Plebeians and Patricians

• The Roman social structure was largely divided into two classes of free people: the patricians and the plebeians. The patricians were those Romans who possessed great wealth and owned large tracts of land, being the rough equivalent of the aristocracy in medieval Europe. The plebeians were the rest of the free Roman citizens. They were the merchants, farmers and minor land owners. The senators and consuls of ancient Rome came from the patrician class; the tribunes came from the plebeian class.
  
  

Tribunes

• The office of the tribune was created early in the Roman Republic. The plebeians held the positions that made the country work, and peacefully revolted against their lack of power in the political process by staging a walkout in 494 B.C.: those in the country stopped working the fields; the plebeians in Rome walked away from their jobs and left the city itself. In response to the havoc caused by this walkout, the patricians created the office of the tribunes. The tribunes were elected from the plebeian class. While they had no power to write laws, they could veto laws written by the senate.
  
  

Field Officers

• When Rome raised armies, politicians acted as leaders. While consuls controlled the armies, they chose a number of tribunes to act as the lower officers in the army. According to the historian Polybius, during the Second Punic War, each army had 24 tribunes. Of these, at least 10 needed at least 10 years of military experience, and the remainder needed at least five years of military experience.
  
  

Centurions

• Each tribune in turn selected 10 centurions. These men served in roles similar to those of modern non-commissioned officers. They were military veterans who directly led the soldiers on the battlefield and participated in military councils with the tribunes. The centurions each selected standard bearers and rear-guard officers. Additionally, each centurion selected a posterior centurion. These were partners who assumed the duties of the centurion if he fell in battle.