Legate Question

[Livia Marcella]

Just wanted to ask a question about legati. I'm thinking 1st C here, but if a Legate was in charge of a legion (where there was more than one legion in a province), where would he have been stationed? Near the proconsul in the administrative capitol or would he take the place of a prefect in a fort and live in the praetorum. Were there forts that had both prefects and legati?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Livia Marcella

[Sextus Roscius]

you strike a interesting question, one that I have no answer for and will most likely press myself to look into.

 

perhaps they simply stayed where they were more needed. A legate wouldn't have sat around at a border fort all day doing nothing besides running a camp. He would be where he was most needed, which in certain cases might be a fort.

 

they might have stayed at the administrative capitol most of the time near the proconsul incase they were needed imediatly or were called upon by some one higher ranking. Then when they were needed on the frontier or a legion was moving or going on a campaign, went with it. A general needed to have legates near by.

[Livia Marcella]

That's my gut feeling. They would have been with thier legion, but also running around for the proconsul, perhaps not even in the province.

 

If you do find anything, i'd be grateful.

 

 

L. Marcella

[Sextus Roscius]

A little bit I picked up which might suggest that my our idea is correct but it may not be for the time up to after this.

 

Command of the legion was usually given to a legatus legionis picked by the emperor from the senatorial class who generally had some previous military experience through service as a tribunus. In Egypt and from the the start of the third century also in other provinces the command was not entrusted to a senatorial legatus, but to a praefectus legionis, an acting commander drawn from the equestrian order.

 

This means that they probley did dash between the administrative capital and the legions. I'll let you know if I find more.