Cohors quinta Delmatarum civium Romanorum ("5th Cohort of Dalmatae Roman citizens") was a

Roman auxiliary The (, lit. "auxiliaries") were introduced as non-citizen troops attached to the citizen legions by Augustus after his reorganisation of the Imperial Roman army from 30 BC. By the 2nd century, the Auxilia contained the same number of inf ...

infantry regiment. It is named after the

Dalmatae The Delmatae, alternatively Dalmatæ, 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 ...

(or ''Delmatae''), an Illyrian-speaking tribe that inhabited the Adriatic coastal mountain range of the eponymous

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, stre ...

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

and

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now wes ...

. The resulting war was described by the Roman writer

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...

as the most difficult faced by Rome since the

Punic Wars The Punic Wars were a series of wars between 264 and 146BC fought between Rome and Carthage. Three conflicts between these states took place on both land and sea across the western Mediterranean region and involved a total of forty-three ye ...

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

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

(r. 30 BC - AD 14) after 9 AD. It was certainly in existence by the time of Claudius (r. 41-54). It is unclear why two ''cohortes Delmatarum'' were given the same number ''V'': this regiment and another ''V Delmatarum'' in

Germania Superior Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesontio ...

). Spaul suggests the regiment in Mauretania may be the

cohors I Liburnorum A cohort (from the Latin ''cohors'', plural ''cohortes'', see wikt:cohors for full inflection table) was a standard tactical military unit of a Roman legion. Although the standard size changed with time and situation, it was generally compose ...

, renamed. The regiment first appears in the datable epigraphic record in AD 88 in

Mauretania Tingitana Mauretania Tingitana (Latin for " Tangerine Mauretania") was a Roman province, coinciding roughly with the northern part of present-day Morocco. The territory stretched from the northern peninsula opposite Gibraltar, to Sala Colonia (or Chell ...

. It was still there in 158, the time of its last datable inscription. Apart from diplomas, there is no epigraphic evidence for this unit. The regiment's title ''c.R.'' first appears in a diploma of 122. The honorific title ''civium Romanorum'' (''c.R.'' for short) was normally awarded by the emperor for valour to an auxiliary regiment as a whole. The award would include the grant of

Roman citizenship Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...

to all the regiment's men, but not to subsequent recruits to the regiment. The regiment, however, would retain the prestigious title in perpetuity.Goldsworthy (2005) 97 (N.B. Until 212, only a minority of the empire's inhabitants (inc. all Italians) held full

. The rest were denoted '' peregrini'', a second-class status. Since the legions admitted only citizens, ''peregrini'' could only enlist in the auxilia. Citizenship carried a number of tax and other privileges and was highly sought-after. It could be earned by serving in the auxilia for the minimum 25-year term.

Citations

{{reflist

References

* Goldsworthy, Adrian ''The Complete Roman Army'' (2005) * 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) Mauretania Tingitana

See also

Citations

References