Number (auxiliary force)

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Numerus brick stamp from Passau (3rd century)

The numerus ( Latin numerus , plural numeri ; literally: "number", analogously: "unit") refers to a small, mostly independently operating auxiliary force of the Roman army for special tasks. Basically, a distinction is made between so-called ethnic or national numbers, which were originally excavated in certain areas of the empire (or beyond the borders) and vexillation numbers, which were assigned from already existing units.

Definition and historical development

Theodor Mommsen was already aware that the term number in the Roman military organization was initially used to denote any unit of the army that was not defined in more detail with regard to its tasks and could also refer to legions, ales and cohorts. In addition, special commands such as the Frumentarii or the Equites singulares were also referred to as such . From the 2nd century onwards, the term was also used for units that were mostly excavated from individual peoples or tribes at the turn of the century. Originally, number simply meant “unity”. Such units were initially only dug out when needed and then disbanded again after their use. They were more or less viewed as Irregular Troops . In later times they changed to standing units and were integrated into the existing army structure. In the Roman army organization they were part of the auxilia (auxiliary troops).

In general, a distinction must be made between so-called ethnic or national numbers, which were originally excavated in certain areas of the empire, but also beyond the borders, and vexillation numbers, which were assigned from already existing units, which is not always easy due to often confusing naming. which is why there have been various misunderstandings in the course of research history. The problem of naming, which is not always obvious at first glance, is made even more difficult by the fact that the national numbers were only explicitly referred to as numbers since the middle of the second century (the vexillation numbers even later, see below). The number Peditum Singularium Britannicianorum (a vexillation number), which was inscribed between 103 and 157 as Pedites Britannici , Pedites singulares Britannici or Pedites singulares Britanniciani, is documented as Vexillatio peditum singularium Britanniciani for 179, may serve as an example for such a development of garrison names only gradually, verifiably from 142 onwards, assumed the final number name, which in this case indicates an overlap phase of at least 37 years.

Normally the number had a crew strength of 160 men (two centuries). An experienced centurion of a legion or auxiliary troop was assigned as the commander of such a number , who acted as a Praepositus numeri . But there are also numbers with a strength of 500 and 1000 soldiers known. In these cases a prefect or tribune was entrusted with the authority. This happened more often in late antiquity, as the numbers increased considerably during this time. In the late Roman army (284–395), the numbers were part of the limitanei .

Ethnic or national numbers

The ethnic numbers originated at the end of the first century when the first permanent castles were built on the Limites . They were removed from their areas of origin, but mostly deployed there permanently, and supplemented the ales and cohorts on site . They were exempt from stipends (wages paid by the Roman army) and, at the current state of research, it is not known in what form they were paid instead. In any case, gravestone inscriptions (especially from Dacia ) indicate that even the simple soldier of a number could achieve a modest prosperity. However, in contrast to the members of the Vexillationsnumeri (see below), the ales and cohorts - they may not automatically receive Roman citizenship at the end of their service life .

With all numbers it is noticeable that - in contrast to legions, ales and cohorts - they do not have an ordinal number next to their troop names. The national numbers were always designated according to their original ethnic origin, such as Numerus Brittonum (Numerus from Britain ). The unit names often also contained their military functions, such as the numeri defensorum (defender) or the numeri exploratorum (scout / reconnaissance). Additional geographical terms (river or source names) of the location were also used, such as the Numerus Brittonum Elantiensium (on the Elz ) or the Numerus Brittonum Murrensium (on the Murr ). The following groups of national numbers are known inscribed:

