Editing Servius Tullius (section)

====Classes====
The census grouped Rome's male citizen population in classes, according to status, wealth and age. Each class was subdivided into groups called ''centuriae'' (centuries), nominally of 100 men (Latin ''centum'' = 100) but in practice of variable number,<ref>The Servian "centuries" are therefore held to mean "groups".</ref> further divided as ''seniores'' (men aged 46 – 60, of a suitable age to serve as "home guards" or city police) and ''iuniores'' (men aged 17 – 45, to serve as front–line troops when required). Adult male citizens were obliged, when called upon, to fulfill military service according to their means, which was supposedly assessed in archaic ''[[As (Roman coin)|asses]]''.<ref>The ''as'' of this era represented a particular weight of bronze – one pound, according to Cornell – much heavier than the later ''as''; its value cannot therefore be represented as a fraction or equivalent of later Roman coinage (''as'', ''[[sesterce]]'' or [[denarius]]). See Cornell, pp. 180–181.</ref>  A citizen's wealth and class would, therefore, have defined their position in the civil hierarchies, and up to a point, within the military; but despite its apparent military character, and its possible origins as the mustering of the citizenry–at–arms, the system would have primarily served to determine the voting qualifications and wealth of individual citizens for taxation purposes, and the weight of their vote – wars were occasional but taxation was a constant necessity<ref>Cornell, pp. 186–190, 194–196.</ref> – and the [[comitia centuriata]] met whenever required to do so, in peace or war. Though each century had voting rights, the wealthiest  had the most centuries, and voted first. Those beneath them were convened only in the event of deadlock or indecision; the lowest class was unlikely to vote at all.<ref>See Cornell, p. 179, who is citing Livy, [[s:From the Founding of the City/Book 1#43|1.43]], and Dionysius of Halicarnassus IV, 16–18. Descriptions of the armour and arms to be supplied by members of each class are almost certainly learned, speculative introjections by Livy and Dionysius.</ref>

The Roman army's ''centuria'' system and its order of battle are thought to be based on the civilian classifications established by the census. The military selection process picked men from civilian ''centuriae'' and slipped them into military ones. Their function depended on their age, experience, and the equipment they could afford. The wealthiest class of ''iuniores'' (aged 17–45) were armed as [[hoplite]]s, heavy infantry with [[helmet]], [[greave]]s, [[breastplate]], shields (''[[clipeus]]''), and spears (''[[hasta (spear)|hastae]]''). Each battle line in the [[phalanx formation]] was composed of a single class.<ref>Lendon, J.E., ''Soldiers & Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity'', Yale University Press (2005), {{ISBN|978-0-300-11979-4}}, p. 182: The Greek-style phalanx was known to the Romans of the Regal era, and their front-line fighting men were armed identically to early Greek hoplites.</ref> Military specialists, such as trumpeters, were chosen from the 5th class. The highest officers were of aristocratic origin until the early Republic, when the first [[plebeian tribune]]s were elected by the plebeians from their own number. Cornell suggests that this centuriate system made the equites, who "consisted mainly, if not exclusively, of patricians" but voted after infantry of the first class, subordinate to the relatively low-status infantry.<ref>Cornell, p. 196.</ref>