Cohors II Britannorum

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The Cohors II Britannorum [Antoniniana] [Severiana] [civium Romanorum] [pia fidelis] [milliaria] [equitata] ( German  2nd cohort of Britannians [the Antoninian] [the Severian] [of the Roman citizens] [loyal and loyal] [ 1000 men] [partly mounted] ) was a Roman auxiliary unit . It is evidenced by military diplomas , inscriptions and brick stamps. On some of the military diplomas it is listed as Cohors II Brittonum .

Name components

  • Britannorum : the Britannian. The soldiers of the cohort were recruited on the territory of the Roman province of Britannia when the unit was established . The auxiliary units set up in Britain have three different names: Britannica , Britannorum and Brittonum . The reasons why different names were chosen are unclear.
  • Antoniniana : the Antoninian. An honorary title that refers to Caracalla (211-217). The addition appears in the inscription ( CIL 03, 14111 ) and on bricks with the stamp COH II BRIT AN .
  • Severiana : the Severian. An honorary title that refers to Severus Alexander (222-235). The addition occurs on bricks with the stamp COH II BRT S , which were found near Romita .
  • civium Romanorum : the Roman citizen or with Roman citizenship . The soldiers of the unit had been granted Roman citizenship at a certain point in time (probably for their participation in the suppression of the Batavian revolt around 69/70). 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 AD 100 to AD 119.
  • milliaria : 1000 men. Depending on whether it is an infantry cohort ( Cohors milliaria peditata ) or a mixed association of infantry and cavalry ( Cohors milliaria equitata ), the nominal strength of the unit was either 800 or 1040 men. In the military diplomas, the symbol is used instead of milliaria .
  • equitata : partially mounted. The unit was a mixed association of infantry and cavalry. The addition occurs on a brick with the stamp COH II BR ME , which was found at Fectio .

The unit was a Cohors milliaria equitata . The nominal strength of the unit was therefore 1040 men, consisting of 10 Centurien infantry with 80 men each and 8 tower cavalry with 30 riders each.

history

The cohort was stationed in the provinces of Germania , Moesia superior, and Dacia (in that order). It is listed on military diplomas for the years 81/84 to 164 AD.

The first evidence of unity in Germania is based on a military diploma dated 81/84. In the diploma, the cohort is listed as part of the troops (see Roman Armed Forces in Germania ) that were stationed in the province. Another diploma, dated 98, proves the unity in Germania inferior .

In preparation for Trajan's first Dacian war , the cohort was moved to Moesia superior , where it is 100% occupied by a military diploma.

The first evidence of unity in Dacia is based on a diploma dated 109. In the diploma, the cohort is listed as part of the troops (see Roman Armed Forces in Dacia ) that were stationed in the province. Other diplomas, dated from 110 to 164, prove the unit in the same province (or from 119 in Dacia Superior and from 125/128 in Dacia Porolissensis ).

The last evidence of the cohort is based on bricks marked COH II BRT S , dated 222/235.

Locations

Locations of the cohort in Germania were possibly:

Locations of the cohort in Dacia may have been:

  • Cășeiu (Samum): A brick with the stamp COH II BR was found here. ( AE 1990, 851 )
  • Ilișua (Arcobara)
  • Moigrad ( Porolissum ): Bricks with the stamps CH II BR and CH II BR TS were found here. ( AE 1979, 00501c )
  • Românași (Largiana): A brick with the stamp COH II BR was found here.
  • Romita (Certia): Bricks with the stamps COH II BRITANN , COH II BR , COH II BRIT AN and COH II BRT S were found here. ( CIL 3, 08074,11a , CIL 3, 08074,11b )

The castles of Căşeiu and Ilişua were probably built by the cohort during the reign of Trajan. Then the unit was moved to Romita, where it built the stone fort and remained for the rest of the 2nd century.

Members of the cohort

The following members of the cohort are known:

Commanders

  • [] Great: he is named on the diploma of 135 as the commander of the cohort.

Others

See also

Remarks

  1. ↑ Tatiana Alexandrovna Ivleva assigns the inscription of Cohors II Flavia Brittonum to, John Spaul however, the Cohors II Britannorum

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d 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 , Pp. 189, 198.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g 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. 108-112, 525-534 ( online ).
  3. ^ Paul A. Holder: Exercitus Pius Fidelis: The Army of Germania Inferior in AD 89 In: Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik . Volume 128 (1999), pp. 237-250, here pp. 237, 242 ( PDF ).
  4. ^ Jörg Scheuerbrandt : Exercitus. Tasks, organization and command structure of Roman armies during the imperial era. Dissertation, Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg im Breisgau 2003/2004, pp. 158, 164, 169–170 Tables 2, 8, 11, 12 ( PDF pp. 160, 166, 171–172 ).
  5. ↑ Military diplomas of the years 81/84 ( RMD 5, 327 ), 98 ( RMD 4, 216 ), 100 ( CIL 16, 46 ), 109 ( RMD 3, 148 ), 110 ( CIL 16, 163 ), 114 ( RMD 4 , 226 ), 119 ( RMD 5, 351 ), 125/128 ( RMD 1, 31 ), 133 ( RMD 1, 35 ), 151 ( RMD 5, 404 ), 159 ( RMD 1, 47 ), 161/162 ( RMD 3, 177 ) and 164 ( AE 1995, 1284 , CIL 16, 185 , RMD 1, 64 , RMD 4, 287 ).
  6. ↑ Jan Kees Haalebos: Traian and the auxiliary troops on the Lower Rhine A MILITARY DIPLOMA OF AD 98. FROM ELST IN DER OVER-BETUWE (NETHERLANDS) In: Saalberg Jahrbuch, 2000/50, pp. 31-72 , here pp. 54–55 ( online pp. 20–21 ).
  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 pp. 275-276 ( online ).