Roman Cavalry Equipment

During the Second Punic War the Roman army lost many of its battles against the Carthaginian army of Hannibal Barca. Not only the infantry suffered enormous casualties, the cavalry suffered as well. The Carthaginian army deployed Spanish and Carthaginian horsemen but also the feared Numidian horsemen. This paper sets out to research the differences between specifically the Roman and the Numidian cavalry. It will study the equitation and the tactics which caused the defeat of the Roman cavalry. It will also try to offer an explanation for the defeats of the Roman cavalry by applying modern military theory on cavalry warfare. It will argue that the Numidian cavalry fought effrenatus, meaning they did not ride their horses without a bridle, but without a bit. It will also argue that the word effrenatus was a reference to the Numidian cavalry tactics. Taking into account an interesting passage in Livy in which he describes how the Roman cavalry was victorious against Spanish cavalry in 180 BC, it will also endeavour to explain why the Second Punic War can be seen as a turning point for Roman cavalry tactics.

The current paper presents two previously unpublished Roman helmet cheek-piece fragments from the collection of the Zalău County Museum of History and Art, originating from northern Dacia (Porolissensis). Both copper-alloy cheek-piece fragments are decorated with embossed eagles and very likely belonged to cavalry helmets. The more complete fragment presents a series of similarities with the cheek-pieces of the famous pseudo-Attic cavalry helmet found at Theilenhofen. While eagles are a common decorative motif on military equipment, the representations on these cheek-pieces have their own peculiarities, which are explored in further detail. Construction, analogies and iconography are discussed at length. The paper is concluded by an annexe describing the H-RTI imaging technique used to reveal details which are otherwise difficult to observe.

Cette publication dévoile les résultats obtenus lors d’un projet d’archéologie expérimentale qui portait sur les tournois équestres (hippika gymnasia) de la cavalerie d’Hadrien (Carlisle, juin-juillet 2017). Principalement destiné au grand public, cet Hadrian’s Cavalry Project s’est concrétisé sous la forme de trois spectacles impliquant trente cavaliers. En tant qu’expert scientifique, ma contribution a principalement consisté à réaliser une traduction de la deuxième partie du traité tactique d’Arrien en anglais, que j’ai intégrée, avec un ensemble de diagrammes explicatifs, dans un manuel d’instruction destiné aux « reconstituteurs ». Ce « règlement » a pu servir pour certaines des manœuvres exécutées lors du spectacle. Il a surtout été utile au cours de la matinée du 2 juillet, exclusivement consacrée à des projets d’expérimentation scientifique, en l’absence du public.

The four horned, stirrup-less, no-flap saddle can be traced in Roman cavalry for at least seven centuries and its origins with the Gallic tribes of Northern Europe probably extended before that. It is proposed that its longevity compared to other aspects of equine equipment, other than the stirrup, lies in its functionality; it was fit for purpose until finally outperformed by saddles with stirrups as mounted warfare became heavily armoured. The publication of a study into a no-flap saddle in 2018 presented the opportunity to explore this functionality and to compare the observations in stability and utility of the no-flap saddle with a reconstructed, first century AD Roman cavalry saddle. Assumptions about the design of the Roman cavalry saddle were originally made from the identification of stretch marks on a leather cover found in military contexts. This work, principally by Connolly, has influenced how Living History and other parties have assumed that the saddle had a wooden frame despite comments from contemporary riders that the saddle was too rigid, unstable and prone to breaking. In experiments with a Connolly saddle compared to conventional European saddles with flaps and no-flaps (but always with stirrups), it was found that riders reported a better feeling of stability in the Roman saddle. Due to the lack of archaeological evidence for a wooden framed saddle, an alternative design for the Roman saddle was constructed using material other than wood and produced an effective and viable alternative to the Connolly design. The alternative saddle design will be tested again with the addition of saddle horn covers, or "stiffeners," to further explore stability and to assist the maintenance of a half seat, or raised position, to allow full weapon effectiveness.

