Cohors XV Voluntariorum

The Cohors XV Voluntariorum [civium Romanorum] [pia fidelis] ( German 15th cohort of volunteers [of the Roman citizens] [loyal and loyal] ) was a Roman auxiliary unit . It is evidenced by military diplomas , inscriptions and brick stamps.

Name components

Cohors : The cohort was an infantry unit of the auxiliary troops in the Roman army .

XV : The Roman number stands for the ordinal number the fifteenth ( Latin quinta decima ). Hence the name of this military unit is pronounced as Cohors quinta decima ...

Voluntariorum : the volunteer.

civium Romanorum : the Roman citizen. The soldiers of the cohort were presumably recruited from Roman citizens when the unit was established.

pia fidelis : loyal and loyal. Domitian (81-96) gave the Roman armed forces in Germania inferior who remained loyal to him after the suppression of the uprising of Lucius Antonius Saturninus the honorary designation pia fidelis Domitiana . The addition appears in an inscription.

Since there are no references to the additions 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 Africa and Germania inferior (in that order). It is listed on military diplomas for the year 152 AD.

After it was set up in Italy under Augustus , the unit was moved to the province of Africa , where it is documented by inscriptions. She was probably stationed there from 12/14 to 75 AD at the latest.

At an unspecified point in time, the cohort was moved to the province of Germania Inferior , where it is first documented by brick stamps that are dated to the early Flavian period. The unit is documented for the first time in 152 in Germania inferior by diplomas . In the diplomas, the cohort is listed as part of the troops (see Roman Armed Forces in Germania ) that were stationed in the province.

The last evidence of unity is based on an inscription dated 200/201.

Locations

Locations of the cohort in Africa were possibly:

Ammaedara ( Haïdra ): three inscriptions have been found here.

Locations of the cohort in Germania were possibly:

Albaniana ( Alphen aan den Rijn )
Laurium ( Woerden )
Matilo ( Leiden -Roomburg): two inscriptions were found here.
Nigrum Pullum

Bricks with the stamp of the unit were found at the above locations and other fort sites in Germania inferior . A brick with the stamp ASRENAN C SEC NAT COH XV VOL proves that soldiers from the cohort were seconded to manufacture bricks in Tegularia transrhenana on the right bank of the Rhine .

Members of the cohort

The following members of the cohort are known.

Commanders

[?], a tribune ( CIL 8, 17721 )
Marcus Artorius Priscillus Vicasius Sabidianus , a tribune.

Caecil (ius) Bato ( CIL 13, 8824 )
Quintus Gavius Fulvius Proculus , a tribune. He is named as a commander on two diplomas out of 152.

Others

[] rrus [], a soldier ( CIL 8, 23255 )
C (aius) Sec () Nat () ( ZPE-139-294 ). He was probably the head of a section of soldiers who had been assigned to make bricks.
Githiossus, a foot soldier: one of the diplomas of 152 ( RMD 5, 408 ) was issued to him.

P (ublius) Petilius Victorinus, a soldier ( AE 1992, 1765 )
Qu (intus) Domit [ius] Fusci [nus], a soldier ( CIL 8, 23252 )
Surodago, a foot soldier: one of 152's diplomas ( ZPE-148-262 ) was issued to him.

literature

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

↑ The point in time at which the cohort was drawn up is controversial. The unit was possibly formed under Augustus as a result of the Pannonian uprising along with other cohorts of Roman citizens.
↑ The scenario given here follows the explanations of John Spaul. It assumes that the in Africa occupied Cohors XV with the in Germania inferior stationed Cohors XV Voluntariorum is identical. Instead, other historians suggest that these are two different entities.
↑ According to Norbert Hanel , most of the bricks were found at the forts in Woerden and Leiden-Roomburg, so that these two forts are the most likely to be used as stationing sites for him.

Individual evidence

^ Paul A. Holder : Exercitus Pius Fidelis: The Army of Germania Inferior in AD 89 In: Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik (ZPE), Volume 128 (1999), pp. 237–250, here pp. 237, 243 ( PDF ) .

↑ Inscription with pia fidelis ( CIL 13, 8826 ).

↑ Military diplomas of the year 152 ( RMD 5, 408 , RMM 35 , ZPE-148-262 ).

^ ^A ^b John Spaul , Cohors², pp. 19-20, 39.

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Norbert Hanel : A brick stamp of the cohors XV voluntariorum c. R. from the tegularia transrhenana in the Cologne-Marienburg fleet camp (Alteburg). In: ZPE, Volume 139 (2002), pp. 293-296 ( online ).

↑ Inscription ( CIL 13, 8826 ).

↑ Inscriptions from Ammaedara ( AE 1992, 1765 , CIL 8, 23252 , CIL 8, 23255 ).

^ Inscriptions from Matilo ( CIL 13, 8824 , CIL 13, 8826 ).

[NA1-1] The point in time at which the cohort was drawn up is controversial. The unit was possibly formed under Augustus as a result of the Pannonian uprising along with other cohorts of Roman citizens.

[GE-5] The scenario given here follows the explanations of John Spaul. It assumes that the in Africa occupied Cohors XV with the in Germania inferior stationed Cohors XV Voluntariorum is identical. Instead, other historians suggest that these are two different entities.

[ST-10] According to Norbert Hanel , most of the bricks were found at the forts in Woerden and Leiden-Roomburg, so that these two forts are the most likely to be used as stationing sites for him.

[pah-2] Paul A. Holder : Exercitus Pius Fidelis: The Army of Germania Inferior in AD 89 In: Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik (ZPE), Volume 128 (1999), pp. 237–250, here pp. 237, 243 ( PDF ) .

[IN-PF-3] Inscription with pia fidelis ( CIL 13, 8826 ).