How Did Roman Soldiers Level Up? Pay and Promotion in the Legions DOCUMENTARY
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- čas přidán 17. 05. 2024
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We continue our Live History series which seeks to use reenactment to bring the past to life. This was made possible thanks to the awesome team at Imperium Romanum: / imperiumromanumyt
Additional clips were produced in collaboration with "Nova Polaris" and "Veteres Milites Sibiu"
In this history documentary we look at the topics of pay and promotion in the Roman army. This begins with a review of the early Roman Army of the Republic which was a militia based system with neither of these standarzied. However as the state expanded such systems would become necessary, especially with the transition to a fully professional army in the Roman Empire.
We then discuss pay in the Roman Army. This covers everything from their basic salary, to bonuses, and other forms of compensation. We then turn to an understanding of the organization of the Roman Army and how one might advance up the ranks of a legion from a recruit, to a centurion, and beyond.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:57 Early Pay & Promotion
05:27 Pay Rates
08:27 Sources of Funding
10:42 Spending Moeny
14:40 Rewards of Service
15:38 Low Level Promotion
19:08 High Level Promotion
21:02 Examples of Careers
Credits:
Research = Chris Das Neves
Script = Chris Das Neves
Reenactment = Imperium Romanum, Veteres Milites
Works Cited:
Goldsworthy, A. K. (1998). Roman Warfare
Goldsworthy, A. K. (1998). The Roman Army at War, 100 BC-AD 200. Oxford - N.Y.
Duncan-Jones, Richard (1994). Money and Government in the Roman Empire.
Webster, G. (1998). The Roman Imperial Army. London
#history
#documentary
#rome
Watch our latest episode on the "True Size of a Spartan Army" which covers their organization, formations, and fortifications: czcams.com/video/XLd1tab8f0c/video.html
Just like modern military, it isn’t common to stay a frontline/infantry member an entire career. I suspect that there were specialists who never stood on the line as well. That said, anyone surviving - let alone retiring - out of the military is amazing in my mind given the statistical life expectancy for anyone of that time.
That Roman soldier served 22 years in the Army that’s absolutely crazy to live after being in the front line to that many campaigns is insane
That's what I was thinking too, I bet this dude is grizzled looking with battle scars all over, fucking badass.
Centurions were essentially real life terminators.
There is also that alot of the time were spent in camp or on the march.
Frontline service were usually done in short but intense periods, with a degree of danger depending on the skill of the commander and what kind of enemies they were facing.
Diseases during camp life is historically the greatest threat of soldiers lives.
Yea, but wars were not like they were today. People did not fought nonstop for five years.
The battles were mostly seasonal and just like today soldiers rarely actually fought. Most of them were used to work on building infrastructure and practicing rather than actually fighting. Not to mention harvesting season in Imperial era frontiers and Republic era countryside.
As long as you don’t break ranks and run you had a very good shot at surviving. The pursuit of the routing and retreating saw the most casualties by far
For me the real impact is when you consider how legions were at times wiped out or defeated. All its history, all these people, soldiers who worked for decades up to coveted positions being cut down due to the arrogance of crassus, the rivarly of the triumvirate, or (most likely) cough up blood and die of disease on a regular march. All giant organizations blur the individual as they become a cog in the machine. However the Roman soldiery was such an extremely longstanding institution, it makes you wonder how a soldier would reflect about their role and the army's role. Like in modern armies it is filled with every sort of person, from jarheads to geniuses. It would be such a curiosity to talk to them.
They wasn't all killed.
That's a misunderstanding.
Many survived.
It is reported that the westerners that lives today in the chinese region of the Xian are descendants of Crassus Legionnaires.
Those folks was cut out from the rest of the defeated army and the survivors ran to west, to seek help from the local garrisons.
While these ones had to march toward east and ended up in China where the chinese Emperor firstly tried to eliminate them. After he realized they was too strong to wipe out without using massive forces, the chinese sent them an offer to serve the Emperor and they basically accepted.
From that moment further they become chinese citizens and integrated themselves in that empire till today.
It is touching. I also get very impressed on the capability of the empire to raise new legions quickly
It's still the same today.
I think about that mostly in the world wars. Like just thousands and thousands getting cut down in a single day...on a regular basis.
@@BWeManX we're just numbers for the powerful ones, politicians, generals, etc...
But sure the death of many of us could grant benefits for our nations.
So its implicit that soldiers dies for the greater good.
