The Centurion
The Jesus Files character of "The Centurion" is based on a sort of thought picture adapted from research about the Roman military and its position in the government of so-called "Vassal States" of Imperial Rome - of which Judea certainly was.
Attention to detail of the political scene is as accurate as can be portrayed in just a few minutes of time, which is necessary for younger peoples' short attention span. One of the problems with the modern education system, in both State and Private schools, is that the biblical period and location in both history and geography has not been taught for several decades. Therefore to get the feel of life at the time, a degree of surreptitious social and political teaching needs to be incorporated.
The obvious start of the series was at a Good Friday gathering several years ago, and then a snap decision was made for a follow-on to occur a few days later on Resurrection Day (Easter Sunday). This was an obvious thought, because the (Roman) military were also assigned to guard the tomb, whose stone door was miraculously rolled away.
The modus of presentation has developed into the character being a visiting officer, having years of experience, who is assigned to regularly brief recruits to the modern equivalent of the Legion. A man who is authoritarian, yet kindly, and one who will "brook no nonsense" among those his orders are to instruct! Evidence of compassion needs to be presented, because soldiers from all generations ought to follow orders without swerving, yet still exercise kindness.
To be recognisable as an army officer, of course the technology associated with the "Tardis" which brings this character from 2000 years ago, piloted by an army driver, has to also change his uniform into that of a modern Australian army officer, complete with Sam Browne belt, and sword. A stentorian Sergeant-Major type voice is also used, on occasion.
The character of "The Centurion"
This fictional history has developed over a number of months of presenting messages on assignment by Perez, the co-ordinator of the project.
Roman ranks were far fewer than our own rank structure, and there is difficulty in equating the two. A Centurion was somewhat like a mixture of Sergeant-Major and Captain, although there were at least two levels of Centurion. There were two higher ranks in general use, Tribune and Legate, corresponding more or less to Colonel and General.
Maximus' son would have been permitted to advance in the hierarchy, being the son of a commissioned officer, and perhaps the history at some time may include the current Centurion's father, Maximus II.
It seems that Maximus III has served with distinction in several trouble-spots in the empire, and while many postings to Judea are for individual disciplinary reasons, he was actually loaned by the Governor of Syria who succeeded Quirenius, because of his great ability to instill good order and discipline, when it was realised that the passover celebration in the year Jesus was crucified was going to attract an unexpected number of militant people of Jewish descent from other parts of the empire. This is probably why he was personally assigned by His Excellency, Governor Pilatus, to the execution detail, and he would have hand picked battle-hardened reliable soldiers to escort his three prisoners to the gallows.
The timing of this transfer to Judea would also account for his being personally unfamiliar with both John the Baptist's ministry and the very start of Jesus' ministry.
Used to train recruits to the Legion later in life, it is possible that he may have become a Tribune, or even a Legate after his succesful tour of duty in Judea, which may well have culminated with Titus' attacks on Jerusalem in AD 70-71 which destroyed the temple, and in which he would have exercised middle-level command.
It is likely he retired in Judea, and took up farming, or administrative duties there, although he may equally have returned to Rome to exercise his debating skills in the Forum as an "orator", one who "spoke for" another who needed verbal defence. The concept of the "Centurion" seems to work quite well, and the person portraying him not only comes from a military family, but was
personally in military service, which adds to the realism. Some saved pages about centurions, selected by the webmaster, can be found here, and if you need further information, please do an on-line search.
Development to include a second character
Advantage was taken of a presentation of the story of the Capernaum's garrison centurion's concern for his "officer's servant" - known as a "batman" (not the mythological super-hero) in British and Commonwealth military - to introduce a regular second character, just known as "Mr. Fox" who had been promoted from batman to personal aide (this happened often in Roman military circles) in order to improve spontaneity.The two portraying the roles actually relate well in real life, with ad-libbing often working succesfully. Previously an occasional cameo part had been solicited, on one instance there were two.
Here are some audio files of these brief sessions:
The centurion's name is Gaius Marcus Maximus III, the grandson of a freed slave named Maximus who served a previous emperor well, as his personal military attendant (known as the general's "batman" in English and Commonwealth military phraseology). He would have been promoted to the rank of an officer because of bravery and ability, although he would never have advanced to or beyond the rank of Tribune because of
Roman protocol regarding "upper-class" families from which senior officers were drawn.
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