Numerus Brittonum Murrensium

The Numerus Brittonum Murrensium ( German number of the British on the Murr ) was a Roman auxiliary unit . It is evidenced by an inscription and a brick stamp.

The nominal strength of the unit was probably 160 men, consisting of two Centuries with 80 men each. They were probably all foot soldiers.

Name components

Brittonum : the British. The soldiers of the numerus were recruited in the province of Britannia when the unit was established .

Murrensium : on the Murr . The addition refers to the Murr, a small tributary of the Neckar.

history

The British probably came to Germania superior around 100 AD , possibly even under Domitian (81–96). Presumably the numbers formed from them were used at the Neckar-Odenwald-Limes for monitoring tasks in order to relieve the auxiliary units already stationed here.

The numerus was stationed at Benningen Fort only for a short time, if at all ; he was subsequently moved to the Cohors I Helvetiorum stationed in the Heilbronn-Böckingen fort . Around 159/161 the Cohors I Helvetiorum was relocated to Öhringen and the number will probably have followed this cohort to which it was assigned.

Presumably by 178 at the latest the Numerus Brittonum Murrensium was merged with the Numerus Brittonum Cal [] to form the Numerus Brittonum Aurelianensium .

Locations

Locations of the Numerus in Germania superior were possibly:

Vicus Aurelianus ( Öhringen ): Bricks with the stamp NUM BM SV CV ( CIL 13, 12501 ) were found here.
Benningen Fort
Heilbronn-Böckingen fort : The inscription ( CIL 13, 6471 ) was found here.

Members of the number

The following members of the number are known.

Gaius Valerius Titus , a centurion of an (unknown) legion
Cassius Troianus , a centurion

Remarks

↑ ^a ^b According to Marcus Reuter , the unit is stationed at Benningen Fort due to the Murrensium part of the name , as the residents of the vicus near the fort referred to themselves as vicani Murrenses in the inscription ( CIL 13, 6454 ) .

↑ The assignment to the unit is presumed, but is not certain.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Marcus Reuter : Studies on the numbers of the Roman Army in the Middle Imperial Period , Dissertation, In: Reports of the Roman-Germanic Commission 80, 1999, pp. 359–569, here pp. 385–389, 453 -454.
↑ ^a ^b Tatiana Alexandrovna Ivleva: Britons abroad: the mobility of Britons and the circulation of British-made objects in the Roman Empire Dissertation, Leiden University 2012, pp. 170-171, 186-187, 551 ( online ).

[GE-3] According to Marcus Reuter , the unit is stationed at Benningen Fort due to the Murrensium part of the name , as the residents of the vicus near the fort referred to themselves as vicani Murrenses in the inscription ( CIL 13, 6454 ) .

[AN1-4] The assignment to the unit is presumed, but is not certain.

[mr-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Marcus Reuter : Studies on the numbers of the Roman Army in the Middle Imperial Period , Dissertation, In: Reports of the Roman-Germanic Commission 80, 1999, pp. 359–569, here pp. 385–389, 453 -454.

[tai-2] Tatiana Alexandrovna Ivleva: Britons abroad: the mobility of Britons and the circulation of British-made objects in the Roman Empire Dissertation, Leiden University 2012, pp. 170-171, 186-187, 551 ( online ).