Editing Roman legion (section)

===Senior officers===
* '''''[[Legatus Augusti pro praetore]]'' (imperial legate)''': the commander of two or more legions. The imperial legate also served as the [[Roman governor|governor]] of the province in which the legions he commanded were stationed. Of [[Roman Senate|senatorial rank]], the imperial legate was appointed by the emperor and usually held command for 3 or 5 years. 
* '''''[[Legatus|Legatus legionis]]'' (legionary legate)''': the overall commander of the legion. The post was usually filled by a [[Roman Senate|senator]], appointed by the emperor, who held command for 3 or 4 years, although he could serve for a much longer period. In a [[Roman province]] with only one legion, the legatus was also the provincial [[Roman governor|governor]]. In such circumstances, the legatus was dual-hatted as both legionary legate and imperial legate. The legionary legate also served as commander of the [[Auxilia|auxiliary units]] attached to the legion, though they were not formally a part of the legion's command structure. 
* '''''[[Tribunus laticlavius]]'' (broad-band tribune)''': named for the broad-striped tunic worn by men of senatorial rank, this tribune was appointed by the emperor or the senate. Though generally young, he was more experienced than the tribuni angusticlavii. He served as second-in-command of the legion, behind the legate. Because of his age and inexperience, he was not the actual second-in-command in battle. But if the legate died, he would take command of the legion.
* '''''[[Praefectus castrorum]]'' (camp prefect)''': the camp prefect was third in command of the legion. Generally, he was a long-serving veteran from a lower social status than the ''tribunii'' whom he outranked, and who previously had served as ''primus pilus'' and finished his 25 years with the legions. He was used as a senior officer in charge of training a legion, though he could also command a cohort of [[auxilia]]ries.
* '''''[[Tribunus angusticlavius|Tribuni angusticlavii]]'' (narrow-band tribunes)''': each legion had five lower-ranking tribunes, who were normally from the equestrian class and had at least some years of prior military experience. They often served the role of administrative officers.<ref>Bowman, Garnsey, Rathbone (eds) ''The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume 11'' pp. 326–327</ref> This tribunate was often a first, but optional, step in a young man's political career (see ''[[cursus honorum]]'').<ref>Birley, Anthony R. ''Septimius Severus: The African Emperor.'' (New Haven, Yale University Press, 1989) p. 40</ref>