Ala I Praetoria

This article covers the Ala I Praetoria stationed in the provinces of Germania inferior , Pannonia and Pannonia inferior . For the unit stationed in the provinces of Syria and Moesia superior , see Ala Flavia Praetoria Singularium .

The military diploma of 139 AD

The Ala I Praetoria [civium Romanorum] ( German  1. Ala Praetoria [the Roman citizen] ) was a Roman auxiliary unit . It is evidenced by military diplomas and inscriptions.

Name components

• Ala : The Ala was a cavalry unit of the auxiliary troops in the Roman army .

• I : The Roman number stands for the ordinal number, the first ( Latin prima ). Hence the name of this military unit is pronounced as Ala prima ...

• Praetoria : The name is derived from the Praetorium , the headquarters of a general.

• 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 the military diplomas from 110 to 192 and in inscriptions.

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 provinces of Germania inferior , Pannonia, and Pannonia inferior (in that order). It is listed on military diplomas for the years 85 to 192 AD.

The unit was stationed in the province of Germania Inferior in the 1st century . She probably took part in the various campaigns of Germanicus around 14/16 in Germania; as an inscription shows, a commander received awards from Germanicus for this .

At an unspecified point in time, the Ala was relocated to the province of Pannonia , where it is first evidenced by a diploma dated 85. The diploma lists the Ala as part of the troops (see Roman Forces in Pannonia ) that were stationed in the province. Further diplomas dated from 110 to 192 attest to the unity in Pannonia inferior .

The last evidence of the Ala is based on an inscription that is dated 193/197.

Locations

Locations of the Ala in Germania inferior were possibly:

• Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium ( Cologne ): an inscription was found here.

Locations of the Ala in Pannonia may have been:

• Teutoburgium ( Erdut ): an inscription was found here.

Members of the Ala

The following members of the Ala are known:

Commanders

Gaius Fabricius Tuscus , a prefect ( AE 1973, 501 ) Gaius Rutilius Honoratus : he is named on the diploma of 154 as a commander. M (arcus) Arruntius Claudian [u] s, a prefect ( AE 1972, 572 )

M (arcus) Rossius Vitulus, a prefect ( AE 1914, 248 ); he was also prefect of the Cohors II Hispanorum . Marcus Statius Priscus Licinius Italicus , a prefect ( CIL 6, 1523 )

Others

[?], a duplicarius ( CIL 13, 8310 ) Claudius Marcellus, a soldier: the diploma of 154 was issued to him.

M (arcus) Ulp (ius) Super, a Decurio ( CIL 3, 3272 ); he was also Summus Curator of the Ala I Civium Romanorum .

See also

• List of Roman auxiliary units
• Roman armed forces in Germania
• Roman forces in Pannonia

Web links

Commons : Ala I Praetoria  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

• 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 John EH Spaul , the soldiers of the Ala originally formed the mounted bodyguard of a Roman general; Michael P. Speidel assumes that the general was Germanicus , as this Gaius Fabricius Tuscus , the prefect of the Ala Praetoria distinguished.
2. ↑ The scenario given here is based on two different units: the Ala I Praetoria , which was stationed in the provinces of Germania inferior , Pannonia and Pannonia inferior , and the Ala Flavia Praetoria Singularium , which was stationed in the provinces of Syria and Moesia superior . According to Werner Eck , Andreas Pangerl, the two units were possibly created by splitting an already existing Ala Praetoria .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Inscriptions with civium Romanorum ( AE 1914, 248 , CIL 3, 3272 , CIL 6, 1523 )
2. ↑ ^{a b c} John EH Spaul , Ala², pp. 187-188.
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 Tables 5, 7 ( PDF ).
4. ↑ Werner Eck , Andreas Pangerl: Traian's Army in the Parthian War. A new diploma from 115. In: Chiron , Volume 35 (2005), pp. 49-66, here pp. 56-58 ( online ).
5. ↑ Military diplomas of the years 85 ( CIL 16, 31 ), 110 ( CIL 16, 164 ), 135 ( RMD 4, 251 ), 139 ( CIL 16, 175 ), 143 ( RMD 4, 266 ), 146 ( ZPE-171- 229 ), 148 ( CIL 16, 179 , CIL 16, 180 ), 152 ( ZPE-171-221 ), 154 ( ZPE-146-247 ), 154/156 ( RMD 5, 415 ), 157 ( AE 2009, 1079 , RMD 2, 102 , RMD 2, 103 ) and 192 ( RMD 5, 446 , RMD 5, 447 ).
6. ↑ inscription ( AE 1973, 501 )
7. ↑ Florian Matei-Popescu, Ovidiu Țentea: Auxilia Moesiae Superioris , Mega Publishing House 2018, ISBN 978-606-020-063-5 , pp. 27-28 ( online )
8. ^ Inscription ( AE 1914, 248 )
9. ↑ Inscription from Cologne ( CIL 13, 8310 )
10. ↑ Inscription from Teutoburgium ( CIL 3, 3272 )
11. ↑ Peter Weiß : Two complete constitutions for the troops in Noricum (8 Sept. 79) and Pannonia inferior (27 Sept. 154) In: Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik . Volume 146 (2004), pp. 239-254, here p. 253 ( online ).