A little History on Rank Structure
Military rank is a system of hierarchical relationships in armed forces or civil
institutions organized along military lines. Usually, uniforms denote the bearer's rank by
particular insignia affixed to the uniforms. Ranking systems have been known for most of
military history to be advantageous for military operations, in particular with regards to
logistics, command, and coordination; as time continued and military operations became
larger and more complex, military ranks increased and ranking systems themselves became
more complex.
Within modern armed forces, the use of ranks is almost universal. Communist states have
sometimes abolished rank (e.g., the Soviet Russian Red Army 1918–1935 [1], the Chinese
People's Liberation Army1965–1988 [2], and the Albanian Army 1966–1991 [3]), only to re-
establish them after encountering operational difficulties of command and control.
Roman ranks
The use of formalized ranks came into widespread use with the Roman legions after the
reforms by Marius. Under the new system, a legion would be commanded by a legate
(legatus), typically a senator, for a three-year term. Immediately beneath the legate were six
military tribunes(tribuni militum), five of whom were young men of Equestrian rank and one of
whom was a nobleman who was headed for the Senate.
The tribuni militari were the Roman army's senior officers who commanded the rough
equivalents to the US and British armies battalions and brigades (the relevant modern ranks
being major, lieutenant colonel, colonel and brigadier general). Note that these comparisons
are only loose because the Roman army's command structure was much different from the
organizational structure of its modern counterparts, which arose from the medieval
mercenary companies, rather than from the writings of Fourth Century Roman writer
Vegetius and Caesar's commentaries on his conquest of Gaul and the civil war.
The term military tribune is sometimes translated into English as "colonel" — most notably by
the late classicist Robert Graves in his "Claudius" novels and his translation of Suetonius'
Twelve Caesars — to avoid confusion with the political "tribunes of the people."
The fighting men in the legion were formed into ranks, rows of men who fought as a unit.
Under Marius's new system, legions were divided into ten cohorts (cohortes), each consisting
of six centuries, each of between 60 and 160 men. Each century was led by a centurion
(centurio) who was assisted by a number of junior officers, such as an Optio. Centuries were
further broken into ten contubernia of eight soldiers each. Individual soldiers were referred to
as soldiers (milites) or legionaries (legionarii).
Roman discipline was severe, with all ranks subject to corporal and capital punishment at the
commander's discretion. For example, if a cohort broke in battle, the typical punishment was
decimation, in which every tenth soldier, selected by lot, was killed. However, the Romans
were sensible and would not sacrifice too many men in this way.
Military rank is a system of hierarchical relationships in armed forces or civil
institutions organized along military lines. Usually, uniforms denote the bearer's rank by
particular insignia affixed to the uniforms. Ranking systems have been known for most of
military history to be advantageous for military operations, in particular with regards to
logistics, command, and coordination; as time continued and military operations became
larger and more complex, military ranks increased and ranking systems themselves became
more complex.
Within modern armed forces, the use of ranks is almost universal. Communist states have
sometimes abolished rank (e.g., the Soviet Russian Red Army 1918–1935 [1], the Chinese
People's Liberation Army1965–1988 [2], and the Albanian Army 1966–1991 [3]), only to re-
establish them after encountering operational difficulties of command and control.
Roman ranks
The use of formalized ranks came into widespread use with the Roman legions after the
reforms by Marius. Under the new system, a legion would be commanded by a legate
(legatus), typically a senator, for a three-year term. Immediately beneath the legate were six
military tribunes(tribuni militum), five of whom were young men of Equestrian rank and one of
whom was a nobleman who was headed for the Senate.
The tribuni militari were the Roman army's senior officers who commanded the rough
equivalents to the US and British armies battalions and brigades (the relevant modern ranks
being major, lieutenant colonel, colonel and brigadier general). Note that these comparisons
are only loose because the Roman army's command structure was much different from the
organizational structure of its modern counterparts, which arose from the medieval
mercenary companies, rather than from the writings of Fourth Century Roman writer
Vegetius and Caesar's commentaries on his conquest of Gaul and the civil war.
The term military tribune is sometimes translated into English as "colonel" — most notably by
the late classicist Robert Graves in his "Claudius" novels and his translation of Suetonius'
Twelve Caesars — to avoid confusion with the political "tribunes of the people."
The fighting men in the legion were formed into ranks, rows of men who fought as a unit.
Under Marius's new system, legions were divided into ten cohorts (cohortes), each consisting
of six centuries, each of between 60 and 160 men. Each century was led by a centurion
(centurio) who was assisted by a number of junior officers, such as an Optio. Centuries were
further broken into ten contubernia of eight soldiers each. Individual soldiers were referred to
as soldiers (milites) or legionaries (legionarii).
Roman discipline was severe, with all ranks subject to corporal and capital punishment at the
commander's discretion. For example, if a cohort broke in battle, the typical punishment was
decimation, in which every tenth soldier, selected by lot, was killed. However, the Romans
were sensible and would not sacrifice too many men in this way.
| RANK |
