Roman Military Tribunes (First Century BC to Third Century AD): A Historical and Prosopographical Study. Volume I

Roman Military Tribunes is a historical and prosopographical study of the men who served in that rank between the first century BC and the third century AD, presented in three volumes. Volumes I and II contain the prosopographical catalogue in two parts, while Volume III will offer an analysis of the evolution of the rank of military tribune.  

 

This volume (I) presents a catalogue of 285 Romans who held the military rank of tribune, divided into two main groups. The first of these, Tribuni militum in exercitu, i.e. military tribunes in the army, contains the biographies of 133 military tribunes who received their appointment during the first century BC and first century AD. This group of Roman officers includes those whose later status – following the reforms of Augustus – would qualify them to serve as senatorial tribuni laticlavii, and a much more numerous group who as equites would have qualified to serve as tribuni angusticlavii. 

 

The second group of 152 individuals, Tribuni militum in praetorio, features Roman military tribunes who, between the first century BC and the third century AD, were assigned to serve in the cohortes praetoriae, cohortes urbanae, cohortes vigilum and equites singulares Augusti. These formations formally belonged to the Roman military system, although they had a special status. As they alone were stationed on Italian soil, they formed the garrison in Rome, and served to protect the person of the Emperor.