Its wasting their lives that usually is considered untollerable.
@10:34 when I was in basic, we were trained to keep "eyes in the boat" and "no skylarking". An officer that caught your eyeballs made an example out of you. I noticed this soldier doing the same thing, staring straight ahead in the face of the paymaster.
The mannerisms of the actors are of our own era because we don't know how romans acted, even the infamous roman salute is a modern invention.
@@BlaBla-pf8mf right. That was kind of my point. It was familiar to me but I wasn't sure how it fit in with history
@@BlaBla-pf8mfCan you imagine if this particular behaviour was passed down through time? Granted, it's impossible to prove, but it would be ironic. 😄
No eye contact? That’s really weird, I would never let any of my guys pull that sh$t
The career of Spurius Ligustinus is quite nice. Dude was in some big campaigns in the post-Second Punic War era of the Republic. Iberia was a dangerous place even up into Emperor Augustus' reign. The Macedonians were not slouches, either. Became a Centurion and had been in a victorious army that had the privilege of being in a Triumph.
The story of Spurius really is an example for the recruitment phrase: "Join the army and you see the world!" I mean, this guy traveled to Spain and Greece several times in his live thanks to joining the army and in ancient times thats an achievement in itself! Most people in ancient and medieval times never left a 100 miles radius of the place they were born in. The only people that seen more of the world were either in the military and government or traveling merchants.
Also i have the feeling the game "A legionaries life" took his life as an inspiration. In that game you start as a recruit in the spain campaign in the 2nd punic war. if you survive and join the next campaign its the siege of carthage. after that it goes to greece. you can retire between each campaign and, depending of your achievements during the several stages of each campaign, you rise in ranks up to the highest ranks of centurion. or at least i yet have to achieve something higher than that. my guys rarely see the last campaign ^^
Not just Spain and Greece: Antiochus' campaign culminated in the battle of Magnesia, in Asia Minor.
Played that game a lot. I still have It installed. There is also the possibility of a political career at the epilogue, if you have high charisma and achieved the rank of Primus Centurio after the last campaign
Most traveling merchants tended to find a niche and fill it by making a known prosperous route year after year that their family may have filled for generations. Sure they saw more of the world than the average farmer but its not like most were constantly visiting new places.
I recently returned to the game after a very long break an i had my most successful campaign yet, I won two civic crowns two mural crowns, five gold, two silver and three bronze armilla along with 11 cups. Defeated the Agema chiliarch and almost won the grass crown too but couldn't break my way through the enemies in time. Achieved senatorial rank and served as Aedile.
@@johndrakos8192 Same thing but I managed to get the grass crown. Got up to Quaestor and governing Hispania for a year. I got 18 cups. Only one mural crown though. I had maximum virtue and max relations with everyone and I still didn't get Consul lol. I guess you just need more crowns.
I've always wondered how pay and promotions went for the Roman military. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Roma Invictus!
Forgive me but I always thought that the Praefectus Castrorum was the penultimate rank that Roman soldiers aimed to aspire to. In fact, I was under the assumption that once the Primus Pilus was becoming to old to lead the I Cohort from the front into battle, he would then be made the Camp Prefect or Praefectus Castrorum in recognition of his long & loyal years of service to his Legion before retiring for good from military service. And, as the rank suggests, the Praefectus Castrorum would be in charge of running the everyday affairs of a Legion camp & defending it should it come under enemy attack or, at least, that's how I understood things. Overall though, I LOVE your videos & I NEVER miss a single one! BRAVO! MORE! MORE!
Yeah. Usually camp prefect is held by ex primus pilus. And a primus pilus would serve their time during which they would have enough money to join the equestrian class or when they retire, they would also be granted the equestrian class. Thus would be eligible for the camp prefect role. Which makes sense.
Not sure if retired primus pilus can re-enter the military as for the role of camp prefect, but if the men of a roman colony are required to serve as reserves for 5 years, then I'm sure a freshly retired primus pilus who has gain the equestrian rank can apply for camp prefect.
I mean if a legion has a camp prefect and a primus pilus who both decided to retire a few months of each other, the primus pilus role can be easily filled by the legion itself but the camp prefect position would be open, somebody would need to fill it.
And before anybody asks why would a primus pilus retire and not take the camp prefect role. Don't forget, these are men in their late 40s to 50s, even 60s. Who spent their whole lives as soldiers, some who might have kids or even grandkids and have not seen them in years. They have survived everything and its a good time to retire, with the equestrian status and with a relatively easier job closer to family in administration.
