Ala I Flavia Augusta Britannica

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The inscription of Publius Cassius Secundus ( AE 1980, 496 )

The Ala I Flavia Augusta Britannica [milliaria] [civium Romanorum] [bis torquata] [ob virtutem] [pia fidelis] ( German  1st Flavian Augustan Ala Britannica [1000 men] [of the Roman citizens] [awarded twice with torques ] [for Bravery] [loyal and loyal] ) was a Roman auxiliary unit . It is evidenced by military diplomas and inscriptions.

The Ala is also listed in military diplomas and inscriptions under the following names: Ala Britannica , Ala I Britannica , Ala I Flavia Britannica , Ala I Flavia Britanniciana , Ala I Flavia Brittonum and Ala I Flavia Domitiana Britannica .

Name components

  • Flavia : the Flavian. The honorary designation refers to the Flavian emperors Vespasian , Titus or Domitian .
  • Augusta : the Augustan tables. The honorary title refers to Augustus .
  • Domitiana : the Domitian. The honorary title refers to Domitian (81–96). After Domitian's Damnatio memoriae , Domitiana was replaced by Augusta . The addition occurs in the inscriptions ( AE 1940, 5 , CIL 3, 15197 ).
  • Britannica : from Britannia or the Britannic. The Ala was either set up in the province of Britannia or was stationed there for a long time. It is possible that she had already participated in the conquest of Britain around 43 AD under Aulus Plautius .
  • milliaria : 1000 men. The unit was possibly originally an Ala quingenaria with a nominal strength of 480 men. By 102 AD at the latest, however , it had been expanded to become an Ala milliaria . The addition appears in military diplomas from 102 to 192, as well as some inscriptions. In the military diplomas (with one exception) the symbol is used instead of milliaria .
  • civium Romanorum : the Roman citizen. The soldiers of the unit had been granted Roman citizenship at one point in time. However, this did not apply to soldiers who were accepted into the unit after this point in time. They received Roman citizenship only with their honorable farewell ( Honesta missio ) after 25 years of service. The addition appears in military diplomas from 102 to 167, as well as some inscriptions.
  • whether virtutem : for bravery. The addition appears in the inscription ( CIL 3, 6748 ).
  • pia fidelis : loyal and loyal. The addition appears in the military diploma of 157/158.

The unit was an ala milliaria . The nominal strength of the Ala was 720 men, consisting of 24 towers with 30 riders each.

history

The Ala was stationed in the provinces of Pannonia and Pannonia inferior . It is listed on military diplomas for the years AD 102 to AD 192.

The unit may have been set up under Augustus and was probably stationed in the province of Britannia between 43 and 69 . The first evidence of an Ala Britannica can be found in the Historiae of Tacitus (Book III, Chapter 41), which mentions this unit in connection with events of the Four Emperor's Year .

The Ala was probably already transferred to the province of Pannonia under Vespasian , but at the latest under Domitian by 89 . It is documented for the first time in 102 by a diploma in Pannonia . In the diploma, the unit is listed as part of the troops (see Roman Armed Forces in Pannonia ) that were stationed in the province. Further diplomas dated from 110 to 192 attest to the unity in Pannonia inferior . It was probably stationed in the province until the middle of the 3rd century.

The Ala took part in Trajan's Dacer Wars , in which she was awarded two torques . The two diplomas of 110 prove that the unit stayed in both Dacia and Pannonia inferior this year .

The unit (or a vexillation of the same) was involved in at least three other campaigns outside of its actual stationing province. Two diplomas out of 114 prove that she was assigned to Trajan's Parthian War ( missa in expeditionem ). The diploma of 150 indicates that the unit had been temporarily relocated to Mauretania Caesariensis to participate in the suppression of a rebellion. Inscriptions show that the Ala was in the province of Syria around 252 .

The last evidence of the Ala is based on the inscriptions ( AE 1993, 1594 , AE 1993, 1595 ) which are dated to 252.

