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CENTURION (Lat. centuria)

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Originally appearing in Volume V05, Page 684 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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CENTURION (See also:Lat. centuria) , in the See also:ancient See also:Roman See also:army, an officer in command of a centuria, originally a See also:body of a See also:hundred See also:infantry, later the sixtieth See also:part of the normal See also:legion. There were therefore in the legion sixty centurions, who, though theoretically subordinate to the six military tribunes, were the actual working See also:officers of the legion. For the most part the centurions were promoted from the ranks: they were arranged in a complicated See also:order of seniority; the See also:senior centurion of the legion (See also:primus pilus) was an officer of very high importance. Besides commanding the centuries of the legion, centurions were " seconded " for various kinds of See also:special service, e.g. for See also:staff employment, the command of auxiliaries. See further ROMAN ARMY.

End of Article: CENTURION (Lat. centuria)

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