Yes, but then again, many ex-professional soldiers, after decades of military life, have severe difficulties to re-adapt to civilian life, and return to their profession as contractors, So why would it have been different for ex-legionaries? The Roman Legion was surprisingly modern in its organization. I can imagine re-entering as Praefectus if that is the life you are adapted to.@@MrJacobkoh
I always love it when you post Invicta. I remember when you posted total war battles. I'm so proud of how far you've come in the pursuit of your dreams and passion
Great job again. These videos are so well done. Thanks for the uploads!!
Another EXCELLENT job!!!
This was absolutely wonderful to see. Many thinks for making this
"He was a good judge of bravery. He made me a centurion for my bravery"
Always good to know you read unbiased historical accounts lel
Amazing work guys
Wow the last part was really cool listening to a soldier recount his military life
Great video as usual. These reenactors are bad ass. Such a great addition to the video.
Thank you for these great videos on Roman history - one of the best channels out there!
What a wonderful video! These are always informative but this one was also poignant and even poetic in places.⚔🔥🙌
Hear my prediction: In a fifty years leveling up would be a synonym to promotion and advancement and will be used in formal settings.
I bet it won't even be called levelling up anymore. It'll be shortened to lup or something similar.
@@silverchairsg I'd guess it'd end at "leveling" and not get shorter than that.
@@silverchairsg Maybe in slang. But not formal speech
@@HD-mp6yy True
So beautifully reconstructed!
Production quality is going through the roof!
Really interesting video. Could you do one exploring the evolution of the daily marching camp used by the legions?
Excellent video as always! Would love to see a similar video talking about how such things occurred in the Mongol empire
nice to know that army pay hasn't changed in two thousand years
If i would be a Roman auxilliary soldier, i probably would be a auxilliary spearmen😭
You'd be a baller spearman for sure though.
Slinger bro
That ain't a bad gig. Imagine being a product of this time. You'd be stoked for raiding and sacking cities.
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it! Several million years of sharp pokey pokey.
🤔 thats some hard shit to swallow dude.
Spearmen was often pushed on the frontline against cavalry.
Holding a barbarian charge was nothing easy or pleasant.
I don't envy you.
And as Italian, I would just join the Legion as Legionnaire and maybe advance until Optiones or even Centurion if Im lucky.
But nothing more. That's good life. Good paycheck, no respinsabilities, slaughter barbarians, train some fresh recruits, escorting some dignitares or judges, eating a lot of good stuff, drinking a lot of good wine, fuc... ahm, lets jump this part... 😅
Yeah, I would like the life as Centurion. Its not that hard respect today. Indeed it would be more spartan without the conforts of technology, but at the same time also more healthy (no smog, pollution, plastics) and definitely more interesting.
Considering that at the time there was no firearms around, only white arms, that would be a great thing. Easier to avoid injuries.
Oh man... Why I can't return to the times of my ancestors? 😑
Of course right now my ancestors are probably cursing me, but hey, I'll honor them again tomorrow.
As we all do every day, for years, from the birth of our civilization.
Sacred ancestors I honor you.
Because without you, I am nothing.
Fantastic video keep it up you're doing amazing things...
AMAZING VIDEO AS USUAL!!!
Fantastic work
Really enjoyed this one! Maybe do a video on just personal stories from legions?
Excellent work!
When I joined in 1984 we still had to report for pay. When I commissioned I sometime served as pay officer and had to collect and issue physical paychecks.
Now it's just a direct deposit
This is certainly one of the more informative channels on CZcams.
Amazing video! Please more like this
Very interesting!
Thank you!
It's wild just how impressive are the videos put out by this channel.
Awesome channel. Bravo.
This was amazing!
Excellent, thanks. Tom
Good video thanks ⚔️
Current US Army marching song:
“Give you a hundred dollars, and take back 99”
I really hope that when I have a young man to raise, I can still use your guy’s documentaries to teach them.
Fantastic video and a really good presentation of the subject!
It was great to see how the roman army functioned with regards to pay and promotion.
Out of curiosity, did you come across or do you think it would have been possible for the son of a servant to a patrician family to enlist in the legion and be promoted to Optio after a few years of service and after a few more years at the rank of Optio to be promoted to Centurion?
And is there any evidence that Centurion's might be promoted to Tribunus Augusticlavius, Praefctus Castrorum and/or Tribunus Laticlavius?
