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The draconarius was a type of '' signifer'' who bore a cavalry standard known as a '' draco'' in the
The Draco, the Late Roman military standard
Military ranks of ancient Rome Ancient Roman titles Military history of Dacia {{dacia-stub
The draconarius was a type of '' signifer'' who bore a cavalry standard known as a '' draco'' in the Roman army
The Roman army () served ancient Rome and the Roman people, enduring through the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (509–27 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC–AD 1453), including the Western Roman Empire (collapsed Fall of the W ...
.
Name
Strictly speaking, the word ''draconarius'' denotes the bearer of the military standard on which a dragon was represented. The term passed intoChristian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
usage, and was applied to the bearer of the labarum in battle, and also to cross-bearers in church processions.
Dragon ensign
From the conqueredDacians
The Dacians (; ; ) were the ancient Indo-European inhabitants of the cultural region of Dacia, located in the area near the Carpathian Mountains and west of the Black Sea. They are often considered a subgroup of the Thracians. This area include ...
, the Romans in Trajan
Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...
's time borrowed the dragon ensign which became the standard of the cohort as the eagle was that of the legion. Of Dacia
Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ro ...
n, Sarmatian
The Sarmatians (; ; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples who dominated the Pontic–Caspian steppe, Pontic steppe from about the 5th century BCE to the 4t ...
in origin, the ''draco'' was later generally introduced in the fourth century as a Roman standard.
It consisted of a bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...
dragon head with a fabric body similar in shape to a tail behind it. Wind flowed through the gaping mouth and billowed out the cloth tail much like a modern windsock. It is thought that some form of whistle was mounted in the dragon's neck to make a terrifying noise when galloping.
See also
*Clan of Ostoja
The Clan Ostoja (Moscics), Clan of Ostoja (old Polish: ''Ostoya'') was a powerful group of knights and lords in late-medieval Europe. The clan encompassed families in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (including present-day Belarus and Ukraine ...
* Dacian warfare
* Aquilifer
* Imaginifer
* Vexillarius
Notes
References
* * * *External links
The Draco, the Late Roman military standard
Military ranks of ancient Rome Ancient Roman titles Military history of Dacia {{dacia-stub