Cohors I Delmatarum (Dalmatia)

Building inscription of Granius Fortunatus ( CIL 3, 1979 )

The Cohors I Delmatarum (or Dalmatarum ) [milliaria] ( German 1st cohort of the Delmater (or Dalmater) [1000 men] ) was a Roman auxiliary unit . It is documented by inscriptions.

Name components

Delmatarum or Dalmatarum : the Delmater . The soldiers of the cohort were recruited from the Illyrian tribe of the Delmater on the territory of the Roman province of Dalmatia when the unit was set up . Both names are found in the inscriptions.

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 some of the inscriptions the symbol is used instead of milliaria . ${\ displaystyle \ infty}$

Since there is no evidence of the addition of equitata (partially mounted) to the name , it can be assumed that it is a pure infantry cohort ( Cohors milliaria peditata ). The nominal strength of the unit was therefore 800 men, consisting of 10 Centuries with 80 men each.

history

The first evidence of unity in the province of Dalmatia is based on a building inscription that was found in Salona and which is dated to 170 AD. The cohort was probably stationed permanently in Dalmatia and possibly served as a training unit for new recruits before they were sent to other units in the border provinces after their training.

Another inscription, dated 200, shows that the cohort, under the direction of the tribune T. Flavius Fabia Geminius, took part in a campaign of Septimius Severus against the Parthians .

Locations

Locations of the cohort in Dalmatia were possibly:

Salona : The cohort was commissioned to build a wall and a tower in Salona around 170 AD, according to the inscription ( CIL 3, 1979 ).

Members of the cohort

The following members of the cohort are known.

Commanders

C (aius) Iul (ius) Rufus, a tribune ( CIL 3, 8353 )
G. Sacconius Varro, a Tribune ( CIL 5, 707 )

Granius Fortunatus, a tribune (around 170) ( CIL 3, 1979 )
T. Flavius Fabia Geminius, a tribune (around 200) ( AE 1995, 1021 )

Others

L (ucius) Titi [.] Nus, a centurion ( AE 1989, 612 )
M. Aur (elius) Varro, a veteran ( CIL 3, 8731 )
Surus Victoris, a soldier ( CIL 3, 14700 )

T. Aurelius Apollonius, a centurion ( CIL 3, 2006 )
T. Statius Crispinus, a dec (urio) eq (uitum) ( CIL 3, 8335 )
Val (erius) Menophil [us], a centurion ( CIL 3, 9829 )

Further cohorts with the designation Cohors I Delmatarum

There was another cohort, the Cohors I Delmatarum (Britannia) , stationed in the province of Britannia .

Remarks

↑ John Spaul assigns the inscription to the Cohors I Delmatarum (Dalmatia) , while Paul Holder and the epigraphic database Clauss-Slaby assign it to the Cohors II Delmatarum (Dalmatia) .

Web links

Commons : Cohors I Delmatarum milliaria - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

^ ^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. 299-300, 312-313
↑ Paul A. Holder: AUXILIARIA In: Journal of Papyrology and epigraphy . Volume 131 (2000), pp. 213-218, here pp. 214-215 ( PDF pp. 4-5 ).

[IN2-3] John Spaul assigns the inscription to the Cohors I Delmatarum (Dalmatia) , while Paul Holder and the epigraphic database Clauss-Slaby assign it to the Cohors II Delmatarum (Dalmatia) .

[jsp-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. 299-300, 312-313

[pah-2] Paul A. Holder: AUXILIARIA In: Journal of Papyrology and epigraphy . Volume 131 (2000), pp. 213-218, here pp. 214-215 ( PDF pp. 4-5 ).