Cohors IV Raetorum

The Cohors IV (or IIII ) Raetorum [equitata] ( German  4th cohort of the Raetians [partially mounted] ) was a Roman auxiliary unit . It is documented by military diplomas , inscriptions and Arrian's work Ἔκταξις κατὰ Ἀλάνοον .

Name components

• Raetorum : the Rhaetians . The soldiers of the cohort were during installation of the unit from the people of Rhaetians in the area of the Roman province Raetia recruited.

• equitata : partially mounted. The unit was a mixed association of infantry and cavalry. The addition appears in an inscription.

Since there is no evidence of the addition of milliaria (1000 men) to the name , the unit was a Cohors quingenaria equitata . The nominal strength of the cohort was 600 men (480 infantry and 120 horsemen), consisting of 6 centuries of infantry with 80 men each and 4 tower cavalry with 30 horsemen each.

history

The cohort was stationed in the provinces of Moesia superior and Cappadocia (in that order). It is listed on military diplomas for the years AD 93-115.

According to Tacitus, the auxiliary troops of the Raetians were recruited at two different times: after the conquest of Raetia around 15 BC. And around 70 AD as a result of the Helvetian uprising.

The first evidence in Moesia superior is based on a diploma dated 93. In the diploma, the cohort is listed as part of the troops (see Roman Armed Forces in Moesia ) that were stationed in the province. Other diplomas, dated 94 to 115, prove unity in the same province. In the diplomas of 115, the unit is listed as one of the cohorts that were detached from Moesia for Trajan's Parthian War ( translatis in expeditione ).

It is possible that the cohort was temporarily staying in Side in the province of Lycia et Pamphylia during their transfer . After the Parthian War, the unit remained in the province of Cappadocia . It was then around 135 part of the armed forces that Arrian mobilized for his campaign against the Alans (ἔκταξις κατ᾽ Ἀλανῶν). Arrian mentions a unit in his report, which he calls οἱ τῆς σπείρης τῆς τετάρτης τῶν ῾Ραιτῶν.

The unit is mentioned for the last time in the Notitia dignitatum with the name Cohors quarta Raetorum for the Analiba location . She was part of the troops under the command of the Dux Armeniae .

Locations

Cohort locations may have been:

• Analiba: The unit is listed in the Notitia dignitatum for this location.
• Side : An inscription was found here.

Members of the cohort

The following members of the cohort are known.

Commanders

C (aius) Annius Flavianus, a prefect ( AE 1969/70, 704 , CIL 8, 17900 ). He was also prefect of the Ala Gemina Sebastena . C (aius) Hosidius Severus, a prefect ( AE 1991, 1749 , AE 1991, 1750 ). He was also prefect of the Cohors I Bosporanorum .

Δαφνης (Daphnes) Lucius Baebius Iuncinus , a prefect M (arcus) Pon [tius] [] tius, a prefect ( CIL 11, 3101 ). He was also prefect of the Cohors II Ituraeorum .

Others

Junidus, a veteran ( CIL 13, 1405 )

Μ. Ουλπιος Λογγος (M. Ulpius Longus), a centurion (AE 1915.49)

See also

• List of Roman auxiliary units
• Roman forces in Cappadocia
• Roman forces in Moesia

literature

• John Spaul : Cohors² The evidence for and a short history of the auxiliary infantry units of the Imperial Roman Army , British Archaeological Reports 2000, BAR International Series (Book 841), ISBN 978-1-84171-046-4

Remarks

1. ↑ ^{a b} Julian Bennett points out that the grave inscription for the son does not reveal whether M. Ulpius Longus was still an active soldier or already a veteran at that time. In the event that he was still an active soldier, it would be likely that the unit was in Side at the time.
2. ↑ According to Jörg Scheuerbrandt , Daphnes was the commander of a division of horsemen at the head of the marching column, which was composed of several units during the march, including the horsemen of the Cohors IIII Raetorum .
3. ↑ According to Julian Bennett, M. Ulpius Longus was a εκατονταρχος (Centurion). According to John Spaul, the abbreviation in the inscription could stand for both εκατονταρχος and χειλιαρχος ( tribune ).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ inscription with equitata ( CIL 11, 3101 )
2. ^ ^{A b} John Spaul , Cohors², pp. 274-275, 282.
3. ↑ ^{a b c} 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. 65–66, 68, 164 Table 8 ( PDF ).
4. ^ ^{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 Hohen Kaiserzeit, Stuttgart 2009, pp. 595–631, here pp. 603, 619 ( online ).
5. ↑ Military diplomas of the years 93 ( CIL 16, 39 ), ( AE 2008, 1716 , RMD 5, 335 ), 96 ( RMD 1, 6 ), 100 ( AE 2008, 1731 , AE 2008, 1733 , AE 2008, 1735 , CIL 16, 46 ), 101 ( AE 2008, 1732 ), 103/105 ( ZPE-194-223 ) and 115 ( Chiron-2005-64 , Chiron-2008-363 , ZPE-194-229 ).
6. ↑ Farkas István Gergő: The Roman Army in Raetia Dissertation, University of Pécs Faculty of Humanities 2015, p. 158 ( PDF p. 161 ( Memento of the original from December 14, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and still not checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. ). 
7. ↑ ^{a b} Julian Bennett : The Roman Army in Lycia and Pamphylia , ADALYA X, 2007, pp. 131–151 here pp. 139–140 ( PDF ).
8. ^ Notitia dignitatum in partibus Orientis XXXVIII ( online ).
9. ↑ Inscription from Side in Greek (AE 1915.49)