Julius lupus: tribune or centurion?

The assassination of Emperor Gaius (Caligula) in January 41 was the prologue to events unprecedented in the history of the Principate. For two days, Rome, seized with the idea of restoring the republic, was under the control of the consuls, the Senate, and the officers of the Praetorian Guard. By the decision of Cassius Chaerea, who was the head of the conspirators, the members of the emperor’s family - his widow Caesonia and their daughter - were also killed. The executor of this order was one of the Praetorian officers, Julius Lupus, whom Josephus calls a tribune, but Suetonius calls him a centurion. This article is devoted to this contradiction and its causes.