Ala I Augusta Gemina Colonorum

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The Ala I Augusta Gemina Colonorum ( German  1. Ala the Augusteische Gemina Colonorum ) was a Roman auxiliary unit . It is documented by military diplomas , inscriptions and Arrian's work Ἔκταξις κατὰ Ἀλάνοον . In the military diplomas and in an inscription, it is referred to as Ala Gemina Colonorum .

Name components

  • Augusta : the Augustan tables. The honorary title refers to Augustus .
  • Gemina : ( Latin Geminus twin). The Ala was created by merging two units.
  • Colonorum : the military colonist (lat. Colonus farmer, tenant, colonist). When the unit (s) were set up, the Ala soldiers were probably recruited from the descendants of veterans who had been settled by Augustus in colonies in the south of what is now Turkey.

Since there is no reference to the addition of milliaria (1000 men) to the name , the unit was an Ala quingenaria . The nominal strength of the Ala was 480 men, consisting of 16 towers with 30 riders each.

history

The Ala was stationed in the province of Cappadocia . It is listed on military diplomas for the years AD 99-101.

The unity is first proven by an inscription which is dated to 68/69 and which was found in the province of Syria . It was first proven in 99 in the province of Galatia et Cappadocia by a military diploma . The diploma lists the Ala as part of the troops (see Roman Forces in Cappadocia ) that were stationed in the province. Another diploma, dated 101, proves unity in the same province. Then she was part of the armed forces that Arrian mobilized for his campaign against the Alans (Ἔκταξις κατὰ Ἀλάνοον) around 135. Arrian mentions a unit in his report, which he calls εἴλης ᾗ ὄνομα Κολωνοί.

The unit is mentioned for the last time in the Notitia dignitatum with the designation Ala prima Augusta Colonorum for the Chiaca location. She was part of the troops under the command of the Dux Armeniae .

Locations

Locations of the Ala in Cappadocia may have been:

  • Chiaca: The unit is listed in the Notitia dignitatum for this location.
  • Iconium ( Konya ): two inscriptions were found near Iconium.

Members of the Ala

The following members of the Ala are known:

Commanders

Others

  • C (aius) Iulius Crescens, a soldier: the diploma of 99 was issued to him.
  • G. Aponianus Sopatrus, a Decurio (AE 1930,108)
  • G. Apponius Firmus, a Decurio (AE 1907,57)

See also

literature

  • Julian Bennett : The Regular Roman Auxiliary Regiments Formed from the Provinces of Asia Minor , ANATOLICA XXXVII, 2011, pp. 251–274 here pp. 255–259 ( PDF ).
  • John EH Spaul : Ala². The Auxiliary Cavalry Units of the Pre-Diocletianic Imperial Roman Army. Nectoreca Press, Andover 1994, ISBN 0-9525062-0-3 .

Remarks

  1. ↑ According to Julian Bennett , the two predecessor units of the Ala were probably set up during the reign of Augustus , possibly around 7 AD, when the Legio VII Claudia left the province of Galatia to take part in the suppression of the Pannonian uprising . These two units were then probably merged in Flavian times, creating the Ala I Augusta Gemina Colonorum .
  2. ↑ On the only partially preserved diploma ( RMM 7 ), which is dated to 94, the unit was probably also listed.
  3. ↑ According to Julian Bennett, the unit was relocated from Cappadocia to Syria , probably in connection with the Jewish War .
  4. ↑ According to Werner Eck , Andreas Pangerl, the rider C. Iulius Crescens , judging by his name, was probably already a Roman citizen. But he needed a military diploma to obtain the conubium if he wanted to marry a peregrine woman.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ inscription ( AE 1926, 150 )
  2. ↑ a b c John EH Spaul , Ala², pp. 92-93.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Julian Bennett , The Regular Roman Auxiliary Regiments, pp. 255-259.
  4. ↑ a b c d Werner Eck , Andreas Pangerl: The fourth diploma for the province of Galatia et Cappadocia, issued in 99 In: Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik , Volume 192 (2014), pp. 238–246, here p. 243 ( Online ).
  5. ^ A b c Michael Alexander Speidel : The Development of the Roman Forces in Northeastern Anatolia. New evidence for the history of the exercitus Cappadocicus. , Special print from: MA Speidel, Heer und Herrschaft im Römischen Reich der Hohe Kaiserzeit, Stuttgart 2009, pp. 595–631, here pp. 602, 604–605, 607 ( online ).
  6. ↑ Military diplomas of the years 99 ( ZPE-192-238 ) and 101 (unpublished).
  7. ↑ Inscription (IGR 3.1144)
  8. ^ Jörg Scheuerbrandt : Exercitus. Tasks, organization and command structure of Roman armies during the imperial era. Dissertation, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg im Breisgau 2003/2004, p. 60 ( PDF ).
  9. ^ Notitia dignitatum in partibus Orientis XXXVIII ( online ).
  10. ↑ Inscriptions from Iconium (AE 1907,57; AE 1930,108)