Or would promotions to these positions only be possible for a Centurion that comes from a well connected family (former centurions or Equestrians)? Or would the positions be exclusively for Equestrians and Patricians?
Well done.
Do you have any videos on the military honors of the Roman Army? That could be an interesting topic. (And from what I understand, such honors, like the corona muralis, were a significant factor in the promotion of soldiers to the rank of centurion.)
so glad i stumbled on this channel.
Awesome, i think this is my favorite video so far
Great video
Absolutely adore historical reenactmenf
Very cool episode
Awesome content
This is a great summation of Rome's army and it's internal system of functions. When I'm done with this video I will take them on a world conquest tour in Rome Total War. Nostalgia.
Great video as always Invicta!
At the part where you said that the Legions move with their pay, I hope there are sources about what happened with people who "happened" to get to Roman coins after the Teutoburger Forest or Carrhae battles?
Is the manuscripts/evidence for legal persecution of people who got their hands on seemingly lost military pay?
How crazy I started writing a story about a Roman soldier, named Spurius, a spaniard, favored by a Caesar and awarded land in Britannia, now 51 and a veteran...I know it's alil off, I'm not a historian, so it's a work in progress.
Started writing this several years ago.
Veterans' pay and death pay must have been insanely high during the civil wars.
And it must’ve happened frequently that a whole Conturbernium got KIA
This was epic 👌🏻
wow what a great documentary
This B-roll deserves an A+
What isn’t much appreciated about the Legion is that they were, for the most part, after the reforms of Marius, a professional body that was the “plaything” of the Ruling Class (but at times, played with the Ruling Class).
Excellent Presentation❕▪️Cheers🥃
Superb.
A quick correction: one of the tribunes, the laticlavius was from senatorial class, he just served one year
Great viedeo:)
Great presentation! Though I have to admit, I kept waiting for a reference to Gaul, and Asterix and Obelisk 😂😂
Thanks to MANSCAPED for sponsoring today's video! Get 20% OFF + Free International Shipping with my promo code "INVICTA" at mnscpd.com/Invicta
“Prefer a 5 o’clock shadow” -
Brother, I can’t hear something without visualizing it… so thanks I guess.
No, I will not shave my balls.
@@DinoPimp Rome wasn't built in a day, it was built with shaved balls
@@InvadeleYogurt you think if I shave my balls I’ll be able to organize my garage today?
takes an utter sheep to buy manscaped lmao
Hey oakley, could you make how do you animate the battle maps?
I wish he would make a video explaining all these money terms are they just different names or different amounts too? is sesteri more than drachma or obul or denarii or whatever XD but I love these vidoes also so interesting how structured and organised Rome was yet also so corrupt especially given the time period.
Playing Total Rome Brought Me Here😁☝🏽, I Love Roman History 💯
Thank God for this new Narrator.
Dude at the end won 6 Civic Crowns. Any man who won a single Civic Crown was considered a man amongst men hero of the ages type person, but 6?!? Thats a god amongst men.
I guess even during the game's early development, the grind needed to level up your character didn't improve much since that time.
Fr, at least they nerfed the romans, they were an OP guild
It was pay to avance back then as well.
Can you describe ranks in Roman's army and how many personal each rank hold. Such as centurion hold 80 personel, etc
My favorite part is how the normal soldiers would create a sort of informal bank for their small group kind of as death insurance. Makes sense that those guys would have each others backs in those ways especially since they probably considered each other family
Is it my imagination, or is the bird’s eye view of the fort supposed to be Regensburg? The river looks an awful lot like the River Danube at the site of the legionary fortress where the city centre is now.
What I gathered from that letter is that the promotion of Centaurian didn’t transfer and most likely wasn’t permanent and that the army life couldn’t have been that terrible considering how long he served and how much he volunteered
Maybe to a compare and contrast between a Roman legion and a Mongol tumen.
_actually_ there was an even smaller, inofficial unit within the conterbernium: pairs of soldiers having each others backs. And letters for their respective families.
Can i ask, did Roman legions had marching songs, because i have heardt that one from Ben Hur, and i would like to know if it is real thing.
That man was a beast!!!!
Are you able to do one on Shaka Zulu soldier's, like you did for the Roman soldier's.
I don't know if there's enough information though.
Great doco. Just one thing that piqued my curiosity; do you think they would have let armed and armoured soldiers into the strong room to collect their pay, or do you think they would have had them in their best civvies with no weapons at all?
The roman military had a robust administration, this is important.
