The Abulci were a Roman auxiliary company (''

numerus Numerus (Latin: "number") may refer to one of the following *Grammatical number * Numerus, a military unit of the Roman army ;See also: *Roman numerals Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the u ...

'') mentioned in the ''

Notitia Dignitatum The (Latin for 'List of all dignities and administrations both civil and military') is a document of the Late Roman Empire that details the administrative organization of the Western and the Eastern Roman Empire. It is unique as one of very ...

'' (ca. 420) as composing part of the garrison of the

Saxon Shore Fort The Saxon Shore () was a military command of the Late Roman Empire, consisting of a series of fortifications on both sides of the English Channel. It was established in the late 3rd century and was led by the " Count of the Saxon Shore". In the ...

of Anderida – the title of one position is listed as "Praepositus numeri Abulcorum, Anderidos" (The commander of the Company of Abulci at Anderida) (Notitia Dignitatum xxviii.20). The unit may have been recruited from the territory of Abula (now

Ávila Ávila ( , , ) is a Spanish city located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila. It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m a ...

) in

Hispania Tarraconensis Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the northern, eastern and central territories of modern Spain along with modern North Region, Portugal, northern Portugal. Southern Spain, the region now ...

, although a

Gaulish Gaulish is an extinct Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, ...

origin has also been suggested. Earlier the Abulci are mentioned by

Zosimus Zosimus, Zosimos, Zosima or Zosimas may refer to: People * * Rufus and Zosimus (died 107), Christian saints * Zosimus (martyr) (died 110), Christian martyr who was executed in Umbria, Italy * Zosimos of Panopolis, also known as ''Zosimus Alch ...

among the forces fighting for

Constantius II Constantius II (; ; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic peoples, while internally the Roman Empire went through repeated civ ...

at the

Battle of Mursa Major The Battle of Mursa was fought on 28 September 351 between the eastern Roman armies led by the Emperor Constantius II and the western forces supporting the usurper Magnentius. It took place at Mursa, near the Via Militaris in the province of ...

in 351 (τάγματος τών Άβούλχων), where their commander, Arcadius, was killed.(ii.51) The Abulci were mentioned by

Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

in ''

Puck of Pook's Hill ''Puck of Pook's Hill'' is a fantasy book by Rudyard Kipling, published in 1906, containing a series of short stories set in different periods of English history. It can count both as historical fantasy – since some of the stories told of ...

'' ("A Centurion of the Thirtieth").

References

{{Saxon Shore Military history of Roman Britain Military units and formations of the Roman Empire