient Rome ever since! I found the two channels to supplement each other really well. It really puts into perspective how the legions functioned as a whole during war. Keep up the great videos!
Would recommend - toldinstone channel
Invictus is also an amazing channel for Roman history I would even say the best
Think of those ranks more as appointments and the pay grades as ranks. An immunes would be junior NCOs or senior enlisted men, the sesquiplicarii were more senior NCOs (corporals, say, or maybe sergeants) the Duplicatarii were sergeants, colour sergeants and junior warrant officers (WO2) while Centurions were the equivalent of WO1. A colour Sergeant might be appointed as a Company Quartermaster Sergeant or command a specialist platoon. A Warrant Officer 2nd class might be appointed a Company Sergeant Major or Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant. A WO1 would be a Regimental Sergeant Major or hold a staff post. Some appointments might be career dead ends while others would be given to men who showed potential for higher command.
Thanks for sharing - great watch! The ‘flowchart’ section showing promotional path (and retention rates) was outstanding. Really interesting and informative stuff!
I don't know what I like the most, whether the content or the way it is presented.
How satisfying to have the honor of higher ranks when the competition is that competitive and qualified.
Well done, I'm very impressed. This is the sort detail I enjoy learning about. I look forward to more of what you have to offer.
@Filaxim History can you talk more about fitness in the roman military did they practice sports like wrestling or boxing and how was their nutrition as it is very important in maintaining fitness.
Daily weapon training and sparring was mandatory. Twice per day for recruits. I imagine that combined with the firewood chopping, camp building and trench digging they were very fit.
As a short answer, they very much enjoyed to wrestle and even box. This topic is very interesting to me as well.. I think I will add it to my list of future videos. Thanks!
@@HistoriaMilitum Again, excellent!
@@HistoriaMilitumGreat! Maybe in one future video you could include Roman workout plans that history fans could try out to value more what the legions were capable of physically.
Their diet was pork
Strength and Honor Have a great weekend to all
Thanks gramps. You too!
What an all-around well made video with a lot of detailed information! This was a pleasent surpise :)
Once again fantastic work compiled for our intellectual viewing and learning. Thank you. I love hearing about all this
The best video description of this subject by far! New sub! Great efforts, much appreciated!
Wow. Sensational video that makes sense of so much complexity of the legions. Thank you!
Thanks for all your hard work and sharing it. Much appreciated. I didn’t realize there was that much responsibility in Rome military.
The best Roman history content in KZhead
That's a big praise, thank you!!
This was really good, thank you for your time to research and create this wonderful video!
Amazing videos... I'd love to see some outside of roman empire or just a compilation of crazy stories from the roman empire. The Vikings is a topic worth exploring
Salve! Outstanding video as usual, waiting for that video on bridge building, cheers!
Please make a video about the engineers of the army, their feats and methods. Lenght of the video is not a problem we crave detail !! great channel man!
Very informative video, good job! Of course there are many differences between a legion/army of Ancient Rome and modern armies (many regarding civilian duties - although in time of need, soldiers are often commanded to perform non-military tasks as well). But there are also similarities too - regarding what a soldier of different status/social rank/backgroung can achieve. Although social status in not really prevalent any more nowadays, but there is a certain limit what soldiers can achieve - an enlisted person without officer school degree cannot surpass petty chief officer rank under normal circumstances; those who are starting their career as officers, lieutenants, can hope to finish their service as colonels at best. Only a very few and selected will be able to become part of the general staff ...
Its probably that some ranks favored certain character and people in those ranks did not see a future leading up into a management role. Like how a fighter pilot or a Navy Seal would be less inclined to become a General Staff Officer because it's very boring compared to their usual job which is what they want to do in the first place, unless they have management characteristics and desires. So moving up the ranks for some ranks makes sense as there isn't much motivation for upward move other than to acquire power, a better pay or just a change in job. An armorer would be just fine clanging metal than keeping books or managing pays. It's very good that the way up was open through many paths for people with a desire as it channels more talent upward through different skill sets, creating an officer caste of wide variety of backgrounds and experiences.
Amazing i have never even heard of some of these ranks and positions. i would love to hear about more like this.
I really like your series on the Roman legions, it also covers the better part of Roman history. Would it be possible to have a video about XVII/XVIII/XIX? These three met a fateful end in the dark forest of Germania after which the numbers were retired. But they must have had a history before 6 AD
Thank you for the enlightening information. They were very helpful.
