02-12-2019, 12:05 PM
(02-12-2019, 11:37 AM)Legate Wrote: Was this Italian cohort an auxiliary unit? If so why would Italians join the auxiliaries and not a legion? Are they many examples of this?
Yes, at least 32 Cohortes of this type (cf Cheesman).
Probably raised in two levies by Augustus (first one) following the Varus disaster of 9AD.
There are then the rest of the Auxiliary units that had jointly been awarded the Civium Romanum, where, presumerably, citizens could join (and not be looked down upon) if they fancied the, perhaps less rigorous and possibly more settled, life than in a legion.