  • The Brittones must be distinguished from the older Britanni and cohortes Britannicae . The name Brittones refers to the British who were not yet subjugated at the beginning of the Flavian period. They appear for the first time around the year 85. Presumably they came to Germania as a closed association of infantrymen and were divided there into individual numbers, which were mainly used to guard the Neckar-Odenwald-Limes and during the second century exclusively in the province of Germania superior are proven. Their numerus fort covered an area of ​​0.6 to 0.8 hectares on average. A good example of this, and also the best-researched numerus fort in Germany, is the Hesselbach fort on the older Odenwald Limes . The camp had its own staff building ( principia ) and a commandant's residence. The crew of around 160 men was organized in four centuries and accordingly also housed in four barracks. Numbers of these strengths may also manned neighboring, smaller facilities such as the Rötelsee fort near Welzheim (12 to 20 men).
  • The Frisii and Frisiavones are epigraphically documented in small numbers in Britain. They came from the area of ​​today's Dutch and German Friesland , whereby the Frisiavones are regarded as a branch of the Frisii living between Waal and Vlie , also referring to Tacitus , who wrote of maioribus minoribusque Frisiis (the larger and smaller Frisians). The Frisian units were not referred to as numbers, but as cunei .
  • The Hemeseni originally came from the province of Syria . An association of the name with the Syrian city of Emesa is conceivable, but not certain, as little is known about these troops. The Hemeseni are only documented with the Numerus Hemesenorum on the western edge of the Sinai Peninsula , in El Qantara . There is also evidence from the Danube Limes for an auxiliary cohort of the same name.
  • The Mauri were originally excavated in the western Maghreb . They go back to the Moorish cavalry of Lusius Quietus , who had already been in Roman service under Domitian . Later the cavalry of Quietus took part successfully in the Dacer wars of Trajan and is also depicted on the Trajan column . From when she moved into permanent quarters in Dacia is not entirely clear; the oldest inscribed source refers to the early second century. According to this, it is certainly attested for the year 158. Due to the fact that, on the one hand, she achieved her successes in the Dacian wars by operating independently and, on the other hand, all Moorish numbers in Dacia were commanded by prefects , it can possibly be concluded that there was an above-average number of up to 500 soldiers. During the second century, the Moorish numbers are only attested in Dacia, where changes in the military structure may have occurred over time. The inscriptions contain the Eques and the Decurio of the cavalry, but also the Miles and the Signifer of the infantry, so that mixed units can be assumed, with the Numerus Maurorum Hispanorum even having a purely infantry focus. During the second century the Moorish numbers appeared exclusively in Dacia, it was not until the third century that they were partly withdrawn there and used at other border sections.
  • The Palmyreni sagittarii (archers from Palmyra in the province of Syria) are the epigraphically most common national numbers. Like the Mauri, they probably took part in the Dacian wars and have been attested by military diplomas as standing units in Dacia since the year 120 . The Palmyreni seem to have preserved their ethnic homogeneity over a relatively long period of time, presumably they were refreshed from proven, larger oriental communities near their forts. A little surprising that most of them fought as infantrymen, to whom only smaller contingents were assigned, which contradicts the conventional view of oriental archers. In addition to their presence in Dacia, there is also evidence of a Numerus Palmyrenorum in today's El Qantara , on the western edge of the Sinai Peninsula.
  • The Sarmatae (soldiers from Sarmatia ; Sarmatian ) probably go back to the alleged 8000 riders from the Sarmatian the Roman army during the first Marcomannic War will be provided by 175 had. According to Cassius Dio, 5500 of these cavalrymen are said to have been commanded to Britain. The magnitude of the Sarmatian contingents given by Cassius Dio is doubted in the scientific literature. Epigraphically verifiable is a Numerus Equitum Sarmartorum in Bremetennacum , today's Ribchester , in the third century .
  • The Suri sagittarii (Syrian archers) corresponded to the Palmyreni sagittarii in terms of recruitment area, armament, military function and area of ​​operation . The Numerus Surorum Sagittariorum , which was initially stationed in Romula in the area of ​​today's Dobrosloveni , in the province of Dacia inferior and then assigned to the province of Mauretania Caesariensis , in the area of ​​today's Maghnia , has been extensively documented epigraphically .

For all numbers not listed here, it must be assumed that they are vexillation numbers, even if the respective troop name may superficially suggest something else.