A very well made and informative video. Thank you for all the hard work.
Amazing video learned so much about the ancient military rank structure 🙏
Very interesting and nicely done. Thanks for helping make history more attractive.
An awesome and very detailed video once again, this is getting to be a treat! Thank you.
You are most welcome, and thanks for the kind support!
Please make a series going into the debt of different jobs and positions you would see in a regular roman legion. A video about 1st Germanica wouldn't be too bad either.
The information you presented was very good, I love when I learn of things I didn't know before!
I like videos like this, thanks for your work dude, i wish you well with the future of this channel!
This was just brilliant, one of the best vids on the Roman Army ever.
So much detail! I love it.
Fascinating and informative content that appears well researched. Thanks for posting.
Our pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it :)
This is a wonderful channel. Thanks so much for these great videos.
GREAT video bro...it isnt often I learn so much new stuff from a KZhead video. As a enlisted veteran myself this is the stuff I really love to learn about to. 💯👍
Thanks for the support. I will continue posting topics that are not seen on KZhead for your enjoyment :)
@@HistoriaMilitum right on...I'll keep watching and sharing
This channel is becoming one of the best in youtube, great work!!!
This is some great research material man. 👍
Fascinating! Couldn't find anything more about Aeolus(?) Servanus, but on his shield you can see Cleopatra's name in hieroglyphics.
very good I really enjoyed this video and the research that you have done to put it all together. :)
This video went quickly, totally fascinating
Well done. 😎👍 Thx for sharing. 🙏
Amazing content, thank you 🙏🏻
Amazing video, looking forward for the next video.
I really enjoy this series it's fascinating thank you
If the Primus Pilus was paid 60 times base pay and base pay for a legionarius was 225 denarii per year, we can assume the Primus Pilus was paid 13,500 denarii yearly. In 2016 one roman denarius was valued at $43.50. So a Primus Pilus earned approximately the value of $587,250.00 yearly.
...before taxes.
@CipiRipi00 You had to be luckier than Augustus and better than Trajan
Excellent vid! I leaned some things I never knew about the Roman army.
Love the content on the Legions and their function amd History of Discipline and Order. Thank you
Thank You finally a video for this stuff
Thank you for the great video and depth of information that can be looked at. Very useful knowledge and your focus and editing is of a high standard. 🏴🌈
Very interesting video. Thanks for sharing
Thank you for an excellent presentation on Roman military hierarchy.
Keep up the good work! I appreciate what you do.
You should do individual videos on the greatest generals in roman history and their careers, their strengths as tacticians and who they were personally if possible.
I really liked your attention to detail! The way you presented these facts in a actually interesting manner, even better! I don't know if you covered this or not, but, how were members of the emperor's Praetorian Guard chosen? Someone who had exceptional skill or talent, money/connections, or a combination?
Bad ass👌👍 surprised I haven't run across this channel before 💪
Love this channel.. another great video 🤙
Very nice. Great series! Vale! 💪
ANOTHER great video . thank you
If you did a doc on the us military like this, for a us military soldier it seems very clear and straightforward. For someone who has never been in the military it would confuse them, I feel that this was how it was with the Roman army. Like the comparison between the RC army AD army and National Guard. It's the army but all have different reasons for their existence.
Very nice chanell. It's rare for me to watch, a video to the end. I am already after two of yours and keep going. Good job.
This is a very good lecture. I appreciate it.
From how you described the difficulty of becoming a Centurion one can only imagine how hard it would be to reach camp Prefect
Promotion could be had by your circle of friends ie Julius C
Great video. Very informative and interesting. You do excellent work.
Thank you very much!
Bless the great historian!
I think that there is still a lot to say, especially for the higher ranks (for example a praefectus castrorum could became a procurator) and in the III century they could also became praefectus legionis, there are also different status of importance between the tribunes, and between the governors themselves but you still have done a good job, compliments (sorry for my bas English)
Fantastic, your videos never disappoint. One question I have though, how did evocati status work within a legion? Would they drop in to their respective ranks anywhere in the legion or were they reserved for unique cohorts? First cohort perhaps?
The case of the evocatii is very complex because upon their reenlistment they could end up in multiple positions. They could be promoted to centurions or be given highly specialised tasks in the ranks of the immunes and the duplicarii for sure. Others might end up as common foot soldiers it seems. What is clear from all of this, is that normally roman commanders were very interested in retaining or promoting as much talent as they could, so that put the evocatii in a place of privilege as seasoned veterans with years of experience in military affairs.
