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753 BC – AD 476
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The contubernium was the smallest organized unit of soldiers in the Roman Army and was composed of eight legionaries, the equivalent of a modern squad. The men within the contubernium were known as contubernales.[1] Ten contubernia were grouped into a centuria. Soldiers of a contubernium shared a tent, and could be rewarded or punished together as a unit.

It was led by a Decanus, the equivalent of a junior non-commissioned officer. They were appointed from within the contubernium and were most likely the longest serving legionary.[2] Their duties would include organising the erection of the marching tent and keeping discipline.[3]

Two auxiliary "servants", comparable to modern support troops, were assigned to each contubernium.[1] They were responsible for the care of the contubernium's pack mule, making sure the legionaries had water during the march, and often had special skills like blacksmithing or carpentry.

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All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Contubernium and the edit history here.
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