The first Roman and Corinthian cavalry N. Sekunda Cito parare victoriam, cito cedere: Roman cavalry tactics during the late Republic and the Principate M. Petitjean Cohortes equitatae: a conundrum D. J. Breeze GENERAL STUDIES 'Trapp'd in silver': Roman cavalry equipment revisited M. C. Bishop 47 Pimp my ride: early Imperial cavalry, saddle plates, and longreining M. C. Bishop What was a cavalrytype of Roman greave in the first century AD? B. Burandt Evening the odds: apotropaic protection for horses S. Hoss On bangles and horses. The use and abuse of RomanoBritish glass bangles on military and indigenous sites in Romanperiod Britain T. Ivleva Eine Kopfniete mit dem Relief des Nero S. Ortisi REGIONAL AND LOCAL STUDIES Spurensuche zur Reiterei im Legionslager von Nimwegen S. WeissKonig Bits and pieces: 1stcentury horse gear from Roman military sites on the Lower Rhine M. Zandstra Virtus at the limes: a cavalry sports shield boss from Welzheim (Germany) A. Thiel Roman cavalry equipment and other militaria from the 2010 and 2011 excavations at Ptuj (Slovenia) J. Istenic Traces of Roman cavalry in Poetovio M. Vomer Gokovic RECONSTRUCTION STUDIES

Principles of the troops dislocation and providing for the upkeep of the armies of the barbarian kingdoms in the Roman West in the 5 th and 6 th centuries are still under discussion. In the mid-19 th century E. T. Gaupp claimed that the basis of barbarian settlement was assigning them one third of the cultivated land in provinces they settled. More than a century later, W. Goff art and J. Durliat completely denied and modifi ed Gaupp's theory. In their opinion, the upkeep of the barbarian foederati was to be provided for from one-third of the provincial fi scal revenue allocated to the maintenance of the armed forces. However, a more thorough analysis of the source material proves it impossible to develop any universal pattern of settlement for all barbarian tribes. Military settlement of Vandals in Africa escapes the framework of the Gaupp model, but also that of the Goff art and Durliat model. King Gaiseric had completely seized the property of the Roman landowners in the vast area around Carthage and handed it over to his warriors, creating a strong garrison scattered over many square kilometers. The Vandal 'scattered garrison' maintained full mobilization effi ciency and fulfi lled all the functions of a garrison. The warriors were not paid wages, but granted the sustainable tax-free agricultural property. The article describes its functioning and compares it with solutions adopted in the other barbarian countries.

Delivered at the Roman Finds Group Spring Conference
"New Research on Finds from the Roman South-West:
The Roman Finds Group and the University of Exeter, 16–17 April 2021"

This presentation will consider the finds evidence for the presence of the army during the early years of Roman Bath. The assemblage of small finds from the excavation at the junction of Bathwick Street and Henrietta Road in Bath provides a starting point for an exploration of possible activities carried out at the site. Of particular interest within the context of Roman Bath is the quantity of objects with military associations. The excellent stratigraphic documentation of the excavation facilitated secure dating of most finds and might even provide one of the earliest dates so far for the use of Newstead type lorica segmentata.

This paper investigates the decorations imbued with an apotropaic protectional quality used on the harnass of Roman horses by first examining the depictions of horses to
see which amulets appear and where they are worn, before
looking at the archaeological finds of amulets themselves. These can be grouped according to their connection with sexuality (male/female/neutral).

This paper explores the origins of the horse games (hippika gymnasia) of the Roman imperial army. It argues that the equestrian displays lengthily described by Arrian in his tactical treatise were borrowed from the Gallic and Iberian Celts, who formed the most important part of the Roman auxiliary cavalry at the end of the Republic and at the beginning of the Principate. Mask helmets were worn by the most renowned horsemen during these games. The first examples of such masks in Roman context can be found on triumphal representations celebrating victories over Celtiberian or Gallic foes. The evidence suggests that they were initially made of organic materials, like the over-modelled or plastered skull masks that could adorn public monuments in pre-Roman Gaul. From the end of the 1st century BC onward, they began to adopt the form of full metal helmets and were progressively adapted to the Greco-Roman taste. The idea that the hippika gymnasia were borrowed from the Roman equestrian parade called the lusus Troiae and that mask helmets were part of an old Italic tradition should, therefore, be abandoned.