Locations

Locations of the Ala in Pannonia may have been:

Members of the Ala

The following members of the Ala are known:

Commanders

Others

See also

Web links

Commons : Ala I Flavia Augusta Britannica  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b The scenario given here follows the explanations of John Spaul and Margaret M. Roxan , who both assume a single Ala. Ovidiu Țentea, Florian Matei-Popescu , on the other hand, assume that two different units existed: the Ala I Britannica , which was stationed in the provinces of Dacia and Dacia Porolissensis , and the Ala I Flavia Augusta Britannica , which was stationed in the province of Pannonia inferior .
  2. ↑ Both diplomas have the same date of issue, namely July 2, 110. In the Dacian diploma ( CIL 16, 163 ), however, the unit is listed as Ala I Britannica without the addition milliaria , in the Pannonian diploma ( CIL 16, 164 ), however, as Ala I Flavia Augusta Britannica with the addition . Ovidiu Țentea, Florian Matei-Popescu therefore follow Barnabás Lőrincz and assume that there must be two different units. According to Tatiana Alexandrovna Ivleva , it is also conceivable that a mistake was made in the creation of the Dacian diploma and that the Ala I Brittonum should appear in the troop list instead of the Ala I Britannica .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d e Margaret M. Roxan : Two Complete Diplomas of Pannonia Inferior: 19 May 135 and 7 Aug. 143 In: Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik . Volume 127 (1999), pp. 249-273, here pp. 253-254 ( PDF pp. 7-8 ).
  2. ^ A b c John Spaul: Ala² The Auxiliary Cavalry Units of the Pre-Diocletianic Imperial Roman Army , Nectoreca Press 1994, ISBN 978-0-9525062-0-1 , pp. 68-71.
  3. ^ Jörg Scheuerbrandt : Exercitus. Tasks, organization and command structure of Roman armies during the imperial era. Dissertation, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg im Breisgau 2003/2004, pp. 161, 163, 169 tables 5, 7, 11 ( PDF pp. 163, 165, 171 ).
  4. ↑ a b c d 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. 56–62, 68, 462–475 ( online ).
  5. ↑ Military diplomas of the years 102 ( CIL 16, 47 ), 110 ( CIL 16, 163 , CIL 16, 164 ), 114 ( CIL 16, 61 , RMD 2, 87 , RMD 3, 152 ), 126 ( AE 2010, 1861 ) , 127 ( ZPE-171-239 ), 135 ( RMD 4, 251 ), 143 ( RMD 4, 266 ), 146 ( ZPE-171-229 ), 148 ( CIL 16, 179 , CIL 16, 180 ), 150 ( CIL 16, 99 ), 152 ( ZPE-171-221 ), 154 ( ZPE-146-247 ), 154/156 ( RMD 5, 415 ), 154/161 ( RMD 2, 110 ), 157 ( AE 2009, 1079 , RMD 2, 102 , RMD 2, 103 ), 157/158 ( RMD 4, 276 ), 162 ( ZPE-173-223 , ZPE-173-234 ), 167 ( CIL 16, 123 ) and 192 ( RMD 5, 446 , RMD 5, 447 ).
  6. ^ A b Karl Strobel : On the awards of the Ala I Flavia Augusta Britannica Milliaria c. R. Bis Torquata Ob Virtutem In: Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy. Volume 73 (1988), pp. 176-180, here p. 194 ( PDF ).
  7. ^ Ovidiu Țentea, Florian Matei-Popescu: Alae et Cohortes Daciae et Moesiae. A review and update of J. Spaul's Ala and Cohors In: Acta Musei Napocensis 39-40 / I Cluj-Napoca, 2002-2003 (2004), pp. 259-296, here p. 263 ( online ).
  8. ↑ Peter Weiß : Lieutenants and consular data in new military diplomas In: ZPE, Volume 171 (2009), pp. 231-252, here p. 240 ( online ).