The Cohors I Asturum et Callaecorum (civium Romanorum) (1st cohort of the Asturians and Callaecans) was a

Roman auxiliary The (, lit. "auxiliaries") were introduced as non-citizen troops attached to the citizen Roman legion, legions by Augustus after his reorganisation of the Imperial Roman army from 30 BC. By the 2nd century, the Auxilia contained the same ...

unit.

Description

The soldiers of the

cohort Cohort or cohortes may refer to: * Cohort (educational group), a group of students working together through the same academic curriculum * Cohort (floating point), a set of different encodings of the same numerical value * Cohort (military unit), ...

were recruited from the

Asturians Asturians ( ast, asturianos) are a Celtic-Romance ethnic group native to the autonomous community of Asturias, in the North-West of the Iberian Peninsula. Culture and society Heritage Asturians are directly descended from the Astures, who wer ...

and Callaecans in the territory of today's Asturias and Galicia. The soldiers of the unit had been granted

Roman citizen Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...

ship at a certain time. However, this did not apply to soldiers who were taken into the unit after this time. They received the Roman citizenship only with their honorable discharge (''

honesta missio The ''honesta missio'' was the honorable discharge from the military service in the Roman Empire. The status conveyed particular privileges (''praemia militiae''). Among other things, an honorably discharged legionary was paid discharge money fr ...

'') after 25 years of service. Since there are no inscriptions of ''milliaria'' (1000 men) and equitata, so it is to be assumed that it is a pure infantry cohort (Cohors peditata). The target strength of the unit was 480 men, consisting of six ''

centuria ''Centuria'' (, plural ''centuriae'') is a Latin term (from the stem ''centum'' meaning one hundred) denoting military units originally consisting of 100 men. The size of the century changed over time, and from the first century BC through most ...

'' with 80 men each.

History

The first proof of unity in the province of

Mauretania Tingitana Mauretania Tingitana (Latin for "Tangerine Mauretania") was a Roman province, coinciding roughly with the northern part of present-day Morocco. The territory stretched from the northern peninsula opposite Gibraltar, to Sala Colonia (or Chella ...

is based on an inscription found in Volubilis, dated AD 57 (ILM 00058). Possibly, the cohort was around 60 temporarily in the province of Illyricum Volubilis socle.Locations of the cohort in Mauretania Tingitana were: *Ain Schkour: Several inscriptions indicate the presence (of parts) of the cohort in Ain Schkour. John Spaul assumes that the unit was stationed in Ain Shkour. *Volubilis: Prefect Nammius Maternus' tombstone was found in Volubilis

Known commanders

Commanders included *Aemilius *Caius Vibius Salutaris (CIL 3, 6065) *Flavius (oder C. Iul.)John Spaul: Cohors 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), , S. 79-80 Neon (CIL 8, 21820) *Gaius Iulius Longinus (AE 1955, 208) *Lucius Domitius Dentonianus (CIL 2, 4211) *Nammius Maternus (AE 1916, 91, CIL 16, 167) *Publius Valerius Priscus (CIL 6, 3654)

References

{{reflist, 2 Auxiliary equitata units of ancient Rome

Description

History

Known commanders

See also

References