CENTURIONS: THE PRACTICE OF ROMAN OFFICERSHIP Graeme A. Ward A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History Chapel Hill 2012 Approved By: R. J. A. Talbert F. Naiden W. Lee J. E. Lendon S. T. Parker © 2012 Graeme A. Ward ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii Abstract GRAEME A. WARD: Centurions: The Practice of Roman Officership (Under the direction of Richard J. A. Talbert) This dissertation examines the military and social roles of legionary centurions in the Roman legions during the late Republic and Principate. It combines textual accounts of centurions from such authors as Caesar, Tacitus, and Cassius Dio, as well as epigraphic and archaeological evidence, including funerary monuments, dedicatory inscriptions, and the physical remains of legionary camps. By evaluating this evidence with reference to contemporary military and critical social theory (which integrates concepts of civil-military relations, compliance, social structures, and symbolic systems), I argue that centurions were crucial to defining and preserving important Roman military practices, and that an analysis of their position reveals important developments in Rome’s military hierarchy and imperial administration. The dissertation is organized into six chapters. The first chapter addresses the centurion’s disciplinary role in the legions, and reasserts the significance of corporal punishment in Roman military culture. Chapter Two investigates the centurion’s idealized behaviour in combat, and how it affected views of his leadership and personal authority. The third chapter demonstrates how in the Roman world these practices in asserting authority were complementary rather than contradictory. Chapter Four evaluates centurions’ place in the legion’s command structure, including career structures, military expertise, and corporate identity, and identifies them as the singular iii corps of officers in the legions. The fifth chapter explains their intermediate position in the legion’s social hierarchy between soldiers and aristocratic commanders, and how this position was important to integrating soldiers into the Roman military community. Finally, Chapter Six assesses political and administrative roles of centurions, arguing that they were the chief representation of Roman imperial authority among local populations. My dissertation has two fundamental goals. The first is to combine and analyze textual, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence for centurions in order to establish their military, political, and cultural roles in the Roman Empire. In doing so, the dissertation provides the first comprehensive study of the duties, characterizations, and expectations of the Roman legions’ intermediate officers. The second goal is to demonstrate that this analysis of centurions is crucial to understanding how attitudes toward violence, military discipline, social status, and personal authority were manifested both within the Roman military community and throughout the Roman Empire. iv For Lindsey v Acknowledgments Writing this dissertation has been one of the most challenging yet rewarding experiences of my academic career, and I owe thanks to many people who have made it possible. First and foremost, I thank my supervisor, Richard Talbert, for his boundless energy, patience, and encouragement. His passion for history and keen eye for detail was crucial to structuring my research and writing, yet he always allowed me the freedom to formulate the dissertation on my own. In pursung my doctorate at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I was indeed fortunate to study under a master of Roman history. The support of other members of my committee was also critical to helping to shape my dissertation. Fred Naiden introduced me to scholarship and approaches to ancient religions and social practices that formed the core of my analysis. Wayne Lee similarly was instrumental to helping me explore the topic from the broader perspective of military history and theory, and consistently provided me with rigorous comments on my work. Thomas Parker brought a wealth of knowledge of the Roman frontiers, and helped me to find consistency in my broader approach. Lastly, I thank Jon Lendon, who generously agreed to join my committee in the later stages of my project. This did not stop him from taking great time to provide me with invaluable feedback on my analysis, focus, and bibliography, and many aspects of my dissertation are inspired by his work on Roman military culture. vi My dissertation and doctoral work, however, are the product of many more years of work and mentorship. Bernard Kavanagh introduced me to Roman history when I was an Undergraduate at Queen’s University, and his passion and constant encouragement led me to make ancient history the focus of my academic life. I also owe special thanks to Claude Eilers, my Masters supervisor at McMaster University, who taught me how to write clearly, think critically, and sing Elvis is Latin. His support and friendship to this day are instrumental to my development as a scholar and teacher. The faculty, staff, and graduate students in the Departments of History and Classics at UNC made my doctoral experience thoroughly enjoyable. I chose to come here because of the environment of friendliness and supportiveness that was so apparent, and it is because of that environment that I still pursue the study of history. Within that group, I thank especially my fellow ancient historians, who buoyed my spirits, broadened my perspectives, and got me out of the house. I owe thanks to my many friends and family across the United States and Canada, including Wards, MacRaes, Gonders, and Bennetts. My parents and brother gave me unqualified and unwavering love and support, and I can say that I could not have gotten here without them. I also devote this work in part to the memory of my grandparents, whose experiences, character, and sheer soul inspire me. Finally, I wish to thank my fiancée, Lindsey Bennett. From sending Easter cards in the mail to being there for me in the hardest of times, her unconditional patience, love, and faith in me, whether from near or far, cannot easily be expressed. I dedicate this work to her. vii Table of Contents List of Abbreviations ......................................................................................................... xi Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1 Historiography .........................................................................................................5 Scope and Sources ...................................................................................................9 Method ...................................................................................................................13 Organization ...........................................................................................................15 Chapter One: Disciplinarians .............................................................................................19 1.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................19 1.2 Corporal Punishment in the Legions................................................................23 1.3 Representations of the Vitis .............................................................................26 1.4 Limits of Legal Authority and Social Status....................................................31 1.5 Positive Associations of Corporal Punishment ................................................40 1.6 Resistance to Punishment ................................................................................48 1.7 Conclusion: Between Coercive and Normative Discipline .............................52 Chapter Two: Combat Officers ..........................................................................................56 2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................56 2.2 “Connoisseurs of Violence” .............................................................................59 2.3 Promotion and Decoration ...............................................................................68 2.4 Competition in Combat ....................................................................................73 viii 2.5 Leadership in Combat ......................................................................................78 2.6 Defining the Centurion through Dona Militaria ..............................................85 2.7 Conclusion: The Roman Combat Officer ........................................................90 Chapter Three: The Centurion’s Military Authority ..........................................................94 3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................94 3.2 Categories of Authority....................................................................................96 3.2.1 Primitive Aggression versus Rational Discipline .............................98 3.2.2 Domination versus Persuasion ........................................................103 3.3. Military Authority in the Centurionate .........................................................107 3.3.1 Symbolic Violence in the Roman Legions .....................................108