This is completely different from a modern day Commissioned Military General who never stands for election at any point in their careers.
This "rank-shaped" badge-of-office a formal representation of Public Civilian (political) authority over military matters.
The rank that was subordinate to a top general was a taxiarchos or taxiarhos, something akin to the modern brigadier.
Under them, each warship was commanded by a trièrarchos or trierarch, a word which originally meant "trireme officer" but persisted when other types of vessels came into use.
Specifically, the kybernètès was the helmsman, the keleustēs managed the rowing speed, and the trièraulès was the flute player who maintained the strike rate for the oarsmen.
With the rise of Macedonia under Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great, the Greek military became professional, tactics became more sophisticated and additional levels of ranking developed.
[citation needed] Immediately beneath the commander (or his legate) were six military tribunes (tribuni militum), five of whom were young men of equestrian rank and one of whom was a nobleman who was headed for the senate.
He, too, would have a colonel's rank in modern armies, yet he differed much from the tribunes in that his office was not part of the rather administrative cursus, but normally filled by former centurions.
Each century was led by a centurion (centurio, traditionally translated as captain), who was assisted by a number of junior officers, such as an optio.
Historians have discovered the existence of the following ranks in Parthian and Sassanian armies: Post-classical militaries did not have a unified rank structure; while the feudal lords were in some ways equivalent to modern officers, they did not have a strict hierarchy—a king was conceived of as first among equals, not a monarch as later or ancient societies understood the concept, and all nobles were theoretically equals (hence "peers").
[citation needed] A nobleman was obligated to bring a set number of troops when asked by his liege-lord, a king or merely a higher-ranked noble who had obtained his service by the gift of land.
Tactics for an upcoming battle were often decided by councils of war among the nobles leading the largest forces.
As the European and Asian Middle Ages came to an end, the rank structure of post-classical armies became more formalized.
Captain was derived from the Late Latin word capitaneus (meaning "head man" or chief).
The first NCOs were the armed servants (men-at-arms) of the aristocracy, assigned to command, organize and train the militia units raised for battle.
As the post-classical came to an end, kings increasingly relied on professional soldiers to fill the bottom ranks of their armies instead of militiamen.
The money was raised through taxation; those yeomen (smallholding peasants) who did not fulfill their annual 40-day militia service paid a tax that funded professional soldiers recruited from the yeomanry.
In French history, lieutenant du roi was a title borne by the officer sent with military powers to represent the king in certain provinces.
In modern times recruits attending basic training, also referred to as boot camp by some branches, are instructed in the hierarchical structure of military rank.
The so-called "brigada" was a mixed unit, comprising infantry, cavalry and normally artillery, designated for a special task.
The full title of sergeant major fell out of use until the latter part of the 18th century, when it began to be applied to the senior non-commissioned officer of an infantry battalion or cavalry regiment.
In the United States, five stars has been the highest rank regularly attainable (excluding the marines and coast guard, which have traditionally served as branches of the navy in times of war and thus under the command of a fleet admiral).
The two terms are not necessarily synonymous because the former is frequently used to describe any officer who holds a command position from a platoon to a theater.
Officer cadets are addressed to as "Mister" or "Miss" until the completion of the early stages of their training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (at which point cadets "pass out" and formally gain their commissions), thereafter other ranks (non-officers) will address them as "Sir" or "Ma'am".
They are responsible for the care and direct control of junior military members, often functioning in the smaller field units as executive officers.
In many armies, because junior officers have a great amount of responsibility and authority but little operational experience, they are paired with senior NCO advisers.
The ranking and command system used by U.S. Marine ground forces or U.S. Army infantry units can serve as a template for this purpose.
In size and nature they are larger and more varied collections of battalions than is common for a regiment, fitting them for their traditional role as the smallest formation able to operate independently on a battlefield without external logistical tactical support.
Beyond this, in any real situation, not all units will be at full strength and there will be various attachments and detachments of assorted specialists woven throughout the system.
These were in their turn formed into army groups, these being the largest field organization handled by a single commander in modern warfare.