This paper will present all preserved fragments of armour from the " Roshava Dragana " burial mound in Bulgaria. This is the first assessment of its type for this date set. Armour found in burials can be attributed to two or three types; they include the remains of chain mail, fragments of scale framework and badly preserved plate set. This armament was staffed with an excellent quality silvered Roman face-mask helmet. Apart from this helmet, the suit of armament was not Roman, having either a Sarmatian or Parthian origin. The most intriguing comes from burial 2 at " Roshava Dragana " mound where Sarmatian tamgas on the golden pommel of the sword and on the bronze belt's buckle and images of two-headed dogs on the plates of the armour were discovered. The burial-mound is one of the largest of the mounds in Bulgaria in which influential and respected nobleman may have been buried. In our opinion, the most important and respected man in the neighborhood was Titus Flavius Dinis, the son of Skeles of the tribe Quirina. He was archiereus of so called koinon Thrakon – the general assembly of the cities in the province of Thrace. It is possible that villa Chatalka and burial mound " Roshava Dragana " were connected with the Dinis family. Although there is no direct evidence for the participation of Dinis in campaigns against the Sarmatians and Dacians. But some parts of defensive armament from " Roshava Dragana " mound can be attributed as a trophy. Based on the analysis of the remaining elements of the armour, we can assume that many of them have parallels on the Sarmatian territory and in armament of neighbouring regions. Apparently, this armour could have been made in Panticapaeum, since the only parallel for a two-headed dog image, like on the armour, has been found there.

A veteránokat említő feliratos források alapján több kutató, köztük legkorábban Alföldi A. 2 , majd Mócsy A. 3 és Gabler D. 4 arra következtettek, hogy Pannónia provincia Balatontól É-ra fekvő területére, a Balaton-felvidékre már a Kr.u. I. század második felében auxiliáris és légiós veteránokat telepítettek. A Kr.u. I-K. századi veteránbirtokok és veterántelepek létét azonban nemcsak feliratok bizonyítják, hanem azok a nem katonai kontextusból származó militaria leletek is, amelyek a Balaton környékén nagy számban kerültek elő elsősorban fegyveres sírokból és települések, villák területéről 5 . E cikk témáját is két eddig figyelmen kívül hagyott, illetve félreértelmezett kora császárkori militaria adja, amely veteránok korai jelenlétére utal a Veszprém környékén fekvő Nemesvámos-Baláca pusztai (továbbiakban Baláca) római kori település, később villagazdaság területén (1. ábra).

Thirteen military bronze objects were recently found at ancient Tarraco and the site of La Devesa (El Vendrell, Tarragona). All the bronzes were from archaeological urban and rural sites, showing a relationship between the civil and military worlds.

Die Reiter - Attribute des fruehromischen Adels - Die Phalerae - Der Goldring als Kennzeichen des Reiterprivilegs - Die Trabea - Der Calceus Patricius - Der Purpustreifen der Tunika - Rueckblick auf die Ergebnisse - Die politische Rolle und die Entwicklung der Adelsreiterei - Domi - Militiae - Die aelteste Reiterei - Die Verdoppelung der Staatspferdnahber - Die Achtzehn Reitercenturien der sogenannten Servianischen Reform - Das Ansehen der alten Reiterei.

If there is anything that unified the Roman world almost 2000 years ago in a similar way as it brought us together for scholarly reasons at León in Spain, it is the Roman army. And just as we had to take some efforts to get there the Roman soldiers had to work hard to move from one place to another. But from our present point of view it seems that the Roman Empire was held together by " soldiers on the move ". In this session we intended to examine what was behind and around the " being on the move ". Of course it needed more than to call the movers, have all your stuff readily packed in boxes on the assigned day, let it be stowed into a van, get it driven to the new location, unload it and then place it into the shelves of your contubernium in the just in time finished barracks of your new fort. But in this session we did not want to look into the actual " move " itself, into the " what and in which way " things were packed and loaded by the soldiers. We were not concerned about the hardship of the carrying and the moving itself of the muli Mariani. This has been tested, experienced and described by many, especially M. Junkelmann and his consorts (Junkelmann, 1986/2003: particularly 17-58; 196-211) and was the topic of lectures and papers in earlier " military equipment conferences ". Also, our concern were not the prerequisites of transportation in Roman times, i.e. the network of roads, their construction and maintenance, the bridges, tunnels, mansiones and everything which may have been connected with them as well as all the aspects if water transport, like harbours, boats and all that. We rather wanted to look at or at least bear in mind all the matters which are –obviously and hidden– connected with " soldiers on the move " in a wider sense. Discussing " soldiers on the move " we have to consider the different conditions of moving. On the one side I see peacetime action, much of it connected with the regular transfer of soldiers to their various assignments. On the other side there were wartime moves under different conditions, often involving large numbers of soldiers. In principle there was a proper definition for times when the Roman Empire was at war and when it was not by the opening and closing of the gates of the temple of Ianus at Rome. However, I suppose, in practice –and this is what mattered to the soldiers– there was not always a clear cut line between peace and war. For example, a war in one province needed not to affect the rest of the Empire. Or vice versa, military conflict at one end of the Empire may have demanded reaction in a neighbouring province which may have caused the need for further steps more and more away from the initial field of action. Yet to the persons involved the increasing distance may have given the feeling of regular peacetime deployment and not of wartime activity.

