Cohors I Asturum (Germania)

The Cohors I Asturum [equitata] ( German  1st cohort of the Asturians [partly mounted] ) was a Roman auxiliary unit . It is evidenced by military diplomas , inscriptions and brick stamps.

Name components

• Asturum : the Asturian . The soldiers of the cohort were recruited from the Asturian people in the area of ​​the conventus Asturum (with the capital Asturica Augusta ) when the unit was established .

• equitata : partially mounted. The unit was a mixed association of infantry and cavalry. The addition occurs in the inscriptions ( Ness-Lieb 136 , 138 , 139 ).

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 Germania , Germania superior, and Britannia (in that order). It is listed on military diplomas for the years AD 74-134.

The unit was probably set up under Augustus . It may have been stationed in the Rhineland in the 1st century AD before being moved to the (later) Germania superior . The unit is documented for the first time in Germania through a diploma . In the diploma, the cohort is listed as part of the troops (see Roman Armed Forces in Germania ) that were stationed in the province. Further diplomas, dated between 82 and 134, prove the unit in the same province (or from 90 in Germania superior ).

At an unspecified point in time, presumably under Septimius Severus, the cohort was moved to Britain, where it is evidenced by an inscription around 260.

The unit is mentioned for the last time in the Notitia dignitatum with the designation Cohors prima Asturum for the location Aesica. 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:

• Aesica (Great Chesters): The unit is listed in the Notitia dignitatum for this location.

Locations of the cohort in Germania were possibly:

• Mainhardt Castle : Several inscriptions were found here.
• Höchst Castle
• Castles of Walheim

Bricks with the stamp COH I AS were found in Gernsheim , Heddernheim and Nied .

Members of the cohort

The following members of the cohort are known.

Commanders

[?], a Curam agens ( Ness-Lieb 139 ) [?], a curator pro praefecto ( AE 1895, 36 ). He was (presumably) also sub-prefect of the Cohors III Lusitanorum . C (aius) Iul (ius) Artemo, a prefect ( Ness-Lieb 134 , Ness-Lieb 135 ). Diodotus, a Curam agens ( Ness-Lieb 136 )

M (arcus) Mevius [C] apriolus, a prefect ( Ness-Lieb 138 ) [Q (uintus) G] argilius Martialis, a prefect ( CIL 8, 20736 ) P (ublius) Furius Rusticus, a prefect ( CIL 8, 18131 )

Others

Bato Beusantis, an Optio ( CIL 13, 6538 ) Cobrunius Divixtus, an Optio ( AE 1930, 76 ) Coe [] unus Quin [t] inus, a centurion ( CIL 13, 6538 )

Freioverus, a horseman ( CIL 13, 7036 ) Maximus Dasantius, a Mensor ( CIL 13, 6538 )

Further cohorts with the designation Cohors I Asturum

There was another cohort with this name, the Cohors I Asturum (Noricum) . She is documented by military diplomas from 79 to 157 and was stationed in the province of Noricum .

See also

• List of Roman auxiliary units
• Roman forces in Britannia
• Roman armed forces in Germania

Remarks

1. ↑ ^{a b} The scenario given here follows the explanations of Margaret M. Roxan , Peter Weiß and Joachim Ott. It assumes two different cohorts with this designation: the Cohors I Asturum (Germania) , which was stationed in the provinces of Germania and Britannia , and the Cohors I Asturum (Noricum) , which was stationed in the province of Noricum . John Spaul, on the other hand, assumes only one cohort that was stationed in these provinces.
2. ↑ Freioverus came from the Germanic tribe of the Tungerer , who settled on the Lower Rhine. According to Margaret M. Roxan, this suggests that the cohort was nearby at the time of recruitment.
3. ↑ John Spaul assigns Publius Furius Rusticus to the Cohors II Asturum . The reading at EDCS is praef (ecto) coh (ortis) p (rimae) Astu (rum) prov (inciae) Brit {t} (anniae) .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Margaret M. Roxan : The Auxilia of the Roman Army raised in the Iberian Peninsula Volume 1. (PDF 23.5 MB) discovery.ucl.ac.uk, 1973, pp. 65, 67, 365-371 (68 , 70, 368–374) , accessed on December 23, 2018 (English). 
2. ^ ^{A b} 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 978-1841710464 , pp. 69-74
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. 157, 159 tables 1, 3 ( PDF p. 159, 161 ).
4. ↑ Military diplomas of the years 74 ( CIL 16, 20 ), 82 ( CIL 16, 28 ), 90 ( CIL 16, 36 , RMD 5, 333 ), 94/96 ( ZPE-147-230 ), 116 ( CIL 16, 62 ) and 134 ( CIL 16, 80 ).
5. ^ Notitia dignitatum in partibus Occidentis XL ( online ).
6. ↑ Margaret M. Roxan: The Auxilia of the Roman Army raised in the Iberian Peninsula Volume 2. (PDF 9.8 MB) discovery.ucl.ac.uk, 1973, pp. 715-717 (136-138) , accessed on December 23, 2018 (English).