Cohors I Aelia Classica (Britannia)

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The Cohors I Aelia Classica [equitata] ( German  1st cohort the Aelian of the fleet members [partly mounted] ) was a Roman auxiliary unit . It is evidenced by military diplomas and inscriptions.

Name components

  • Aelia : The honorary designation refers to Emperor Hadrian , whose full name is Publius Aelius Hadrianus .
  • Classica : The soldiers of the cohort were recruited from members of the fleet (Latin classis ) when the unit was set up .
  • equitata : partially mounted. The unit was a mixed association of infantry and cavalry. The military diploma of 158 was issued to a rider of the unit.

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 province of Britannia . It is listed on military diplomas for the years 145 to 158 AD.

There are various conjectures about the beginnings of the unit. The first evidence of unity in Britannia is based on a diploma dated 145. In the diploma, the cohort is listed as part of the troops (see Roman Forces in Britannia ) that were stationed in the province. Another diploma, dated 158, proves unity in the same province.

The unit is mentioned for the last time in the Notitia dignitatum with the designation Cohors prima Aelia classica for the Tunnocelum location . It was part of the troops under the command of the Dux Britanniarum under the direction of a tribune .

Locations

Cohort locations in Britannia may have been:

Members of the cohort

The following members of the cohort are known:

Commanders

Others

  • [] Son of Cassius, a horseman: the diploma of 158 was issued to him.

Further cohorts with the designation Cohors I Classica

There were three other cohorts with this designation, see Cohors I Classica (disambiguation) .

See also

literature

  • Paul A. Holder : Auxiliary units entitled Aelia In: Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy . Vol. 122 (1998), pp. 253-263 ( PDF ).
  • Paul A. Holder: A Roman Military Diploma from Ravenglass, Cumbria. In: Bulletin of the John Rylands Library. Volume 79, Number 1 (1997), pp. 3-42 ( PDF ).
  • Jörg Scheuerbrandt : Exercitus. Tasks, organization and command structure of Roman armies during the imperial era. Dissertation, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg im Breisgau 2003/2004 ( PDF ).
  • 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
  • Peter Weiß , Michael P. Speidel : The first military diploma for Arabia In: Journal for papyrology and epigraphy. Volume 150 (2004), pp. 253-264.

Remarks

  1. ↑ The scenario given here follows the explanations of Jan Kees Haalebos , Peter Weiß , Michael P. Speidel and other historians. It is based on two different units: the Cohors I Aelia Classica , which was stationed in the province of Britannia and a second unit, the Cohors I Classica , which was stationed in the provinces of Germania and Germania inferior . John Spaul, however, assumes a single cohort that was stationed in these provinces. All inscriptions from the province of Britannia are therefore assigned to the Cohors I Aelia Classica ; all other inscriptions, however, are from the Cohors I Classica .
  2. ↑ Peter Weiß, Michael P. Speidel consider it almost impossible that the Cohors I Aelia Classica (Britannia) and the Cohors I Aelia Classica (Arabia) are the same unit, since they are 145 (or 145/146) are attested by diplomas in their respective provinces.
  3. ^ According to Paul A. Holder , the cohort could have been set up under Hadrian. In this case, the 145/146 discharged soldiers would have been recruited at 121 when the unit was set up. Another possibility would be that a vexillation of the classis Britannica under Hadrian was upgraded to a separate cohort on the basis of services rendered. Between 122 and 126 such a vexillation is documented by the building inscription (RIB 1340) in Condercum. According to Peter Weiß, Michael P. Speidel, it is also conceivable that a vexillation of the Cohors I Classica stationed in Germania formed the core of the newly established cohort.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b John Spaul , Cohors², pp. 477-478.
  2. ↑ Jörg Scheuerbrandt , Exercitus, p. 157 Table 1 (PDF p. 159).
  3. ^ A b c Paul A. Holder , Auxiliary units, pp. 254–255 (PDF pp. 4–5).
  4. ↑ Military diplomas of the years 145 ( CIL 16, 93 ) and 158 ( RMD 5, 420 ).
  5. ↑ Peter Weiß , Michael P. Speidel , Das first Militärdiplom, pp. 259–260.
  6. ^ Notitia dignitatum in partibus Occidentis XL ( online ).
  7. ↑ Inscription from Condercum ( RIB 1340 )
  8. ↑ Lead seal from Glannoventa ( RIB 2411,94 )
  9. ↑ Paul A. Holder, A Roman Military Diploma, pp. 15-16, 20-21 (PDF pp. 13-14, 18-19).