optio

E228784

An optio was a junior officer in the Roman army who served as the deputy and second-in-command to a centurion within a legionary unit.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
optio canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (40)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Roman military rank
junior officer
appointedBy centurion
associatedWith Roman legion organization
couldBePromotedTo centurion
documentedIn Roman military inscriptions
Roman military manuals and treatises
etymologicallyMeans chosen man
foundIn Roman legion
function assist centurion in tactical control
oversee guard duties
relay orders along the ranks
supervise logistics at unit level
hadPayHigherThan ordinary legionary
hadStatus non-commissioned officer
hadTitleEtymologyFrom Latin optare
hadVariants optio ad spem ordinis
optio carceris
optio centuriae
optio praetorii
optio speculatorum
mayCommand century in absence of the centurion
partOf Roman army
period Roman Empire
Roman Republic
rankAbove immunes
tesserarius
rankBelow centurion
responsibleFor administrative duties for the centurion
discipline within the century
maintaining order in the ranks
training of legionaries
secondInCommandOf century
servedIn auxiliary units
legionary infantry units
subordinateTo centurion
typeOf subaltern officer
used staff to maintain alignment of ranks
wore distinctive helmet crest
staff or rod as badge of office

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Roman army hasRank optio