Vexillation numbers

Vexillations that operated for a longer period of time independently of their parent unit and were stationed at a distance from it also took on the designation numerus after a certain time . However, this happened later than with the ethnic numbers and is only epigraphically documented from the time of Septimius Severus (193 to 211), although it is not related to the Severian army reforms. When it comes to naming, there is a large, strongly differing variety, since there was apparently no uniform naming practice. In North Africa they were often referred to as Numerus Collatus or Numerus Electorum , which refers to the original unit. Sometimes they were named after the provinces from whose garrisons they had been assigned (for example, Numerus Equitum Illyricorum , Numerus Germanicianorum or Numerus Peditum Singularium Britannicianorum ). Another variant was to emphasize a certain military quality, as in the Numerus Barcariorum . The last group finally formed their names from the stationing place or a locality in its vicinity, which in the past has often wrongly interpreted them as national numbers. Examples of this are the Numerus Cattharensium from the Alteburg Castle and the Numerus Ursariensium from Quadriburgium . Later these names were retained as traditional names without any specific reference to the origin or the current composition of the troop. The members of the Vexillationsnumeri received - in contrast to those of the ethnic Numbers - regular scholarships and were automatically granted Roman citizenship when they were released from their service.

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Marcus Reuter: Studies on the numbers of the Roman army in the middle imperial period. In: Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission. 80, 1999, ISSN  0341-9312 , pp. 357-569, here pp. 373-377, (also: Freiburg (Breisgau), Univ., Diss., 1996).
  2. ^ Theodor Mommsen: The Conscription Ordinance of the Roman Empire . In Ders .: Gesammelte Schriften, VI, 3, Berlin 1910, pp. 20–117, here pp. 103f.
  3. ↑ Marcus Reuter: Studies on the numeri of the Roman army in the middle imperial period. In: Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission. 80, 1999, ISSN  0341-9312 , pp. 357-569, here pp. 361-365, (also: Freiburg (Breisgau), Univ., Diss., 1996).
  4. ^ Anne Johnson: Roman castles of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD in Britain and in the Germanic provinces of the Roman Empire (= cultural history of the ancient world . Vol. 37). von Zabern, Mainz 1987, ISBN 3-8053-0868-X , p. 36f.
  5. ↑ a b c Manfred Clauss 1999, pp. 25 and 61, Thomas Fischer 2012, p. 25, Anne Johnson 1987, pp. 36–37, Egon Schallmayer 2006, p. 116.
  6. ↑ Tatiana Alexandrovna Ivleva: Britons abroad. The mobility of Britons and the circulation of British-made objects in the Roman Empire . Dissertation, Leiden University 2012, pp. 193–197 and 555–560, ( digitized version ).
  7. ^ Rainer Wiegels: On the army formations of Rome on the Rhine and Upper Danube in the time of Alexander Severus and Maximinus Thrax . In: Klio 96.1 (2014), ISSN  2192-7669 , pp. 93-143, here pp. 115-118.
  8. ^ Catherine Wolff: The Army in the Provinces: The numeri . In Yann Le Bohec (Ed.): The Encyclopedia of the Roman Army . Vol. III. Wiley & Sons, Oxford 2015, ISBN 978-1-4051-7619-4 , pp. 1046f.
  9. ↑ a b Marcus Reuter: Studies on the numbers of the Roman army in the middle imperial period. In: Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission. 80, 1999, ISSN  0341-9312 , pp. 357-569, here pp. 378-399, (at the same time: Freiburg (Breisgau), Univ., Diss., 1996).
  10. ^ Numerus Brittonum Elantiensium in Neckarburken , later in Osterburken ; Numerus Brittonum Gr ... in Köngen ; Numerus Brittonum Murrensium in Heilbronn - Böckingen ; Numerus Brittonum Nemaningensium in Obernburg am Main or Wörth am Main ; Numerus Brittonum Triputiensium in Schloßau and Numerus Brittonum in Walldürn .
