Cohors IV Cypria

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The Cohors IV (or IIII ) Cypria [civium Romanorum] ( German  4th cohort from Cyprus [the Roman citizens] ) was a Roman auxiliary unit . It is evidenced by military diplomas , inscriptions and brick stamps. In the inscriptions she is called Cohors Cypria .

Name components

  • Cypria : from Cyprus . The soldiers of the cohort were recruited when the unit was set up on the island of Cyprus.
  • 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 occurs in the military diplomas.

Since there are no references to the additions to the name milliaria (1000 men) and equitata (partially mounted), it can be assumed that it is a Cohors quingenaria peditata , a pure infantry cohort. The nominal strength of the unit was 480 men, consisting of 6 Centuries with 80 men each.

history

The cohort was stationed in the provinces of Moesia superior and Dacia . It is listed on military diplomas for the years 103/107 to 126 AD.

The unit may have been set up under Claudius (41–54). It was probably moved from the province of Pontus et Bithynia to Moesia Superior to take part in the Dacian wars of Trajan . The first evidence of provincial unity is based on a diploma dated 103/107. In the diploma, the cohort is listed as part of the troops (see Roman Armed Forces in Moesia ) that were stationed in the province.

After the Dacian Wars, the unit stayed in the newly created province of Dacia , where it is first proven by 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 110, prove unity in the same province.

At some unspecified point in time, the cohort was relocated to Moesia Superior , where it is evidenced by a diploma dated 126.

Locations

Locations of the cohort in Dacia may have been:

Bricks marked C IV C were also found at Sacelu .

Members of the cohort

The following members of the cohort are known.

Commanders

Others

See also

literature

  • Florian Matei-Popescu, Ovidiu Țentea: Auxilia Moesiae Superioris , Mega Publishing House 2018, ISBN 978-606-020-063-5 ( online )
  • 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. ↑ According to John Spaul, the unit was probably set up together with the Cohors I , II and III Augusta Cyrenaica ; this would explain number IV as there is no evidence of the existence of units labeled I, II or III Cypria.
  2. ↑ John Spaul assigns Cypria to the prefects of the Cohors IV . The reading of the EDCS is praef (ecto) c (o) h [ort (is) ..] equitatae .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Inscriptions ( AE 1904, 163 , AE 2004, 1374 , IGR 1.895)
  2. ^ A b c d John Spaul , Cohors², pp. 383-384, 389
  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, p. 164, 168 tables 8, 10 ( PDF ).
  4. ↑ Military diplomas of the years 103/107 ( CIL 16, 54 ), 109 ( RMD 3, 148 ), 110 ( CIL 16, 57 , ZPE-176-221 ) and 126 ( ZPE-194-231 ).
  5. ↑ a b Florian Matei-Popescu, Ovidiu Țentea, Auxilia, pp. 51, 102, 129, 134.
  6. ↑ Florian Matei-Popescu, Ovidiu Țentea: Participation of the Auxiliary Troops from Moesia Superior in Trajan's Dacian Wars In: Revue d'Archeologie et d'Histoire Ancienne, Bucarest 2006, pp. 127–140, here pp. 129–130 ( online ).
  7. ↑ Bricks from Bumbeşti-Jiu ( IDR-02, 00179a , IDR-02, 00179b , IDR-02, 00179c , IDR-02, 00179d , ILD 00093 ).
  8. ↑ brick Sacelu ( IDR-02, 00185 ).