The first cohort of a century had 5 double size centuries instead of the 6 standards size centuries of cohorts 2 to 10. The double size centuries had 10 men each. This gives a total of 800 men.
There were 800 soldiers in the first cohort of a Roman legion. The remaining nine cohorts had 480 men each.
In a theoretic Imperial legion the first cohort would have consisted of double the 2-9 cohorts, so while a normal Cohort consisted of 400 odd men, the 1'st cohort had around 800 men. But taking into account of Deaths and Legionnaires on leave. it was rarely fully manned. the same can be said for the entire Legion
a Cohort was the best sort of foot soldier the Romans had. they were a supreme unit on the battle field
six centuries in a cohort.
The Roman army was divided into legions which consisted of about 6,000 men when they were at full strength. The legion was divided into units called cohorts and the cohorts were further divided into centuries. There was another section or division called a contubernium, but this was not a fighting unit, it was a tent unit of eight men.
In the imperial period a LEGION consisted of a body of about 5,500 in the imperial period (split into 10 COHORTS of 480 men each, with the first cohort at double strength; the remaining 220 being cavalry and technical staff. Legions were smaller in the Republican era, but they were split into MANIPLES rather than cohorts.
Most ancient remains pervail the knowledge that a Roman Centurion could control 100 men.His command would depend on his rank. There were many ranks of "centurion". The lowest ranking centurion commanded a century which was 80 men, contrary to popular belief that a century consisted of 100 men. If he commanded a cohort, he would command 480 men and if he were the "first spear" and commanded the first cohort, he had about 800 men under his command. The camp prefect, who was also a centurion, commanded the entire legion in the absence of the general and senior officers.
Chain of command for a legion: (Note: A legion was usually comprised of 10 Cohorts, each cohort was made of about 6 centuries, each century had 80 men plus the centurion)Chain of Command:Legatus: Commander of the Legion, in charge of about 5,280 men.Primus Pilus: Supreme Centurion of a Legion, Senior Centurion of the First Cohort, in charge of about 960 men.Senior Centurion: Commander of a Cohort, in charge of about 480 men.Primi Ordine: A Centurion in Command of a Century in the First Cohort, in charge of about 80 men.Junior Centurion: Commander of a Century, in charge of about 80 men.File Leader: Basically the leader of a file in a Century, not necessarily a Commander, but just a soldier who did have slight authority of about 10 men in a file.
Chain of command for a legion: (Note: A legion was usually comprised of 10 Cohorts, each cohort was made of about 6 centuries, each century had 80 men plus the centurion)Chain of Command:Legatus: Commander of the Legion, in charge of about 5,280 men.Primus Pilus: Supreme Centurion of a Legion, Senior Centurion of the First Cohort, in charge of about 960 men.Senior Centurion: Commander of a Cohort, in charge of about 480 men.Primi Ordine: Commander of a Century in the First Cohort, in charge of about 80 men.Junior Centurion: Commander of a Century, in charge of about 80 men.File Leader: Basically the leader of a file in a Century, not necessarily a Commander, but just a soldier who did have slight authority of about 10 men in a file.
Centurion it used to be a hundred men but over time it fell to 80 men to a century,which by the late first century AD would have been made up like this: MEN TOTAL 6 centuries of 80 men 480 {one cohort} 10 cohorts made up a legion thus: 9 cohorts of 480 men 4,320 men The first cohort was double sized and made up of ten centuries of 800 men 800 + 4,320= 5,120 men
There were 66 centuries in a legion. Although 6 centuries made up a cohort and there were ten cohorts in the legion, the first cohort was double and had 12 centuries rather than 6.There were 66 centuries in a legion. Although 6 centuries made up a cohort and there were ten cohorts in the legion, the first cohort was double and had 12 centuries rather than 6.There were 66 centuries in a legion. Although 6 centuries made up a cohort and there were ten cohorts in the legion, the first cohort was double and had 12 centuries rather than 6.There were 66 centuries in a legion. Although 6 centuries made up a cohort and there were ten cohorts in the legion, the first cohort was double and had 12 centuries rather than 6.There were 66 centuries in a legion. Although 6 centuries made up a cohort and there were ten cohorts in the legion, the first cohort was double and had 12 centuries rather than 6.There were 66 centuries in a legion. Although 6 centuries made up a cohort and there were ten cohorts in the legion, the first cohort was double and had 12 centuries rather than 6.There were 66 centuries in a legion. Although 6 centuries made up a cohort and there were ten cohorts in the legion, the first cohort was double and had 12 centuries rather than 6.There were 66 centuries in a legion. Although 6 centuries made up a cohort and there were ten cohorts in the legion, the first cohort was double and had 12 centuries rather than 6.There were 66 centuries in a legion. Although 6 centuries made up a cohort and there were ten cohorts in the legion, the first cohort was double and had 12 centuries rather than 6.
The Roman officer rank system was different than today's. There was not an officer rank designated as commander of a cohort. Effectively a cohort was led by the commander of its first century. The rank of the officers also varied depending on the cohort they belonged to.The Roman legion had ten cohorts. Cohorts 2 to 10 had six standard centuries and cohort 1 had five double size centuries. The first cohort had five primi ordines who commanded the five centuries of the first cohort. The senior among them was the primus pilus who commanded the first century, and therefore was like a commander of the cohort. The pilus prior was the commander of the first century of cohorts 2 to 10. The other five centuries were commanded by centurions. The pilus prior and the centurions of cohorts 6 to 10 were of lower rank than those of cohort 2 to 5.