03-02-2006, 03:51 PM
Not much. The Urban Cohorts were technically supposed to be under the Urban Prefect and permanently belonging to the city of Rome, while the Praetorians of course belonged with the emperor. I have never heard anything in particular about their duties, but would assume they functioned as a public order force for Roma and its countryside.
There were the frumentarii at the castra peregrina, soldiers on detached duty from the legions. Some authors despise them with a passion, presumably because they served as a kind of domestic intelligewnce unit. They were organised into a temporary numerus, and there seem to have been detached stations in other Italian cities as well as frumentarii serving in the legions themselves. Unfortunately, we only have a very sketchy idea of what they actually did. As with the later agentes in rebus, some interpretations have been more excitable than others. My personal guess is that they were basically snoops. You'd tell them 'find out something' and they'd go and do it. That kind of service was well established in the ancient world, and never highly regarded by the wealthy and powerful, who as a rule preferred to not be bothered. Mind you, despite everything it is conceivable that they were supply clerks. That is what the name means, after all.
Generally, I am still looking for a good study of ancient intelligence work. Some attempts have been made, but they mosty concentrated on scouting.
Also, do not forget the equites singulares Augusti. they were separate from the Praetoriansm, an elite guards cavalry unit. Horsemen, mostly peregrine, recruited heavily from the northern provinces - the locals must have hated them :-) )
There were the frumentarii at the castra peregrina, soldiers on detached duty from the legions. Some authors despise them with a passion, presumably because they served as a kind of domestic intelligewnce unit. They were organised into a temporary numerus, and there seem to have been detached stations in other Italian cities as well as frumentarii serving in the legions themselves. Unfortunately, we only have a very sketchy idea of what they actually did. As with the later agentes in rebus, some interpretations have been more excitable than others. My personal guess is that they were basically snoops. You'd tell them 'find out something' and they'd go and do it. That kind of service was well established in the ancient world, and never highly regarded by the wealthy and powerful, who as a rule preferred to not be bothered. Mind you, despite everything it is conceivable that they were supply clerks. That is what the name means, after all.
Generally, I am still looking for a good study of ancient intelligence work. Some attempts have been made, but they mosty concentrated on scouting.
Also, do not forget the equites singulares Augusti. they were separate from the Praetoriansm, an elite guards cavalry unit. Horsemen, mostly peregrine, recruited heavily from the northern provinces - the locals must have hated them :-) )
Der Kessel ist voll Bärks!
Volker Bach
Volker Bach
