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Legionary Rosters - Jugibar - 03-15-2013
Hello,
Would anyone be able to know where I could obtain records of surviving Republican Legionary rosters? If there is little in the way of that, then I am willing to settle for Imperial rosters. Thanks.
Legionary Rosters - Vindex - 03-15-2013
I suppose it depends on what you mean by rosters - I imagine lists with names etc
The only thing which comes to my mind (not Republican) are the surviving diplomas discussed at length by Valerie Maxfield (two volumes) and her book on military decorations.
The diplomas list the units receiving citizenshiop, but it does include the names of individuals/ officials.
The collected papers in 'The Second Augustan Legion and the Military Machine' edited by Richard Brewer again has a list of officers, Centurions and soldiers of Legio II Augusta but again, the Augustan period onwards (and mainly inSouth Wales).
Hope that helps.
Legionary Rosters - Nathan Ross - 03-15-2013
The only ones I can think of come from the later imperial (Severan) era. There are two partial 'strength reports' from papyrii found at Dura Europos, (P.Dura 100 and 101), giving the names of 63 and 49 soldiers respectively from Cohors XX Palmyrenorum in AD219 and AD222. I can't find a text online, but there's a full translation in Dodgeon & Lieu's Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars.
The most complete Roman 'rosters' are probably the two inscriptions on statue bases from the Caelian hill in Rome, listing the full complement of the Fifth cohort of Vigiles in AD205 and AD210. This was apparently a double-strength cohort at the time, and there are around 1000 names of officers and men on each, including centurions, optios, musicians and men to operate the fire-fighting equipment!
The full text of these inscriptions is on the Clauss-Slaby database: go here and type either CIL 06, 01057 or CIL 06, 01058 into the 'publication' box, then press 'go'...
There are also several other inscriptions and diplomas from the imperial era giving long lists of soldiers of various units discharged at various times, often with ranks, places of birth, etc.
Legionary Rosters - Quintius Clavus - 03-15-2013
There is also the duty roster from Legio III Cyrenaica in Egypt, from the 90's AD, with the names of several soldiers and days and duties to which they were assigned. See Alston's book about the Roman Army in Egypt.
Some rosters - perhaps one or more of those mentioned above list the soldiers' names, origins and identifying marks. This is becasue so many Roman soldiers had similar names, thus scars, birthmarks, etc. would also be recorded to distinguish one man from another.
I question whether rosters would have survived from the Republic, due to the more ephmeral nature of the legions, as they were raised, then later disbanded. I'm sure there were some sort of records, to keep track of the men, but... It was within the more permanent units of the imperial era that having records of the roster type might have had a chance to survive into the archaeological record. They were keeping track of men in "permanent" units and with a set period of service, whose pay and benefits including retirement depended on those records. Mind you, Roman bureauracracy was "inefficient" and by no means anything close to the detail our modern militaries keep.
On an interesting note - The Romans had some way to identify the dead killed in battle: The altar found at the site of the Tropeaum Traiani at Adamklissi listed the names of up to 3800 Roman soldiers - from a fragment found, they were grouped by units and included the soldier's name and his origin (place where he came from before joining the army. Both legionary and auxiliary units are represented. It is not certain whether these soldiers were killed in a defeat or in a victory. The altar apparently predates the final Tropeaum that we know of; it is oriented with an earlier tropeaum. It is also not known whether Domitian or Trajan erected it (the altar) as the dedication is missing. It is known that annual sacrifices were to be made there, presumably on behalf of the dead listed. This is from: Military Defeat, Casualties of War and the Success of Rome, Brian David Turner, University of Morth Carolina, 2010 or 2011; it includes a section of the named dead. It may be available via Barnes & Noble on Nook.
Legionary Rosters - Jugibar - 03-16-2013
Quote:I suppose it depends on what you mean by rosters - I imagine lists with names etc.
My interest was sparked by the Legio III Cyrenaica roster which Quintus mentioned, I did come across it while reading Roth's article on the imperial legion.
Would there be any rosters from Greek armies or something along those lines?
Legionary Rosters - D B Campbell - 03-17-2013
Quote:Would anyone be able to know where I could obtain records of surviving Republican Legionary rosters? If there is little in the way of that, then I am willing to settle for Imperial rosters.As far as I know, there are no Repubican rosters. Most of the evidence cited in the above replies relates to auxiliary units, but there are several known legionary rosters of Antonine-Severan date (e.g. the discharged veterans of AE 1955,238 -- names listed at AE 1969/70, 633, identified by centuria). Inscribed marble fragments found in London in the 1980s (now published as RIB 3017) seem to list the members of a legionary vexillatio (detachment), identified by cohort. Is this the kind of thing you were thinking of?
Legionary Rosters - Vindex - 03-18-2013
Quote:The only ones I can think of come from the later imperial (Severan) era. There are two partial 'strength reports' from papyrii found at Dura Europos, (P.Dura 100 and 101), giving the names of 63 and 49 soldiers respectively from Cohors XX Palmyrenorum in AD219 and AD222. I can't find a text online, but there's a full translation in Dodgeon & Lieu's Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars.
Of course <slaps forehead> how could I forget the five turmae referenced in P. Dura 100
hock:
Legionary Rosters - Alanus - 03-18-2013
Here in the United States we have quite a few Republican roosters. :whistle:
Most of the Democrats are hens.
Oh! Sorry. You guys are talking about rosters. :oops: