Editing Tribune (section)

==Military tribunes==
{{Main|Military tribune}}
The ''tribuni militum,'' known in English as ''military tribunes'' or literally, ''tribunes of the soldiers'', were elected each year along with the annual magistrates.  Their number varied throughout Roman history, but eventually reached twenty-four.  These were usually young men in their late twenties, who aspired to a senatorial career.  Each tribune would be assigned to command a portion of the Roman army, subordinate to the magistrates and promagistrates appointed by the senate, and their legates.

Within each of the [[Roman legion|legions]], various middle-ranking officers were also styled ''tribune''.  These officers included:

* ''[[Tribunus laticlavius]]'', a senatorial officer, second in command of a legion; identified by a broad stripe, or ''laticlavus.''
* ''[[Tribunus angusticlavius]]'', an officer chosen from among the equites, five to each legion; identified by a narrow stripe, or ''angusticlavus''.
* ''Tribunus rufulus'', an officer chosen by the commander.
* ''Tribunus vacans'', an unassigned officer in the Late Roman army; a member of the general's staff.
* ''Tribunus cohortis'', an officer commanding a [[cohort (military unit)|cohort]], part of a legion usually consisting of six [[centuria|centuries]].
* ''Tribunus cohortis urbanae'', commander of one of the [[cohortes urbanae|urban cohorts]], a sort of military police unit stationed at Rome.
* ''Tribunus sexmestris'', a tribune serving a tour of duty of only six months; there is no evidence to identify this officer as a cavalry commander, as sometimes stated in modern literature.

In the late Roman army, a ''tribunus'' was a senior officer, sometimes called a ''[[comes]]'', who commanded a cavalry [[vexillatio]].  As ''tribounos'', the title survived in the [[East Roman army]] until the early 7th century.

From the use of ''tribunus'' to describe various military officers is derived the word ''tribunal'', originally referring to a raised platform used to address the soldiers or administer justice.

Military tribunes are featured in notable works of historical fiction, including ''[[Ben-Hur (novel)|Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ]]'', by [[Lew Wallace]], and ''[[The Robe]]'' by [[Lloyd C. Douglas]].  Both novels involve characters affected by the life and death of [[Jesus]], and were turned into [[epic film]]s during the 1950s.  Messala, the primary antagonist in ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]'', was played by [[Stephen Boyd]], while Marcellus Gallio, the protagonist of ''[[The Robe (film)|The Robe]]'', was played by a young [[Richard Burton]].