What unit from the Roman Army consisting of centuries enjoyed more prestige than the Roman navy?
Roman legion A Roman legion (from Latin "legio" "military levy, conscription", from "legere" "to choose") was the largest unit of the Roman army, evolving from 3000 men in early times to over 5200 men in imperial times, consisting of "centuries" as the basic units. Until the middle of the first century, 10 cohorts (about 5,000 men) made up a Roman Legion. This was later changed to nine cohorts of standard size (with 6 centuries at 80 men each) and one cohort, the first cohort, of double strength (5 double-strength centuries with 160 men each).
Battalia (formation) From the late 16th century into the 18th century battalia, was a description used both for the positioning of units in an army (or navy) on a battle field and the formation in which individual units deployed for battle (battle array or battle order). Sometimes it was used to describe the main body of an army deploy for battle but excluding the wings and other units such as those deployed in front of the main line in skirmishing formation etc. Battalia differs from battalion which is generally the smallest military unit capable of independent operations and would have formed up in its battalia when going into battle.