One of the unique features of the Roman Empire is the rudimentary nature of the bureaucracy, associated with the small number of administrative personnel and their lack of special training and special knowledge in the field of public administration. Despite this fact, the Roman system of government was quite efficient for its time. This was facilitated, among other things, by the active involvement of military personnel in solving administrative and legal issues on the ground. The centurions and beneficiaries are called the most involved part of the Roman army in the civil life of the provincial population. However, the administrative functions of the beneficiaries are fully represented in historiography, whereas the civilian aspects of the activities of the centurions, in contrast to their actual military role, attracted little attention from researchers. The article provides an overview of the historiography of the centurionate in order to determine the current state of the issue that is connected with the place of the centurions in the public administration of the Roman Empire.
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