I just subbed, so great content! Love the era of the history!
Amazing video again, thanks for sharing! I do have a question though: was communication possible between a soldier in the legion and his home town, family, friends, lover etc? Especially for the soldiers that couldn't read or write I imagine it being quite a challenge, but signing up for the army for 20 years and dissapearing all together to your family also sounds unbelievably hard.
In the making of this video, we read a few letters, like one written to a father about a promotion to "librarius" and the benefit of not working in the sun all day like the others. So there definitely was communication of this sort. For the illiterate soldiers, I am sure they also wrote letters, with the help of literate friends or clerical staff. It is also important to keep in mind that the legions had a large amount of camp followers marching behind them wherever they went. These could consist of friends, families, girl friends, illegitimate wifes, and children. So some soldiers would not be far away from their loved ones!
@John Osman You are absolutely right! In one of the next videos, we will be mentioning some letters and poems written by soldiers and centurions with a lot of spelling mistakes and latin "slang". So many of them would indeed learn to write during their military service. Cheers!
@@HistoriaMilitum Somewhere near Hadrian's Wall (north of England) an excavation uncovered many 'letters' to be sent home to their families. The 'letters' were thin slabs of wood with pyro-graphic (wood burning) writing on them. Not unlike today's postcards, but bulkier.
Thank you. Simply excellent like all the other videos.
Love your videos. Thanks for this.
Re: Roman Army Immunes: The US Army has Specialist classes which are the same pay grade as certain other positions but responsibilities are different . They are not the leaders but the specialists in something. I was a Specialist 4th class , the same pay grade as a corporal. (Never claimed to be a leader)
Amazing channel, thank you so much Sir!
Thank you, you are most welcome!
Great video 👍 can't wait for the next one ☺️
Really enjoy your videos, great work
Thank you for the kind works, friend!
The Centurion's career path doesn't sound all that different from a modern (US) Military officer's career path. A modern US military officer is expected to serve in many different units and roles throughout their career and are expected to have served in certain roles and attended certain schools along the way before each promotion. If you miss a ticky mark on the checklist at any point in your career then you become less competitive for your next promotion, with the exception of the Marine Corps, it starts with how you received your commission with service academy grads typically getting a leg up on their ROTC/OC/Mustang compatriots.
I was An Officer of the Crown, employed by The Parliament and The Government of The Commonwealth of Australia, attached to the super secretive Australian Department of Defence and embedded into the Australian Military, chiefly although not exclusively the Australian Army, where as a Special Placement Officer, I specialised in Military Planning and Operational Logistics. At one point in My career, (about 5 years in) I worked in a particular office of Headquarters Army Command and because of My special knowledge was offered a Commission by direct appointment to the Rank of Captain, (in the Royal Australian Corps of Military Police) with guaranteed promotions through the Ranks of Major, Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel within 10 years. The only major drawback to accepting this offer was that I would never leave this office (or the work it did). Having future plans as an Officer of the Crown, I foolishly rejected the opportunity which was being afforded Me. Had I accepted I would likely have retired as Major General, (or better) rather than simply Mister.
@@michaelodonoghue7464 Every civilian outranks you.
The late roman army does not seem to be covered very often, would love to see more late roman content.
It would be interesting to do a comparison breakdown of modern military ranks and the comparable Roman rank. Privates, sargents, gunny's, Lieutenants, colonels, generals....
No it wouldn't.
@@Cheximus I didn’t know that you decided what was and what wasn’t interesting.
Truth to be told, often hierarchy tells much about how efficient an army is. Just for example, the Spartan army had 5 ranks (whose duties are not very well known) whi the Athenieans had only 2... it is no wonder then that the Spatans were much more efficinent, and usually win, during land battles in the Peleponnesian War. The Roman Army had a much more complex ranking structure, which meant that they were also much more flexible than the Greeks... and definitively played a role in their victory and conquest of Greece (among other factor, surely). ranks just for the sake of it are not good, but the Romans did not do that: they had a complex, but clear cut, system of responsibilities and duties for each rank, and just being "good at it" was certanly not enough to advance.
Your videos are awesome, thank you for your hard work. You're drawing a knowledgeable audience to judge by the comments. Feels like a club.
Thanks to you for doing these videos!!! 😎😎😎