For citation:
Ivanova E. S. The career of a roman centurion: from military command to running the empire . Ancient World and Archaeology, 2025, vol. 22, iss. 22, pp. 101-115. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18500/0320-961X-2025-22-101-115
The career of a roman centurion: from military command to running the empire
The article is devoted to the career paths of the centurions who achieved the high administrative positions in the Roman Empire. It focuses mostly on the appointments of these officers to the positions of praefectus fabrum and provincial procurators. The political and military context of such appointments, the social portrait of the centurions who received them, and the social prospects for their descendants are researched. It is concluded that, by receiving high administrative positions, former centurions and their families integrated into the administrative elite of the empire. Thus, a military faction, which was distinguished by both unique experience and special loyalty to the emperor, was gradually formed among the Roman elite.
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