Every military in the world is a hierarchical organization.

There are people at the top who make decisions, people down below who follow those orders,

and people in between who make it happen.

Today, most militaries have an elaborate rank structure with multiple ranks in the chain of command.

However, it wasn't always like that. The modern system of ranks evolved over time

and the ranks that exist today have origins that go back centuries.

Learn more about military ranks, where they came from and what they mean on this episode of

Everything Everywhere Daily. Book your ticket to happiness with Sun Express Airlines. Hey there. This is Cameron Abody, deputy editor at Foreign Policy magazine.

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I'm guessing that most of you are at least familiar with the most basic military ranks,

general, colonel, sergeant, private, etc.

What those ranks represent and what the terms mean were something that evolved over time.

But before I get into individual ranks and how they were established, we should go way back to how ranks

were created in the first place.

When humans began organized warfare, it was small bands of people who probably all knew each other.

...