# Ranks



## ArenRax (Feb 26, 2015)

Magical Ranks
Noble Ranks
And Military Ranks

I am having trouble think up of more than the basic ranks and i do not know the heirachal order of each one


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## 2WayParadox (Feb 26, 2015)

What culture did you base your world/culture on? --> check wikipedia or google for the historical ranks they used and use that as inspiration.


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## Hainted (Feb 26, 2015)

Magic would follow along the lines of Apprenticeships. Like Apprentice, Journeyman etc... I would think. Military would depend on branch and whether the person was a commissioned officer or non-commissioned. 

Royalty, well English Royalty goes in the following order from top to bottom King and Queen, Prince and Princess, Duke and Duchess, Marquis and Marchioness, Earl and Countess, Viscount and Viscountess, Baron and Baroness(Hail Cobra!)
 Baronet, Knight(Recipient is addressed as Sir or Dame), Esquires (Squires), Gentlemen, Yeoman, Peasant.


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## Butterfly (Feb 26, 2015)

British Titles and Orders of PrecedenceEdwardian Promenade | Edwardian Promenade

Ranks - British Army Website

Officer Ranks in the Royal Navy | Online Information Bank | Research Collections | Royal Naval Museum at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard


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## X Equestris (Feb 26, 2015)

You're going to have to be more specific about your setting.  A medieval army is going to have a different ranking system than a modern one, after all.  Nobility will be different in different cultures, too.


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## DeathtoTrite (Feb 27, 2015)

One quick note- especially with  noble ranks, don't get too caught up in the hierarchy! Some English earls were enormously wealthy and powerful, despite technically being of a lower rank than a duke. Similarly, some of the most powerful Muslims in the middle ages were mere Emirs. 

As to the noble and military hierarchy, it depends on what culture you're going for/ what time period. A military hierarchy separate from a noble one is a relatively new thing-  the French Republic being the first to practice it in the West. Ghengis Khan is a good non-western example. Otherwise though, nobles were given command by their suzerain. How your levies were organized was your decision- usually your men-at-arms and knights would command the levies. Nobility remained a crucial factor though. When Phillip II of Spain assigned the Duke of Parma to command the invasion of England/ suppression of Dutch, many more prestigious nobles were disobedient to Parma purely due to his relatively low status- despite his considerable skill and appointment as commander!


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## ScipioSmith (Feb 27, 2015)

It isn't so new. The Roman army, and before that the Macedonian army of Philip and Alexander, both had professional officer corps that held their ranks by royal/imperial commission, rather than bloodright. Now in both cases the officers tended to be from the upper end of the social strata, but they didn't command because they were nobles, and they could, in theory, be dismissed and replaced in thier commands at any point (in theory because, if a commander was popular enough with his troops, he could become an almost feudal overlord regardless).


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## X Equestris (Feb 27, 2015)

That's true, though outside of the Romans, Greeks, and Carthaginians the command structure was often a lot looser.


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## DeathtoTrite (Feb 27, 2015)

ScipioSmith said:


> It isn't so new. The Roman army, and before that the Macedonian army of Philip and Alexander, both had professional officer corps that held their ranks by royal/imperial commission, rather than bloodright. Now in both cases the officers tended to be from the upper end of the social strata, but they didn't command because they were nobles, and they could, in theory, be dismissed and replaced in their commands at any point (in theory because, if a commander was popular enough with his troops, he could become an almost feudal overlord regardless).



Fair enough. But the practice largely vanished in the meantime. And the Roman armies, though it had a professional army corp, was commanded by a legate who may or may not have lots of military experience.


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## K.S. Crooks (Mar 1, 2015)

Religious Ranks- such as Pope, Cardinals, Bishops, Reverend Mother, etc.
Corporate Ranks- CEO/Owner, President, Vice President, Director, Manager, Worker
Political Ranks- Prime Minister/President, Governor, Premier, Senator, Mayor, Counsel member


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## ArenRax (Mar 3, 2015)

im mostly interested in Roman, ancient Japanese,Greek,British and the modern day American Ranks.
Military Ranks of course.
also noble ranking system for fuedal japan,Greece, and Rome.
have no idea where to find a place where it is all compiled


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## X Equestris (Mar 3, 2015)

There wasn't really any ranking system for Greek and Roman nobility.  If you were part of the noble class, you were roughly coequal.  Japan isn't really my area of expertise, so I can't speak for it.  The British nobility is on the last page.  

Military ranks are something that's going to vary based on branch.  What exactly are you looking for?


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## ArenRax (Mar 3, 2015)

Army and naval most likely


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## X Equestris (Mar 3, 2015)

Here's enlisted:


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## X Equestris (Mar 3, 2015)

And officers:


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## Russ (Mar 3, 2015)

X Equestris said:


> There wasn't really any ranking system for Greek and Roman nobility.  If you were part of the noble class, you were roughly coequal.  Japan isn't really my area of expertise, so I can't speak for it.  The British nobility is on the last page.
> 
> Military ranks are something that's going to vary based on branch.  What exactly are you looking for?



There were basically three types of pre-Imperial Roman nobility:

Roman aristocracy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In different Imperial periods it can bet a lot more complicated.

But the rank system or hierarchy of a fantasy world really needs to fit the world and culture.  It can be as complex or as simple as you like.  There are even ranks within ranks, such as the split between Liberi and Ministrale amongst central European knights .


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## X Equestris (Mar 3, 2015)

Russ said:


> There were basically three types of pre-Imperial Roman nobility:
> 
> Roman aristocracy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> 
> ...



And there is very little functional difference between them.  There's quite a bit of overlap between the three spheres.  It's not really a hierarchy.  But yeah, the Imperial era is where it gets complicated, especially as the changes in the late empire happened.


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## DeathtoTrite (Mar 3, 2015)

@ X Equestris those rate charts bring back memories. Ugh.


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