Cohors II Asturum et Callaecorum

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The Cohors II Asturum et Callaecorum [equitata] was a Roman auxiliary unit. It is known from military diplomats and brickwork.

Roman Empire Period of Imperial Rome following the Roman Republic (27 BC–395 AD)

The Roman Empire was the post-Roman Republic period of the ancient Roman civilization. An Iron Age civilization, it had a government headed by emperors and large territorial holdings around the Mediterranean Sea in Europe, North Africa, and West Asia. From the constitutional reforms of Augustus to the military anarchy of the third century, the Empire was a principate ruled from the city of Rome. The Roman Empire was then divided between a Western Roman Empire, based in Milan and later Ravenna, and an Eastern Roman Empire, based in Nicomedia and later Constantinople, and it was ruled by multiple emperors.

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Asturias Autonomous community and province of Spain

Asturias, officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous community in north-west Spain. It is coextensive with the province of Asturias, and contains some of the territory that was part of the larger Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages. Divided into eight comarcas (counties), the autonomous community of Asturias is bordered by Cantabria to the east, by Castile and León to the south, by Galicia to the west, and by the Bay of Biscay to the north.

Galicia (Spain) Autonomous community of Spain

Galicia is an autonomous community of Spain and historic nationality under Spanish law. Located in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula, it comprises the provinces of A Coruña, Lugo, Ourense and Pontevedra, being bordered by Portugal to the south, the Spanish autonomous communities of Castile and León and Asturias to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Cantabrian Sea to the north. It had a population of 2,718,525 in 2016 and has a total area of 29,574 km2 (11,419 sq mi). Galicia has over 1,660 km (1,030 mi) of coastline, including its offshore islands and islets, among them Cíes Islands, Ons, Sálvora, Cortegada, and—the largest and most populated—A Illa de Arousa.

There are no references to the milliaria (1000 men), so it is assumed that the unit was a Cohors equitata. The target strength of the cohort was 600 men (480 man infantry and 120 riders) consisting of 6 centuria infantry with 80 men and 4 turmae cavalry each with 30 riders.

Infantry military service branch that specializes in combat by individuals on foot

Infantry is the branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot, distinguished from cavalry, artillery, and tank forces. Also known as foot soldiers, infantry traditionally relies on moving by foot between combats as well, but may also use mounts, military vehicles, or other transport. Infantry make up a large portion of all armed forces in most nations, and typically bear the largest brunt in warfare, as measured by casualties, deprivation, or physical and psychological stress.

Centuria is a Latin term denoting military units consisting of (originally) 100 men. The size of the century changed over time and from the first century B.C.E. throughout most of the empire the standard size of a centuria was 80 men.

Cavalry soldiers or warriors fighting from horseback

Cavalry or horsemen are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the most mobile of the combat arms. An individual soldier in the cavalry is known by a number of designations such as cavalryman, horseman, dragoon, or trooper. The designation of cavalry was not usually given to any military forces that used other animals, such as camels, mules or elephants. Infantry who moved on horseback, but dismounted to fight on foot, were known in the 17th and early 18th centuries as dragoons, a class of mounted infantry which later evolved into cavalry proper while retaining their historic title.

History

Roman military diploma Carnuntum. Roman military diploma Carnuntum 00.jpg
Roman military diploma Carnuntum.

The first record of the unit was in the province of Pannonia in a military diploma dating back to AD 80. In the diploma, the cohort is listed as part of the troops stationed in Pannonia. [2] [3] [4]

Pannonia ancient province of the Roman Empire

Pannonia was a province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located over the territory of the present-day western Hungary, eastern Austria, northern Croatia, north-western Serbia, northern Slovenia, western Slovakia and northern Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Locations

Locations of the cohort in Pannonia and Pannonia inferior may have been:

Batina Place in Baranya, Croatia

Batina is a port village on the right bank of the Danube in Baranja, Croatia. Its elevation is 105 m. Administratively, it is located in the Draž municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County.

Members of the cohort

The following members of the cohort are known: [3]

Commanders

Others

Related Research Articles

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Cohors prima Alpinorum equitata was a Roman auxiliary mixed infantry and cavalry regiment. Alpini was a generic name denoting several Celtic-speaking mountain tribes inhabiting the Alps between Italy and Gaul, which were organised as the Tres Alpes provinces. The regiment was probably raised as one of 4-6 Alpini units recruited after the final annexation of the western Alpine regions by emperor Augustus in 15 BC.

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References

  1. John Spaul, List of the Imperial Roman Army , British Archaeological Reports 2000, BAR International Series (Book 841), p. 81
  2. Jörg Scheuerbrandt: Exercitus. Tasks, organization and command structure of Roman armies during the imperial period. Dissertation, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, Bremerhaven 2003/2004, pp. 161, 163
  3. 1 2 3 4 John Spaul, List of the Imperial Roman Army , British Archaeological Reports 2000, BAR International Series (Book 841), p. 81
  4. 1 2 Margaret M. Roxan: The Auxiliary of the Roman Army in the Iberian Peninsula Volume 2. discovery.ucl.ac.uk, 1973 , pp. 152-153.