Military tribune

A Military tribune is both a military officer of the Roman Legion and an official of the Roman State.

In the Republican period, there were six appointed to each legion. Authority was given to two at a time, and command rotated between the six. Tribunes were men of Senatorial status appointed by the Senate. To attain the position of tribune, one only needed to be a member of the ruling class — ability was not taken into account.

Additionally, in the Early Republic, military tribunes were sometimes chosen in place of the annually elected consuls to be the heads of the Roman State. These are known in Latin as Tribuni militum consulari potestate, "Military Tribunes with Consular Authority." Instead of the usual two consuls, between four and six military tribunes were elected for the year. The reasons for this choice are obscure, though Livy often cast the decision according to the class struggles he saw as endemic during this period. The office eventually fell out of use after 366 B.C.

After the Marian reforms created a professional system, legions were commanded by a legionary legatus. Six tribunes were still posted to a legion, but their duties and responsibilities had changed. The second in command to the legate was the tribunus laticlavus, a young man of Senatorial rank. He was given this position to learn and watch the actions of the legate. The other five tribunes were slightly lower in rank, and were called the tribuni augusticlavi. These were men of equestrian rank who had seen some prior military action.

Tribunes in the professional army had no definite duties. They were appointed tasks by the legate whenever the need arose. It has been suggested that the rank was equivalent to a colonel in the armies of today's world.

Traditionally, a young man of senatorial rank would take a post as a military tribune at the age of twenty. After completing this post, he would begin his journey through the cursus honorum, or the ladder of senatorial offices in the Roman government.