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I am looking for information about Roman Legions in or near Ephesus in 64 A.D. Any information would be helpful.
I am looking for information about Legions, Cohorts, Auxiliary, and Especially and Officers, that may have been stationed there.
I read somewhere that Ephesus was the second largest city in the Roman Empire at the time, so I am wondering who may have been stationed there if any.
I would be looking for emblems or symbols for their Legions/Cohorts etc.
Thank you in advance for your help.
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Proconsular Asia (of which Ephesus was the capital) was an ungarrisoned province, and therefore had no regular military establishment. The governor - as a senator and proconsul - would have had a large staff of slaves and freedmen, besides his lictors.
There seem to have been small groups of soldiers (stationarii) in various cities throughout the east, however, used to gather taxes, control traffic or in various other rather mundane occupations.
The governor may also have had a number of soldiers (beneficiarii) on his staff, as adjutants, bodyguards and military assistants. Pliny, when governor of Bithynia, asked Trajan's permission to send ten soldiers, two cavalrymen and a centurion to the Prefect of the Pontic Shore (who presumably had no troops) - Trajan refused.
A number of inscriptions from Ephesus mention military units, but most are epitaphs to equestrian officers who either came from the city or retired and died there. On inscription (AE 1988, 01022) mentions Iulius Heraclius, centurion of legion XI Claudia, who was princeps (chief of staff) to the procurator of Asia.
Another (CIL 03, 00433) lists two frumentarii, Cornelius Florinius of X Gemina and Elpinius Festianus of I Adiutrix, who from what I can make out seem to have been acting as prison guards (agens curam carceris). None of these inscriptions are dated, sadly, but they suggest that any legionary soldiers in the city would probably have come from the Danube legions, rather than further east.
Nathan Ross
