2.6 Organisation - key terms

• Classical Civilisation
• Upper Secondary (Key Stage 4)
• GCSE

2.6 Organisation

Can you remember the meanings of key terms?

What is a taxiarch, and which armies would have one of these?

Senior commander for Sparta and Athens, second-in-command

What were perioeci/periokoi?

A class of people who lived in scattered, less fertile parts of Spartan territory

What was a strategos?

An elected general in the Athenian army; each tribe elected on each year.

How many men were in a Roman century?

80 (160 in double-sized centuries)

What was the name for a unit of eight men in a Roman legion who shared the same tent and cooked together?

contubernium

What were the two types of tribune in a Roman army and what was the difference?

tribunus laticlavius: senior tribune of senatorial rank

tribuni angusticlavi: five tribunes of equestrian rank

What were the names of the most senior centurions in a legion?

primi ordines (primus pilus is most senior)

What were the names for a cohort and a squadron of Roman cavalry, and how many did each have?

ala (512); turma (32)

What was the name for the headquarters of a Roman fortress?

principia

Name two other features of a Roman fortress and describe their functions.

● commanding officer’s house (praetoria) for the commanding officer to

live in and entertain

● hospital to care for the wounded

● granaries to store grain

● stables to house the horse

● baths for cleanliness

● cistern/latrines for water storage/going to the toilet

● gates for keeping the enemies out as fortified and guarded/checking who

was entering and exiting

● watchtower for surveillance

● workshops for creating and repairing necessities

● barracks/barrack blocks for soldiers to sleep in

● ditch so enemies would fall in it

● wall round the outside to keep enemies out