  11. ^ Except on the Neckar-Odenwald-Limes: Numerus Brittonum in Niederbieber; Numerus Brittonum Gurvedensium in Frankfurt-Heddernheim ; Numerus Brittonum L ... in Welzheim ; Numerus Brittonum Aurelianensium and Numerus Cal ... in Öhringen .
  12. ↑ Marcus Reuter: Studies on the numeri of the Roman army in the middle imperial period. In: Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission. 80, 1999, ISSN  0341-9312 , pp. 357-569, here pp. 385-389 and 442 to 467, (at the same time: Freiburg (Breisgau), Univ., Diss., 1996).
  13. ↑ Cuneus Frisionum Aballavensium in Aballava ( Burgh-by-Sands ), later in Derventio ( Papcastle ); Cuneus Frisiorum Vercovicianorum in Vercovicium ( Housesteads ) and Cuneus Frisiorum Vinoviensium in Vinovia ( Binchester ).
  14. ↑ Plin. Nat. IV, 101.
  15. ↑ Tac. Germ. 34.
  16. ↑ Marcus Reuter: Studies on the numeri of the Roman army in the middle imperial period. In: Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission. 80, 1999, ISSN  0341-9312 , pp. 357-569, here pp. 389f. and 479 to 482, (also: Freiburg (Breisgau), Univ., Diss., 1996).
  17. ↑ CIL 8, 2494 , AE 1933, 45 , AE 1926, 145 , AE 1933, 46 and AE 1933, 48 .
  18. ↑ Marcus Reuter: Studies on the numeri of the Roman army in the middle imperial period. In: Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission. 80, 1999, ISSN  0341-9312 , pp. 357-569, here pp. 390f. as well as 497 to 500, (at the same time: Freiburg (Breisgau), Univ., Diss., 1996).
  19. ↑ Relief 64 of the Trajan Column: Moorish cavalry attacking Dacian infantry. Available on Arachne .
  20. ↑ CIL 16, 108
  21. ↑ The Numerus Maurorum Hispanorum was probably formed from the Moors who invaded Spain during the reign of Marcus Aurelius.
  22. ↑ Besides the already mentioned Numerus Maurorum Hispanorum in Ampelum ( Zlatna ) the Numerus Maurorum Miciensium in Micia ( Vețel ), the Numerus Maurorum Optatianensium in Optatiana ( Sutoru ), the Numerus Maurorum S ... in the Sălaj district and the Numerus Maurorum Tibiscensium in Tibiscum ( Caransebeş ).
  23. ↑ Numerus Maurorum Aurelianorum in Aballava ( Burgh by Sands ).
  24. ↑ Marcus Reuter: Studies on the numeri of the Roman army in the middle imperial period. In: Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission. 80, 1999, ISSN  0341-9312 , pp. 357-569, here pp. 391-394 and 503 to 514, (at the same time: Freiburg (Breisgau), Univ., Diss., 1996).
  25. ↑ Numerus Palmyrenorum Optatianensium in Optatiana ( Sutoru ), Numerus Palmyrenorum Porolissensium Sagittariorum in Porolissum ( Moigrad-Porolissum ) and Numerus Palmyrenorum Tibiscensium in Tibiscum ( Caransebeş ).
  26. ↑ Marcus Reuter: Studies on the numeri of the Roman army in the middle imperial period. In: Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission. 80, 1999, ISSN  0341-9312 , pp. 357-569, here pp. 394-398 and 521 to 537, (at the same time: Freiburg (Breisgau), Univ., Diss., 1996).
  27. ↑ Dio. Cass. LXXII, 16.
  28. ↑ Marcus Reuter: Studies on the numeri of the Roman army in the middle imperial period. In: Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission. 80, 1999, ISSN  0341-9312 , pp. 357-569, here pp. 398 and 538 to 540, (also: Freiburg (Breisgau), Univ., Diss., 1996).
  29. ↑ Marcus Reuter: Studies on the numeri of the Roman army in the middle imperial period. In: Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission. 80, 1999, ISSN  0341-9312 , pp. 357-569, here p. 398f. as well as 542 to 549, (also: Freiburg (Breisgau), Univ., Diss., 1996).
  30. ↑ Marcus Reuter: Studies on the numeri of the Roman army in the middle imperial period. In: Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission. 80, 1999, ISSN  0341-9312 , pp. 357-569, here pp. 400-406, (also: Freiburg (Breisgau), Univ., Diss., 1996).