Cohors prima Delmatarum ("1st Cohort of Dalmatae") was a

Roman auxiliary The (; ) were introduced as non-citizen troops attached to the citizen Roman legion, legions by Augustus after his reorganisation of the Imperial Roman army from 27 BC. By the 2nd century, the contained the same number of infantry as the ...

infantry regiment. It is named after the

Dalmatae The Dalmatae, alternatively Delmatae, during the Roman period, were a group of Illyrian tribes in Dalmatia, contemporary southern Croatia and western Bosnia and Herzegovina. The region of Dalmatia takes its name from the tribe. The Delmatae ap ...

, an Illyrian-speaking tribe that inhabited the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

coastal mountain range of the eponymous

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

. The ancient geographer

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

describes these mountains as extremely rugged, and the Dalmatae as backward and warlike. He claims that they did not use money long after their neighbours adopted it and that they "made war on the Romans for a long time". He also criticises the Dalmatae, a nation of pastoralists, for turning fertile plains into sheep pasture. Indeed, the name of the tribe itself is believed to mean "shepherds", derived from the Illyrian word ''delme'' ("sheep"). The final time this people fought against Rome was in the

Illyrian revolt The (Latin for ''War of the Batos'') or Great Illyrian Revolt was a military conflict fought in the Roman province of Illyricum in the 1st century AD, in which an alliance of native peoples of the two regions of Illyricum, Dalmatia and Pannonia ...

of 6–9 AD. The revolt was started by Dalmatae auxiliary forces and soon spread all over

and

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Roman Italy, Italy, and on the southward by Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It ...

. The resulting war was described by the Roman writer

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is ''De vita Caesarum'', common ...

as the most difficult faced by Rome since the

Punic Wars The Punic Wars were a series of wars fought between the Roman Republic and the Ancient Carthage, Carthaginian Empire during the period 264 to 146BC. Three such wars took place, involving a total of forty-three years of warfare on both land and ...

two centuries earlier. But after the war, the Dalmatae became a loyal and important source of recruits for the Roman army. According to Holder, a total of 12 ''Cohortes Delmatarum'' appear to have been raised after the suppression of the Illyrian revolt in two series, of 7 and 5 respectively. All these units were in existence by the time of emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

(r. 41–54)Holder (1980) 112 Of these, 9 appear to have survived into the 2nd century.Spaul (2000) 302-14 The regiment was probably raised by founder-emperor

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

(r. 30BC – 14AD) after 9 AD. It was certainly in existence by the time of

(r. 41–54). Its early movements are unknown. Holder suggests that the regiment may have taken part in the

Roman invasion of Britain The Roman conquest of Britain was the Roman Empire's conquest of most of the island of Britain, which was inhabited by the Celtic Britons. It began in earnest in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, and was largely completed in the southern half o ...

(43) or the suppression of the revolt of

Boudicca Boudica or Boudicca (, from Brythonic * 'victory, win' + * 'having' suffix, i.e. 'Victorious Woman', known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh as , ) was a queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe, who led a failed up ...

(61), but there is no evidence. It first appears in the datable epigraphic record in 122, in

Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...

. It was still there in 138–61, the time of its last datable inscription.Spaul (2000) 302 It is attested in the following Roman forts in Britannia:

High Rochester Bremenium (High Rochester) is an ancient Roman fort (castrum) located at Rochester, Northumberland, England. The fort is part of the defensive system built along the extension of Dere Street, a Roman road running from York to Corbridge an ...

Maryport Maryport is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is on the coast of the Solway Firth and lies at the northern end of the former Cumberland Co ...

(138–61) and Chesters (138–61). The names of 12 ''praefecti'' (regimental commanders) are attested. From the locations of their votive or funerary stones, it can be deduced that at least 4 were central/southern Italians: from Aquino, Beneventum, the city of Rome (c. 120), and

Tusculum Tusculum is a ruined Classical Rome, Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable dist ...

. Another was a member of the

Santones The Santoni or Santones () were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the later region of Saintonge during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name These people are noted as ''Santonum'', ''Santonos'' and ''Santonis'' by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC), ''Santó ...

Gallic tribe of western

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

, and one from Baláca (

). In addition, a '' centurio'' (infantry officer) is attested.

Citations

{{reflist

References

* Holder, Paul ''Studies in the Auxilia of the Roman Army'' (1980) * Spaul, John ''COHORS 2'' (2000) Auxiliary infantry units of ancient Rome Dalmatia (Roman province) Military history of Roman Britain

See also

Citations

References