03-08-2017, 02:40 PM
(This post was last modified: 04-03-2019, 10:30 AM by Nathan Ross.)
Meanwhile... I've been going through the Latin text of Ammianus to try and work out whether there's any connection between his uses of 'cohort' and 'turma' and other unit names.
Cohort is quite hard to work out - he seems to use the word fairly indiscrimately to refer to infantry units, and sometimes mounted units, that are not legions. It would seem to be a synonym for numerus, therefore (which could be either). Although he does (in Book 17) mention a 'Praetorian cohort' guarding Constantius II during the battle with the Limigantes - so I think in that case at least we can safely assume that he's using an anachronistic expression.
However, 25.1.7-9 gives an interesting example of the mutability of his military terminology:
Eodem die Tertiacorum a equestris numerus a legionibus incusatus est quod, cum ipsae hostium adversas inrumperent acies, illi paulatim dilapsi alacritatem paene totius minuissent exercitus. 8 Unde ad indignationem iustam imperator erectus ademptis signis hastisque diffractis omnes eos, qui fugisse arguebantur, inter inpedimenta et sarcinas et captivos agere iter inposuit, ductore eorum, qui solus fortiter decertarat, aliae turmae adposito, cuius tribunus turpiter proelium deseruisse convincebatur. 9 Abiecti sunt autem sacramento etiam alii quattuor ob flagitium simile vexillationum tribuni: hoc enim correctionis moderamine leniori inpendentium consideratione difficultatum contentus est imperator.
Here we have a cavalry unit (the 'Tertiaci')* referred to as an equestris numerus; their leader (ductor), who had fought bravely, is given command of another (similar?) unit, referred to as a turma, whose cowardly previous leader was a tribune. We are then told that four other cavalry tribunes were also dismissed - this time their units are calledvexillationes. There is no indication, I think, that these were different types of unit.
So it would appear that Ammianus uses numerus equitum, turma and vexillatio interchangeably, and while the first and last terms would have been in official use, the second was either a colloquialism or deliberately archaic. I expect his use of 'cohort' follows a similar pattern.
* The 'Tertiaci' are possibly the numero tertio stablesiacorum / equites tertii stablesiani, listed in the ND under the command of the Magister Equitum per Orientem; Philip Rance has determined their existence into the 6th century, possibly based at Cyrrus in Syria ('The Third Equites Stablesiani at Cyrrus', Chiron 42, 2012)
Cohort is quite hard to work out - he seems to use the word fairly indiscrimately to refer to infantry units, and sometimes mounted units, that are not legions. It would seem to be a synonym for numerus, therefore (which could be either). Although he does (in Book 17) mention a 'Praetorian cohort' guarding Constantius II during the battle with the Limigantes - so I think in that case at least we can safely assume that he's using an anachronistic expression.
However, 25.1.7-9 gives an interesting example of the mutability of his military terminology:
Eodem die Tertiacorum a equestris numerus a legionibus incusatus est quod, cum ipsae hostium adversas inrumperent acies, illi paulatim dilapsi alacritatem paene totius minuissent exercitus. 8 Unde ad indignationem iustam imperator erectus ademptis signis hastisque diffractis omnes eos, qui fugisse arguebantur, inter inpedimenta et sarcinas et captivos agere iter inposuit, ductore eorum, qui solus fortiter decertarat, aliae turmae adposito, cuius tribunus turpiter proelium deseruisse convincebatur. 9 Abiecti sunt autem sacramento etiam alii quattuor ob flagitium simile vexillationum tribuni: hoc enim correctionis moderamine leniori inpendentium consideratione difficultatum contentus est imperator.
Here we have a cavalry unit (the 'Tertiaci')* referred to as an equestris numerus; their leader (ductor), who had fought bravely, is given command of another (similar?) unit, referred to as a turma, whose cowardly previous leader was a tribune. We are then told that four other cavalry tribunes were also dismissed - this time their units are calledvexillationes. There is no indication, I think, that these were different types of unit.
So it would appear that Ammianus uses numerus equitum, turma and vexillatio interchangeably, and while the first and last terms would have been in official use, the second was either a colloquialism or deliberately archaic. I expect his use of 'cohort' follows a similar pattern.
* The 'Tertiaci' are possibly the numero tertio stablesiacorum / equites tertii stablesiani, listed in the ND under the command of the Magister Equitum per Orientem; Philip Rance has determined their existence into the 6th century, possibly based at Cyrrus in Syria ('The Third Equites Stablesiani at Cyrrus', Chiron 42, 2012)
Nathan Ross
