Notes sur les Cirtéens dans les cohortes de Rome (Ier-IIIe siècle)

Abstract

This small study attempts to identify the soldiers from Cirtean area who joined the urban and
praetorian cohorts of the Roman garrison during the Empire. Their small numbers call for reflection.
In addition to the mutilated lists of soldiers found in CIL VI, and supported by the testimonies
of Tacitus and Cassius Dion, it is emphasized that, unlike other provinces, Narbonnaise and
Africa Proconsularis had few representatives in these units, as these provinces had belonged to the
Roman Empire for a long time, particularly the Cirtéenne before it was integrated into the province
of Numidia at the end of the 2nd century. Having been granted Roman citizenship at a very
early age and having adopted Roman civilization and ways of life for a long time, Cirtean nationals
were not encouraged to leave their Numidian environment, unless the military vocation and
prestige of these cohorts explained their desire to serve the Empire in Rome.

Keywords: Cirta, Cirtean area, urban cohorts, pretorian cohorts, Lyon, Gallia Narbonensis, Numidia, Roma, Septimius Severus.