You would probably go and get your salary on your off or rest period which is when you're just wearing tunics.
During campaign season, my guess is that physical payment will be halted and the money be banked with the legion so as to lighten the carrying load of the legionaries. The robust administration will be recording and storing the money, which is what a signifer does when not in combat, he is the accountant for his century.
And if you're a soldier, if you had all your money with you, there's a chance that you might wanna run away with your savings.
Another thing to note, if you're the commander, it's better to keep the money in the principia instead of letting the soldiers keep their pay in their barracks, less trouble of thievery and in case the camp/fort gets broken into, the legionnaires wont break and run to their barracks to save their money, instead would be willing to rally to the principia where their savings are stored.
What is the song its nice and soothing and id like to have it playing while i cook or read
What are the music tracks used throughout the documentary?
Just got home 🏡 from work, rolled My morning blunt thanks for the Video 👍...
Thing is getting promoted from tirones/recruit to miles/private was easy, you just had to finish the training. They needed privates and each recruit could be a private.
Promotion from miles/private to immunes/specialist was more difficult. They needed specialists but not as many as privates. Still, it was relatively easy. Now, if you could read....I suspect you had a better chance of being promoted.
Getting promoted to the rank of cornicen/trumpeter was quite rare. It is worth saying that the cornicen was passing down the orders and blowing the horn. There was one cornicen in the Roman army per "century". In other words only 1 in 80-100 people was a cornicen. They didn't need that many of them. The competition to become one was big. This is probably the highest rank a normal solider could attain.
Becoming a signifer/standard bearer was difficult and most people couldn't get it. There was one signifer per "century"....in other words only 1 in 80-100 men.Also, the signifer was the tresurer and/or banker of the "century". He needed to read. That's clear. I also wonder if a signifer had to be a cornicen prior or could be or got promoted directly from immunes/specialist.
The tesserarius was a chief night guard. They made sure that there were no infiltrators by allowing only men that knew the watchword or password to enter the fort or camp. They needed to know how to read. They got the watchword from the unit or fort commander written on a piece or wood or paper. There was 1 per "century". It wasn't easy to become one.
The optio was the centurion's right hand man. One per century, like the centurion. One in 80 and you needed to know how to read. Also, probably was promoted from rank of the tessarius or signifer.
The centurion was the leader of the "century". That's it. 1 in 80. Also, needed to know how to read.
Good thing you've mentioned the effective subranks of the centurion. Becoming the pilus prior of a cohort was quite an achievement. Probably better pay than a normal centurion. Becoming the primus pilus of a legion was definitely a good position to be in and paid well.
The praefectus castrorum was a former primus pilus. This is as high as it goes. 1 out of 4800 to 6000 men.
The tribunes were elected from the patricians/aristocrats.
The legatus was the commander of the legion and was a patrician/aristocrat.
This is going to be so weird and out of context but you have damn beautiful eyes. I swear to the Gods, it looks like you were blessed with them.
Could there be some comparison to modern armies in peace and war time? Peacetime there are long lead times on getting officers into units, set promotion time lines and patronage/class plays a role in getting into prestigious positions still. Whereas when war time pressures come into play promotion from the ranks, less need for patronage/class and more focus on battle field ability than administration or personality (for lower grade officers at least).
Casualty rates and expanding forces pressure on the army tends to streamline promotion in more modern forces so could it have been the same for the legions?
Would be hard to compare, as there wasn't really a peaceful time during the period of antiquity. Every border that the roman empire touches most definitely has some kind of conflict, could be local uprisings, banditry, border skirmishes, campaigns. Even at its imperial height, it was calculated that there were 400,000 to 500,000 soldiers (33 legions and about 400 plus aux units) there are definitely peaceful areas of the empire where maybe a cohort garrison of auxiliaries policed the area, enforced taxation etc.
But in the legions, where they would be shifted from place to place to engage in campaigns, it has an attrition rate.
Dont forget, a legion legate changes every 2-4 years, meaning each new legate is gunning for a stacked new CV before he returns to rome, same for the senior tribune as this will also be a factor if he can command his own legion in the future.
@@MrJacobkoh oh I fully agree that it’s a far higher operational tempo than the 21st century but a unit in Hispania or Greece was likely to have far less turn over than the force that invaded Britain for example. Would officers be moved from these rear echelon units to a campaigning unit or more rapid promotion for legionaries in the field. I haven’t heard of sources that definitively say either way and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a pragmatic mix of both.
