Cohors I Aelia Sagittariorum

The military diploma of AD 133 for Pannonia superior ( CIL 16, 76 )

The Cohors I Aelia Sagittariorum (or Sagittaria ) [Severiana] [milliaria] [equitata] ( German 1st Aelian cohort of archers [the Severian] [1000 men] [partly mounted] ) was a Roman auxiliary unit . It is documented by military diplomas as well as by inscriptions on tombstones, altars and the like.

Name components

Aelia : The honorary designation refers to Emperor Hadrian , whose full name is Publius Aelius Hadrianus . A total of nine cohorts with this suffix are known.

Sagittariorum or Sagittaria : [the / from] archers. The abbreviation sag or sagit is given in military diplomas . In the literature this is added to either Sagittariorum or Sagittaria . The addition is not given in the inscription ( CIL 3, 5647 ).

Severiana : the Severian, an honorary designation that refers to Severus Alexander (222-235). The addition appears in 2 inscriptions ( CIL 3, 5647 , CIL 3, 11857a ).

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. The addition does not appear in the inscriptions and military diplomas.

equitata : partially mounted. The unit was a mixed association of infantry and cavalry. The addition appears in 2 inscriptions ( CIL 3, 5645 , CIL 3, 5647 ), but not in the military diplomas. On 3 other inscriptions that were found near Klosterneuburg there is the designation eques for a member of the unit.

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 first reliable proof of unity in the province of Pannonia superior (Upper Pannonia) is based on a military diploma which is dated to the year 146 AD. In the diploma, the cohort is listed as part of the troops (see Roman Armed Forces in Pannonia ) that were stationed in Upper Pannonia under the governor Marcus Pontius Laelianus . Further military diplomas, dated 148 and 149, prove the unity in Upper Pannonia under the same governor.

The unit is mentioned for the last time on an inscription dated 230, under the direction of a tribune for the Klosterneuburg site ( CIL 3, 5647 ).

Locations

Rom. Brick stamp in the form of a sole, inscription: COH IA SAG

Locations of the cohort in Pannonia Superior were:

Klosterneuburg : Inscriptions prove the presence (of parts) of the cohort in Klosterneuburg around 159 ( AE 1977, 616 ) and around 230 ( CIL 3, 5647 ). In addition, numerous bricks with the stamp of the unit were found near Klosterneuburg and other places in Upper Pannonia.

Commanders

The following commanders of the unit are known by inscriptions. You were in the rank of tribune .

Aelius Theodorus (2nd century) ( CIL 3, 5645 )
Caius Aurelius Crescens (around 230) ( CIL 3, 5647 )
Caius Iulius Longinus (around 159) ( AE 1977, 616 )

Uncertainties

The unit may be identical to a Cohors I Sagittariorum that was stationed at Bingium in the 1st century . But this is controversial. Whether the Cohors I Sagittariorum milliaria , which is documented in Tibiscum around 165 , is identical to the Cohors I Aelia Sagittariorum is also disputed.

Military diplomas from 133

The reading of a unit listed on the military diplomas of 133 is controversial. The name can be taken as I Ael (ia) Gaes (atorum) (milliaria) sag (ittariorum) ( CIL 16, 76 , CIL 16, 77 ) or as Cohors I Ael. Caes . (milliaria) say. to be read. Depending on the reading, the unit is then interpreted either as Cohors I Aelia Gaesatorum or as Cohors I Aelia Sagittariorum and the two military diplomas are assigned to the preferred unit.

Assuming that it is the Cohors I Aelia Sagittariorum , then this would be the first evidence of unity in Upper Pannonia. The recruitment of the 133 dismissed soldiers must then have taken place at 108; H. the unit existed before Hadrian's reign. For the beginnings of the unit there are therefore the following assumptions:

the cohort was established under Trajan and received the honorary title of Aelia under Hadrian when the unit excelled in combat.
the cohort was set up under Hadrian. The 133 discharged soldiers formed the core (cadre) of this new unit when it was formed.
it could originally have been a numerus that was set up under Trajan or a vexillation of archers that was put together for Trajan's Parthian War. Under Hadrian this unit was then upgraded to a cohort.

There are the following possible explanations for the name component Caes :

The origin of the unit could have been a vexillation of an auxiliary unit from the province of Mauretania Caesariensis .
The unit may have been set up in a city in the east of the Roman Empire called Caesarea .
Or there was a mix-up with the Cohors I Aelia Gaesatorum when creating the diploma .

Web links

Commons : Cohors I Aelia Sagittariorum - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Paul A. Holder: Auxiliary units entitled Aelia In: Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik . Volume 122 (1998), pp. 253-263, here pp. 253, 260-261 ( PDF ).
↑ ^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, p. 162 ( PDF p. 164 table 6 ).
^ Inscriptions with eques ( AE 1992, 1441 , AE 1992, 1447 and AE 1992, 1450 ).
↑ Military diplomas of the years 133 ( CIL 16, 76 , CIL 16, 77 ), 146 ( CIL 16, 178 ), 148 ( CIL 16, 96 ) and 149 ( CIL 16, 97 ).
^ ^A ^b ^c ^d ^e Ovidiu Tentea and Florian Matei-Popescu: ALAE ET COHORTES DACIAE ET MOESIAE A review and updating of J. Spaul's Ala and Cohors. www.academia.edu, pp. 291–293 , accessed on November 8, 2016 (English).

[ph-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Paul A. Holder: Auxiliary units entitled Aelia In: Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik . Volume 122 (1998), pp. 253-263, here pp. 253, 260-261 ( PDF ).

[js-2] 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. 162 ( PDF p. 164 table 6 ).

[EQ-3] Inscriptions with eques ( AE 1992, 1441 , AE 1992, 1447 and AE 1992, 1450 ).

[MD-4] Military diplomas of the years 133 ( CIL 16, 76 , CIL 16, 77 ), 146 ( CIL 16, 178 ), 148 ( CIL 16, 96 ) and 149 ( CIL 16, 97 ).

[ac2-5] A ^b ^c ^d ^e Ovidiu Tentea and Florian Matei-Popescu: ALAE ET COHORTES DACIAE ET MOESIAE A review and updating of J. Spaul's Ala and Cohors. www.academia.edu, pp. 291–293 , accessed on November 8, 2016 (English).