Roman helmets with face-masks constitute a category of military equipment that is rare and at the same time spectacular. They imitate human heads, bare or helmeted; rich decorations include mythological motives and apotropaic elements. Moreover, they are often made of precious bronze and sometimes even silvered. Those qualities make them focus the attention both of specialists working on Roman military equipment and the wide public.
Several such masks were found on the territory of Roman Dacia. Two were found in the river Olt and are believed to have been washed away from military sites. Another comes from a ditch of the Roman fort Gilău and has been interpreted as having been lost by its owner. All are believed to have been used as parade equipment by Roman cavalrymen. All belong to a rare category of helmets representing female heads.
However, it seems improbable that the loss of an item of that size and value would have remained unnoticed, and that it could be easily washed away by the river - remembering also the scarcity of such finds both within the province and the whole Empire. A study of religious practices of Roman military allows us to propose a re-interpretation of these artifacts. Rather then lost pieces of parade equipment we should probably view them as offerings deposited by members of the military or whole units to ensure the success of their various undertakings. This not only matches their findspots well, but also finds several analogies in the context of finds outside of Dacia.

A view on the Roman cavalry Forces, especially the equites legionis. The article describes a possible organizational chart of the legionary cavalry Formation in imperial times. By analyzing Primary sources the organization, command and Manpower of the equites legionis will be described in a new manner.

There is also given a view on auxiliary cavalry organization and command to demonstrate differences between auxiliary cavalry, legionary horsemen and equites singuläres Augusti.

As Primary sources often times contradict each other and epigraphy or papyrology only can give snapshots of situations, it is not an easy work to take a look on the legionary cavalry in Roman imperial times. But combining all sources given a proper view on the subject and so this article will give a new examination. Because of the discrepanscies, which already are given by Primary sources the article only can be a try to open more discussions in this Special subject.

N a naszym rynku zaczyna stopniowo przybywać prac poruszających, zaniedbywane dotychczas zagadnienia związane z historią antyczną. Jedną z nich jest praca Piotra Letkiego 1 , poruszająca tematykę jazdy rzymskiej z okresu późnego cesarstwa doby panowania Dioklecjana. Książka składa się z czterech rozdziałów, z których każdy stanowi osobną całość. W rozdziale pierwszym Autor omówił źródła antyczne oraz literaturę tematu. W następnym przedstawił reformy konnicy rzymskiej od Galliena do Dioklecjana. Dwa ostatnie natomiast poświęcił przedstawieniu uzbrojenia i wyposażenia oraz taktyki jazdy rzymskiej. Na początku Autorowi należą się słowa uznania za poruszoną w książce tematykę starożytnej historii wojskowości. Takie pozycje z pewnością zmierzają do poprawy sytuacji na naszym rodzimym rynku wydawniczym. Autor korzystał przy tym nie tylko z ogromnej literatury tematu, zgromadzonej w bibliografii, ale również z antycznych źródeł epigraficznych, numizmatycznych i pisanych. Następny plus należy się za prostą, ale jasną strukturę monografii, ułatwiającej czytelnikowi zapoznanie się z poszczególnymi kwestiami omawianymi na jej łamach. Zaletą jest również stosowanie porównawczej metody badań, chociaż u niektórych pewne wątpliwości może budzić odwoływanie się do czasów republikańskich. Jasny i klarowny tok wykładu Autora, przystępny dla każdego czytelnika to kolejny już plus. Praca posiada również i pewne niedociągnięcia. Poza literówkami można znaleźć drobne potknięcia merytoryczne. Na stronie 82 Autor pisze o tym, że Konstantyn w 312 r. był jedynowładcą, aby na następnej podać, że toczył walki z Licyniuszem. Ponadto niektóre dokonane przez niego przekłady z literatury antycznej mogą zostawiać wiele do życzenia. Bibliografia opracowania składa się z 34 stron, na których umieszczono zarówno pisarzy antycznych, ale też autorów piszących po polsku, angielsku, francusku i niemiecku. Składają się na nią zarówno klasyczne prace badaczy z XIX i początku XX w., jak i współczesnych, dzięki czemu może ona stanowić wstęp do poszerzenia swojej wiedzy w tym temacie.