@@TheSandersh it depends. Generally you enlisted into a specific legion and that was where you'd serve your career. But a General might have 2 or more legions under his command and would sometimes move centurians around if say legion 1 just did a fresh recruitment drive after a wave if retirements and so maybe half the legion is fresh recruits he may move someone from legion 2 to give some knowledge to fresh recruits.
But usually you'd want to promote from within the ranks of a legion because the men are going to fight better for someone they know can handle himself and is up to the task.
If you and I have fought together for 10 years, and you get made a centurian, I know you know what to do. I may not know you by name because you were in a different cohort but I know what our legion has done.
I may know johnisus smithicus cane from the XIIth legion and know of the legion but they weren't on campaign with me I don't really know enough about him, I may 2nd guess him
They have excellent subarmalis. Where did they purchase them? ⚔
“ so what’s your experience?”
“I’m an ex-Centurion in Caesar’s legion”
“ okay you hired”
- some roman job interview, probably
What a video.
So well made and so interresting!
Yuo should add the sources and the link to the reeanctement team you cited.
I know it's a pain in the arse, but it add so much to the excellent content for everybody.
PS I love your channel
lvl 1 crook vs lvl 100 corrupt ex military governor
A Legionary’s Life is a good game ok Steam walking you through a similar story to Spurious. Let’s you decide what kind of soldier you want to be too, brave or cowardly. One is more likely to see retirement. Very interesting video!
That last dude was a monster. I'll bet you anything he had over 50 bodies to his name.
Fun fact: Over 60% of Roman soldiers survived their 25 year commitment to receive their 10 year pension/land. 😅
Depended a lot on the time period
I know war could be brutal as hell back then but 40% is still a ridiculous casualty rate. D-day was like 10%. WW1 was over 60% counting wounded but that makes more sense considering the tech vs tactics and disease.
@@Merblethay 40% includes day to day accident and illness.
@@Merble Also keep in mind life expectancy 2000 years ago. Even if you didn't get stabbed in the neck it was uncommon for smallfolk to reach retirement age.
@@cynwraeth1943 Possibly but I've heard that was largely a misnomer. 50-60 was a reasonable expectation, not the 'everyone died in their 30s' I grew up hearing.
I would sort of try being a forager or auxiliary so I don't get the battle danger itself and can serve 25 years to get my plot of land in Italy near Cannae 🥰
Lmao. When I read that word Immunes and saw the translation as Specialist hah! The E-4 Mafia existed even during Roman times hahahahaha (especially when you consider the perks are almost similar to the Legion and to the US Army).
I'm a simple man. I see a video about Rome, I drop a like. I see a video about the Roman military, I like AND subscribe. I see a video about Roman legions, I like, subscribe and share with my friends!
15:51 I must be confused - I thought that even just theoretically, the highest rank obtainable by a plebeian was centurion. Is there any (even one) known legatus or tribunus who began as a common soldier? Or who wasn’t of the patrician class?
There was a few but that was like 200ad++, to name a few aurelian, dioclecian who rose from soldiers to emperors. They were not from the patrician or senatorial class, based on their family status, they would have been pretty low born and would have joined as regular soldiers but as with all things ancient, we really dont know much about it. But do understand that for rules and tradition to be brushed aside, it must have been a hectic and rough period for rome.
The highest rank attainable for a pleb was actually the Praefectus castrorum, which requires the social class of equestrian. It's possible as due to Augustus, Roman citizens of any social level could become equestrians, as long as they were of good reputation, in good health and owned at least 400,000 sesterces.
For example, a competent legionary who became well established, did his time, got promoted to a centurion, then a primus prior/primus ordini, then primus pilus with plenty of campaigns under his belt, meaning loot as well as proper investment of his money like buying a vineyard or during a local revolt, managed to get property for the cheap.
As long as he gets 400k he is promoted to the social class of equestrian and is eligible to attain the rank of Praefectus castrorum.
Another note, some sources have noted that primus pilus who were not able to have 400k, were promoted to equestrian class after retirement.
And it's not farfetch to say, after you retired from the legions you can re-enlist as a auxiliary cohort commander. If you're in good health, stronger even at the late 40s to 50s. I mean even retired legionaries and centurions who chose to retire on a military colony were required to serve on the reserves for 5 years.
A minor quibble, but I didn’t notice any mention how Marcus Aurelius doubled the donativ on his accession
It what ways was it different after 476 AD?