View source for Legate (ancient Rome)

{{Short description|High-ranking Roman military officer}}
{{About|the ancient Roman military rank|the bird genus|Legatus (bird)|other uses|Legate (disambiguation)}}
{{Cleanup rewrite|date=October 2017}}
{{Italics title}}
{{Roman government}}
A '''legate''' ([[Latin language|Latin]]: '''{{lang|la|legatus}}''', {{IPA|la-x-classic|ɫeːˈɡaːtʊs|lang}}) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the [[Roman army]], equivalent to a high-ranking [[general officer]] of modern times. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under [[Augustus]] as the officer in command of a [[Roman legion]].

From the times of the Roman Republic, legates received large shares of the military's rewards at the end of a successful campaign. This made the position a lucrative one, so it could often attract even distinguished consuls or other high-ranking political figures within [[Political institutions of ancient Rome|Roman politics]] (e.g., the [[Roman consul|consul]] [[Lucius Julius Caesar (consul 64 BC)|Lucius Julius Caesar]] volunteered late in the [[Gallic Wars]] as a legate under his first cousin, [[Julius Caesar|Gaius Julius Caesar]]).  

Diplomats and envoys sent by Rome were also given the title of legate.

==History==
===Roman Republic===
The rank of legate existed as early as the [[Samnite Wars]], but it was not until 190 BC that it started to be standardized, meant to better manage the higher numbers of soldiers the [[Second Punic War]] had forced to recruit. The legate of a Roman Republican army was essentially a supreme [[military tribune]], drawn from among the senatorial class of [[Ancient Rome|Rome]] (usually a [[Roman consul|consul]] or [[proconsul]]),<ref name="dictionary PA797"/> who acted as a second-in-command to the magistrate in charge of the force.<ref name=Sage>{{cite book|author=Michael Sage|title=The Army of the Roman Republic: From the Regal Period to the Army of Julius Caesar|url=|date=2016|publisher=Casemate Publishers|isbn=9781473880955}}</ref><ref name=Erd>{{cite book|author=Paul Erdkamp|title=A Companion to the Roman Army|url=|date=2011|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=9781444393767}}</ref> This role was usually played by either seasoned generals or ambitious young senators; the latter option eventually displaced the military tribune as a path to gain recognition.<ref name=Sage/><ref>{{cite book|author=Erich S. Gruen|title=The Last Generation of the Roman Republic|url=|date=1995|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520201538}}</ref>

The legate was officially assigned by the [[Roman Senate|Senate]], the republic's highest governing body. An appointment was generally only done after consulting with the magistrate in command,<ref name=Sage/><ref name=Erd/> hoping to pair a commander and a lieutenant who could work together without trouble. This was established  to avoid clashes of leadership like that of the consuls [[Gaius Terentius Varro|Varro]] and [[Lucius Aemilius Paullus (consul 219 BC)|Paulus]] in [[Battle of Cannae|Cannae]].<ref name=Sage/> The legate often acted as a military consultant or adviser, like [[Scipio Africanus]] did for his brother [[Lucius Scipio Asiaticus|Lucius]] during the [[Roman–Seleucid War]], or as a trusted man of action, as in the case of [[Lucius Quinctius Flamininus]] and his brother [[Titus Quinctius Flamininus|Titus]] in their campaigns.<ref name=Erd/>

After the changes in the army of the late Republic around the 1st century BCE (often referred to as the "[[Marian reforms]]", although the accuracy of this designation is disputed), the figure of the legate as a major second-in-command was eliminated. Multiple legati were assigned to every army, each in command of a [[Roman legion|legion]], which was called ''legatus legionis''. [[Julius Caesar]] made wide use of this title throughout the [[Gallic Wars]].<ref name="dictionary PA797">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WcgBAAAAMAAJ&q=Legatus+legionis&pg=PA797 |title=Smith (1901) Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities Vol. 1 PA797|date=2006-07-14 |access-date=2011-04-16|last1=Smith|first1=William}}</ref> Initially, only conflicts on foreign ground had demanded the presence of legati, but the beginning of the [[Social War (91–87 BC)|Social War]] in 90 BC saw them being increasingly deployed in Italia.<ref name=Sage/>