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Pf. 364. Ich danke Frau Katalin Ottományi, dass ich an der Ausgrabung teilnehmen durfte und sie mir die Waffenbeigaben des von ihr freigelegten Grabes 126 zur Veröffentlichung überlassen hat. Des Weiteren danke ich László Borhy, András Márton, Levente Nagy und Endre Tóth, dass sie das Manuskript gelesen und mit ihren Ratschlägen geholfen haben. Die Funde wurden von Balázs Lencz (Schwert und Schildfessel), Katalin Lukács (Schildbuckel) und Judit Dombóvári (Lanzenspitze) restauriert, denen ich auch auf diesem Wege für ihre Arbeit danke. 1 MRT 7 Fo. 5/2. Zu dem seit spätkeltischer Zeit bestehenden Dorf s. vorerst: GABLER 2005, 133-175; OTTOMÁNYI 2005a, 361-368; OTTOMÁNYI 2005b, 67-75. 2 Zum Gräberfeld s. vorerst: OTTOMÁNYI 2005a, 368-369; MRÁV-OTTOMÁNYI 2005, 177-182. 3 MRÁV 2005a, 21-52; MRÁV 2005b, 56-60. 2. kép. A budaörsi 126. kocsisír a fegyvermellékletekkel. 1. díszpajzs-dudor és pajzsfogó (kat. 1); 2. markolatgyűrűs kard (kat. 2); 3. lándzsacsúcs (kat. 3) XVIII, 71]. 6 ) Die in der Mitte geteilten, an beiden Seiten des Kopfes stufenförmig und gleichmäßig verteilten, auch die Ohren bedeckenden geschwungenen Haarlocken ähneln der Haartracht der Ceres auf dem Bonner Medaillon. 7 Lunas fülliges Gesicht ist rund, ihre schmal geschnittenen, tief liegenden Augen sind geöffnet. Die Augen-brauen sind mit einer feinen, dünnen Linie angegeben. Die sich kräftig vorwölbenden Lippen sind unnatürlich klein, der schmale Mund ist leicht geöffnet. Das runde Kinn springt für ein 36 ZSOLT MRÁV 6 LUNAIS 1979, 340. , bes. 78. Die Verbindung der Paradeschildbuckel mit der Reiterei zeigt auch der Schildbuckel von Blerick, der 1872 zusammen mit Pferdegeschirren gefunden wurde: GARBSCH-KOHLERT 1978, 84 R9. Abb. 4. Budaörs, Wagengrab 126. Paradeschildbuckel und Schildfessel in Fundposition (Foto: Zs. Mráv) 4. kép. Budaörs, 126. kocsisír. A díszpajzs-dudor és a pajzsfogó feltárás közben (Fotó: Mráv Zs.) Abb. 6. Budaörs, Wagengrab 126. Der Schildbuckel im Halbprofil und von der Seite 6. kép. Budaörs, 126. kocsisír. A pajzsdudor félprofilból és oldalról 109

Selon une idée largement répandue, l’Homme ne fut en mesure de tirer pleinement profit du cheval qu’à partir du Moyen Age en raison de l’apparition d’avancées techniques majeures à cette période de l’histoire. A en croire la liste des accessoires hippiques supposés médiévaux, l’Antiquité n’a quasiment rien produit et le rôle du cheval n’était que secondaire. Pourtant, dès l’Antiquité tardive, la place de cet animal gagne considérablement en importance dans la cavalerie et la production hippiatrique qui connaît un essor sans précédent vient confirmer ce nouveau rôle. Or, sans la mise en place de certains accessoires hippiques, tels les étriers, la force animale ne pouvait pas être utilisée au mieux.
La question de l’époque à laquelle sont apparus les étriers est donc fondamentale pour mieux comprendre et apprécier à leur juste valeur certains changements intervenus dans l’Antiquité tardive. Aussi, à la lumière de découvertes archéologiques récentes et à l’aide de l’étude des termes utilisés en grec pour désigner l’étrier, nous remettons en question la date de son apparition et, par conséquent, l’origine de son introduction dans la cavalerie protobyzantine. Le but final de cette contribution est de redéfinir la place du cheval aux IVe-VIe siècles, place prédominante liée très étroitement à l’utilisation d’accessoires hippiques majeurs tels que les étriers.