Centuria
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Centuria (Latin plural Centuriae) is a Latin substantive rooting in centum 'a hundred', denoting units consisting of (originally, approximatively) 100 men.
[edit] Political
The constitutive voting unit in the centuriate comices (Latin comitia centuriata), an old popular assembly in the Roman Republic, the members of which cast one collective vote.
Its origin seems to be the homonymous military unit, as citizens would serve on both until Marius' reform shifted the main recruitment from conscription to professional contracts.
[edit] Military
The centuria was the pivotal tactical Roman legion unit since the Marian reforms of 107 BC. It consisted of originally a hundred, later 60 to (ideally) 80 men distributed among 10 contubernia (of 8 men each). The remaining number of men required for a full count of one hundred was taken up by various noncombatants; attached either for administrative, logistical or other purposes within the legion. Each contubernium (the minimal unit in the Roman legion) lived in the same tent while on campaign or the same bunk room in barracks. The whole centuria was commanded by a Centurion who held a flag. Centuriae were grouped by pairs forming maniples, which were then grouped in cohorts.
As an exception, the first cohort consisted of the bravest men from the legion and had the same number of 6 centurias, but since these were double centuriae (160 men) the size of the whole cohort totalled 960 men. Centurions of these centuriae were called primi ordinis, except the one from the very first centuria, who was referred to as primus pilus,or "first spear", a proverbial hardened professional (a bit like the British regimental sergeant major).
[edit] See also
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