There were two main positions. The {{lang|la|legatus legionis}} was an ex-[[praetor]] given command of one of Rome's legions,{{cn|date=August 2024}} while the ''legatus pro praetore'' was an ex-[[Roman consul|consul]] given the [[Roman governor|governorship]] of a [[Roman province]], with the magisterial powers of a praetor, which in some cases included command of four or more legions. A legate was entitled to twelve [[Lictor|''lictors'']], who carried out punishments with [[fasces]] (bundled rods). A ''legatus legionis'' could order [[capital punishment]].<ref name="dictionary PA811">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WcgBAAAAMAAJ&q=Legatus+legionis&pg=PA811 |title=Smith (1901) Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities Vol. 1 PA811|date=2006-07-14 |access-date=2011-04-16|last1=Smith|first1=William}}</ref>

===Roman Empire===
From [[Augustus]] onwards, the emperor gave the title of ''legatus legionis'' to senior commanders (former [[military tribune]]s) of a legion, except in [[Egypt]] and [[Mesopotamia]] where the legions were commanded by a ''[[praefectus legionis]]'' of an equestrian rank. The ''legatus legionis'' was under the supreme command of a ''[[legatus Augusti pro praetore]]'' of senatorial rank. If the province was defended by a single legion, the ''legatus Augusti pro praetore'' was also in direct command of the legion. This post was generally appointed by the [[Roman emperor|emperor]]. The person chosen for this rank was a former [[tribune]], and although the emperor [[Augustus]] set a maximum term of command of two years for a ''legatus'', subsequent emperors extended the tenure to three or four years, although the incumbent could serve for a much longer period. In a province with only one legion, the legate served as the provincial governor, while in provinces with multiple legions each legion had a legate and a separate provincial governor who had overall command.

A legate was the principal commander of their assigned [[Roman legion|legion]].<ref>https://oxfordre.com/classics/classics/abstract/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-3631</ref> The ''Legatus legionis'' would delegate operational duties to their command staff of [[Tribunus laticlavius]], [[Praefectus castrorum]], [[Tribunus angusticlavius|Tribunus angusticlavii]] & [[Primus pilus]] who would collectively be responsible for the legion's operational effectiveness.

The legate could be distinguished in the field by his elaborate [[Attic helmet]] and [[Muscle cuirass|Lorica musculata]] or [[Lorica plumata|plumata]], as well as a scarlet ''[[paludamentum]]'' (cloak), ''cincticulus'' (a sash tied around the waist) and a ''[[parazonium]]'' (status sword).<ref>https://camws.org/sites/default/files/meeting2018/abstracts/385.armatribunicium.pdf</ref>

The senatorial ''legatus legionis'' was removed from the Roman army by [[Gallienus]], who preferred to entrust the command of a legionary unit to a [[leadership|leader]] chosen from within the [[equestrian order]] who had a long military career.

The title has other uses from the period of Augustus onwards, following the constitutional resettlement of 27 BC "that senatorial governors in the People's provinces bore the republican title of 'proconsul', while those appointed by the Emperor bore a title which explicitly referred to their dependence on him, namely ''legatus'', or deputy".<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Penella|first1=Robert J.|last2=Augustus|first2=Caesar|last3=Millar|first3=Fergus|last4=Segal|first4=Erich|date=1986|title=Caesar Augustus: Seven Aspects|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/4349888|journal=The Classical World|volume=79|issue=4|page=46|doi=10.2307/4349888|jstor=4349888 |issn=0009-8418|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

== Diplomatic legates ==
{{lang|la|Legatus}} was also a term for an ambassador of the Roman Republic who was appointed by the Senate for a mission ({{lang|la|legatio}}) to a foreign nation, as well as for ambassadors who came to Rome from other countries.<ref>[[William Smith (lexicographer)|Smith]], ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'' (1875), Bill Thayer's edition, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Legatus.html entry on "Legatus"].</ref> The concept remains today as a diplomatic [[legation]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Ancient Rome}}
* [[Imperium]]
* [[Military tribune]]
* [[Praefectus castrorum]]
* [[Primus pilus]] (Principal [[Centurion]])
* [[Auxilia#Junior_officers_(principales)|Principales]] (Junior officers)
* [[Tres militiae]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Ancient Rome topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Roman legates| ]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman titles]]
[[Category:Military ranks of ancient Rome]]