Evocatus

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Evocatus ("the called one", pl. Evocati) was the Latin name for a legionnaire in the Roman legions of antiquity who had completed his regular service (16-25 years) and had received an honorable discharge ( honesta missio ), but on Request of a consul or other senior military commander had again volunteered for service in the Legion .

Importance and tasks

There were considerable numbers of Evocati in all legions. When the senior legionary commander, usually a Legatus legionis, sometimes a Praefectus legionis, was popular among legionaries, the number of veterans reporting back under his command increased. Like the Vexillarii, the Evocati were exempted from ordinary military tasks such as fortifying camps, roads and paths (→ fortification ) and similar exhausting tasks and, due to their experience, had a higher rank and reputation in the Legion than ordinary legionaries. They were often mentioned with the same respect as the Equites Romani and sometimes had the same authority (→ Auctoritas ) as a centurion .

In some cases, they eventually rose to the rank of centurion. Thus Pompey induced many veterans who had served under him in earlier years to assemble under his banner at the outbreak of civil war between him and Caesar and to join him with the promise of rewards and command of a centurion . However, not all Evocati received the rank of Centurion, nor could they belong to every desired cohort . Marcus Tullius Cicero mentions a Praefectus Evocatorum, an officer responsible for the Evocati.

Evocati were often used for special tasks, for example as judges of the military tribunals , but they also played a significant role in disputes with the population in the civil courts in the provinces. The Evocati played an important role in the power structure of the Imperium Romanum .

Salary

They received the same pay as a centurion, about double the amount a legionnaire received. In contrast to the legionnaires, whose salary was called a scholarship , the Evocati called it salarium ("pay, salary, salary ", originally "amount of salt ").

Evocati Augusti

View of Via dell'Abbondanza in Pompeii, where the house of the former Evocatus Augusti Lucius Satrius Rufus is located

Distinguished veterans of the Praetorian Guard in Rome , who returned to the service with a higher rank than the so-called Evocati Augusti, took on outstanding tasks . A gold ring and a stylized vine are said to have been awarded to them as honorable awards.

The Domus Lucii Satrii Rufi (German: House of Lucius Satrius Rufus ) was found on Via dell'Abbondanza (German: Street of Abundance or Abundance ) in Pompeii , the only one in this city to have a name plate on one of the wings of its entrance door decreed. The resident was an Evocatus Augusti, the small bronze plaque bears the inscription:

"L. SATRI RVFI, EVOCATI AVG (VSTI) A COMMENTARY (IIS) "

"Lucius Satrius Rufus, called by the sublime as reporter "

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Roman Legion  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Evocation  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. Uwe Wegner: The captain of Capernaum . Mohr Siebeck, 1985, ISBN 978-3-16-144894-2 , pp. 61 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  2. ^ Joachim Ott: The Beneficiarier . Franz Steiner Verlag, 1995, ISBN 3-515-06660-8 , pp. 41 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  3. ^ Daniel Bühler: Power and Loyalty: Publius Ventidius: A Roman career between republic and monarchy . Allitera-Verlag, 2009, ISBN 978-3-86906-044-6 , p. 73 ( limited preview in Google Book Search - dissertation).
  4. William W. Batstone, Cynthia Damon: Caesar's Civil War . Oxford University Press, 2006, ISBN 0-19-516510-1 , pp. 49 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  5. Wolfgang Kunkel , Roland Wittmann : Magistratur . CH Beck, 1995, ISBN 3-406-33827-5 , pp. 377 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  6. Erich Sander : The Roman military criminal law. (PDF; 6.6 MB) pp. 8–9 , accessed on July 29, 2012 .
  7. ^ Adolf Berger : Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law . American Philosophical Society, 1953, ISBN 0-87169-432-8 , pp. 689 (English, limited preview in Google Book search).
  8. Oliver Stoll : Roman Army and Society . Franz Steiner Verlag, 2001, ISBN 3-515-07817-7 , pp. 311 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  9. ^ Johann Gottlob Ludwig Ramshorn: Synonymic concise dictionary of the Latin language . Baumgärtner, 1835, ISBN 3-406-33827-5 , p. 240 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  10. ^ Yann Le Bohec: The Roman Army: From Augustus to Constantine the Elder. Gr . Franz Steiner Verlag, 1993, ISBN 3-515-06300-5 , pp. 62 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  11. Jackie & Bob Dunn: Pompeiiin Pictures. I.19.3 Pompeii. This entrance may have provided access to House of L. Satrius Rufus. Retrieved August 7, 2012 .
  12. James Lee Franklin: Pompeis Difficile Est: Studies in the Political Life of Imperial Pompeii . University of Michigan Press, 2001, ISBN 978-0-472-11056-8 , pp. 105 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  13. ^ Peter Lichtenberger: imperium-romanum.com - Geography - Cities. Residential houses of the 1st region in Pompeii. Retrieved August 7, 2012 .