tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31246093.post413898156047599312..comments2024-03-28T12:29:39.157-07:00Comments on Graphic Firing Table: The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 670, Verse 1FDChiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10607785969510234092noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31246093.post-69385249652265453952015-05-31T04:55:25.293-07:002015-05-31T04:55:25.293-07:00A cohort recruited in Samaria? Thankyou so much fo...A cohort recruited in Samaria? Thankyou so much for digging up that tidbit, that's huge. You say you're mildly intrigued by religion, so may I ask, are you aware of the meaning behind the old, "When someone makes you go with him a mile, go with him two miles," line? It was a law that said a Roman soldier could press-gang a passing civilian into carrying his gear for him, for one Roman mile. In that context Cohors I Sebastenorum means a hell of a lot: that soldier who's forcing you to carry his stuff? He's not just the face of oppression who's defected to the evil empire, he's a Samaritan heretic as well. But hey, carry his junk two miles anyway.<br /><br />Mind-blowing. Thanks so much for bringing it up.Dane900https://www.blogger.com/profile/12746117386812353130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31246093.post-84430167013595515072015-04-25T12:45:25.790-07:002015-04-25T12:45:25.790-07:00"I assume that Roman Jerusalem had some sort ..."I assume that Roman Jerusalem had some sort of vigiles"<br /><br />That'd be logical yet Rome didn't get a formal system of police/fire wardens for some 700ish years ab urbe condita. <br /><br />There's an Osprey series that covers the military clothing of Imperial Roman soldiers (not arma) which is really incredibly neat. One recreation depicts an auxiliary in Roman Judea in 'surveillance' dress with a hidden cudgel (that he's taking out to deliver some romanitas). So they seem to have adapted to deal with these perfidious Judeans and their wacky religions.Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15715768191516712688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31246093.post-43924819226993432192015-04-23T16:01:55.827-07:002015-04-23T16:01:55.827-07:00Brian: I was a decanus, or and optio at best. I g...Brian: I was a <i>decanus</i>, or and <i>optio</i> at best. I get a sense that the Roman Army was "overpromoted" in the sense that the junior leaders were considered more like officers than sergeants, tho they seem to have done a fair amount of sergeant-like business...<br /><br />Leon: I know that the official line is that the <i>auxilia</i> and the <i>legiones</i> were seperate-but-equal but I have my doubts; I'll bet the legionary troops tended to look at the auxiliaries much like guardsmen or paras or other elite troopers look at regular line dogs, and I suspect that the auxiliaries came behind the legions on the Roman logistical food chain. So just like the U.S. Army gives its new issue to the Regulars and the Regulars hand down their old issue to the Reserves and Guard - and the fact that every military unit tries to scrounge what- and whenever it can - I'll bet that the <i>auxilia</i> tended to get stuff that the legions cast off...<br /><br />The reason I threw out the possibility that there might have been a guy or two in the <i>segmentata</i> is the presence of the two Italian cohorts. A long-service guy might have been serving with them when they were raised in Italy and taken his lorica with him to Judea...maybe. I tend to agree that most of the guys would have been in mail or scale, tho...<br /><br />For riot duty there's nothing like a shield and a club - the modern riot order for soldiers hasn't changed - remember the picture of the British copper I posted here a couple of years ago with her riot shield and truncheon? Yep...<br /><br />So if I'd been in charge of that detail I'd have turned the guys out with shield and armor (because a good suit of mail or scale helps with thrown rocks and cobbles and the occasional <i>sicarii</i> with a dagger) but I agree that a good club would have been the dandy.<br /><br />The other thing would be that I assume that Roman Jerusalem had some sort of <i>vigiles</i>, too, so they'd have likely been involved...had they been there. Probably no way to tell one way or the other.FDChiefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10607785969510234092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31246093.post-77194075924896817982015-04-23T04:45:38.345-07:002015-04-23T04:45:38.345-07:00Very instructive. Thanks for putting the effort in...Very instructive. Thanks for putting the effort into this for those of us who've not realized just how far off the reservation Hollywood has taken us in our visual imagery of Roman soldiers. Lion skins on everyone would be less implausible than those ubiquitous loricas and leather square-dance skirts.Jeff Gillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17036385599454732555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31246093.post-19848048788209967992015-04-22T15:25:19.630-07:002015-04-22T15:25:19.630-07:00Just a few comments as you're in my wheelhouse...Just a few comments as you're in my wheelhouse. The lorica segmentata was apparently never used in the east and only worn by the western legions for some reasons. The eastern legiones would all have been kitted out in lorica hamata (mail) or lorica squamata (scale). <br /><br />The auxilia were 1st line infantry and sometimes used in place of legionairy forces. At Mons Graupius, the auxilia did the fighting and the legiones formed the second line. Their equipment was probably at the same level of quality as the legionary stuff - but then again mail doesn't really get 'outdated' as long as it's maintained. They would have been carrying hastae (spears) as distinct from the legionary pila (pilums) but carried the same gladius. <br /><br />As for patrolling, yes they almost certainly left the armour and shield at home. For this type of public disturbance (which is what Jesus represented to the Roman authorities, they didn't care what the heck he was preaching except it was making everyone unsettled) they'd just need their fustis (cudgels) to beat any malcontents into submission.Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15715768191516712688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31246093.post-108756568485502015-04-22T14:10:44.923-07:002015-04-22T14:10:44.923-07:00Excellent and detailed post as always. I was wonde...Excellent and detailed post as always. I was wondering how one would find out which, if any, legion would be quartered in Judea at that time, and there you answered it for us!<br /><br />And good thinking on the likely kit they'd have carried on that day - are you sure you weren't a centurion in a former life?Brianhttp://brtrain.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com