Editing Legate (ancient Rome) (section)

===Roman Republic===
The rank of legate existed as early as the [[Samnite Wars]], but it was not until 190 BC that it started to be standardized, meant to better manage the higher numbers of soldiers the [[Second Punic War]] had forced to recruit. The legate of a Roman Republican army was essentially a supreme [[military tribune]], drawn from among the senatorial class of [[Ancient Rome|Rome]] (usually a [[Roman consul|consul]] or [[proconsul]]),<ref name="dictionary PA797"/> who acted as a second-in-command to the magistrate in charge of the force.<ref name=Sage>{{cite book|author=Michael Sage|title=The Army of the Roman Republic: From the Regal Period to the Army of Julius Caesar|url=|date=2016|publisher=Casemate Publishers|isbn=9781473880955}}</ref><ref name=Erd>{{cite book|author=Paul Erdkamp|title=A Companion to the Roman Army|url=|date=2011|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=9781444393767}}</ref> This role was usually played by either seasoned generals or ambitious young senators; the latter option eventually displaced the military tribune as a path to gain recognition.<ref name=Sage/><ref>{{cite book|author=Erich S. Gruen|title=The Last Generation of the Roman Republic|url=|date=1995|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520201538}}</ref>

The legate was officially assigned by the [[Roman Senate|Senate]], the republic's highest governing body. An appointment was generally only done after consulting with the magistrate in command,<ref name=Sage/><ref name=Erd/> hoping to pair a commander and a lieutenant who could work together without trouble. This was established  to avoid clashes of leadership like that of the consuls [[Gaius Terentius Varro|Varro]] and [[Lucius Aemilius Paullus (consul 219 BC)|Paulus]] in [[Battle of Cannae|Cannae]].<ref name=Sage/> The legate often acted as a military consultant or adviser, like [[Scipio Africanus]] did for his brother [[Lucius Scipio Asiaticus|Lucius]] during the [[Roman–Seleucid War]], or as a trusted man of action, as in the case of [[Lucius Quinctius Flamininus]] and his brother [[Titus Quinctius Flamininus|Titus]] in their campaigns.<ref name=Erd/>

After the changes in the army of the late Republic around the 1st century BCE (often referred to as the "[[Marian reforms]]", although the accuracy of this designation is disputed), the figure of the legate as a major second-in-command was eliminated. Multiple legati were assigned to every army, each in command of a [[Roman legion|legion]], which was called ''legatus legionis''. [[Julius Caesar]] made wide use of this title throughout the [[Gallic Wars]].<ref name="dictionary PA797">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WcgBAAAAMAAJ&q=Legatus+legionis&pg=PA797 |title=Smith (1901) Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities Vol. 1 PA797|date=2006-07-14 |access-date=2011-04-16|last1=Smith|first1=William}}</ref> Initially, only conflicts on foreign ground had demanded the presence of legati, but the beginning of the [[Social War (91–87 BC)|Social War]] in 90 BC saw them being increasingly deployed in Italia.<ref name=Sage/>

There were two main positions. The {{lang|la|legatus legionis}} was an ex-[[praetor]] given command of one of Rome's legions,{{cn|date=August 2024}} while the ''legatus pro praetore'' was an ex-[[Roman consul|consul]] given the [[Roman governor|governorship]] of a [[Roman province]], with the magisterial powers of a praetor, which in some cases included command of four or more legions. A legate was entitled to twelve [[Lictor|''lictors'']], who carried out punishments with [[fasces]] (bundled rods). A ''legatus legionis'' could order [[capital punishment]].<ref name="dictionary PA811">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WcgBAAAAMAAJ&q=Legatus+legionis&pg=PA811 |title=Smith (1901) Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities Vol. 1 PA811|date=2006-07-14 |access-date=2011-04-16|last1=Smith|first1=William}}</ref>