The Castra Peregrina ("camp of the strangers") was a castrum (a military barracks) in Rome situated on the Caelian Hill.[1] It was occupied by various military units during the later part of the Roman Empire.
   Shown within Rome | |
| Location | Caelian Hill |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°53′04″N 12°29′39″E / 41.884531°N 12.494212°E |
| Type | Roman Barracks |
| History | |
| Builder | Augustus |
| Founded | 1st Century AD |
Location and archaeology
editThe barracks are situated on the Caelian Hill between the Temple of Claudius and Nero's Macellum Magnum. It is centrally located on a hill known for its housing of wealthy Romans. The fourth-century Regionaries list the Castra Peregrina in regio II.[2]
The remains of the camp were discovered during digging for the foundations of a convent and hospital and partially excavated from 1904 to 1909.[3] It can now be found just south-east of the well preserved church Santo Stefano al Monte Celio.
Within the castra was a shrine (templum) of Jupiter Redux erected in honour of Severus and Mammaea by a centurio frumentarius.[4] A carving of the construction of the barracks was found at Ostia; on a column in the Square of the Corporations. In the initial excavation of the barracks, stone ships were also found; these were made by soldiers thanking the gods for protecting them from shipwrecks (see Fontana della Navicella) and provides further evidence of the spread of the barracks' frumentarii across the provinces.
Function
editIt has been claimed by some authors, as the name suggests, that the barracks housed a garrison of peregrini, non-citizens and free subjects of the empire.[5] Others, however, dispute this claim and have proposed that the barracks housed Roman citizens; if so, the name would not imply the lack of citizenship but rather refer to the fact that they were detached away from the legions for special services in Rome and elsewhere.[6][7] They consisted of a majority of frumentarii[3] and inscriptions suggest that the Castra Peregrina acted as a central base for the distribution of these men throughout the unarmed provinces (inermes).[8] The frumentarii, who were likely based, and not only housed, at the Castra Peregrina,[9] were initially involved in the provision supply service of Rome,[10] but were later employed as military couriers and members of the secret service.[11]
History
editRichardson suggests that the brickwork demonstrates an Augustan origin with a second century A.D. rebuilding, probably under Severus,[3] and another rebuilding in third century A.D.[12] However the earliest mention of the princeps peregrinorum (camp-commandant) in Rome was during the reign of Trajan.[13] It is also mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus, showing that it was in use as late as the fourth century A.D.[14]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Tucci, Pier (2012). "Caelius Mons". The Encyclopedia of Ancient History. Wiley (published January 29, 2014). doi:10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah06051. ISBN 9781405179355.
- ^ Thayer, Bill (2000-03-20): “The Regionaries: A Fourth-Century Description of the XIV Regions of Rome” in LacusCurtius: Into the Roman World. Retrieved 2014-08-01
- ^ a b c Richardson jr., L: A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome, JHU Press, 1992, p. 78
- ^ CIL VI.428 (inscription)
- ^ Triplat, Jurica (2019). "Evidence for Roman Intelligence Services along the Eastern Adriatic Coast". Akten des 15. Internationalen Kolloquiums zum Provinzialrömischen Kunstschaffen. Der Stifter und sein Monument: Gesellschaft – Ikonographie – Chronologie. 15: 454–466. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 7, 2022.
- ^ P. K. Baillie Reynolds, The Journal of Roman Studies, The troops quartered in the castra peregrinorum, 1923
- ^ Vannesse, Michaël (2015-03-04), "Rome", in Le Bohec, Yann (ed.), The Encyclopedia of the Roman Army, Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, pp. 1–2, doi:10.1002/9781118318140.wbra1297, ISBN 978-1-118-31814-0, retrieved 2022-11-07
- ^ Rankov, N.B.: “Frumentarii, the Castra Peregrina and the Provincial Officia” in Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, vol. 80, 1990, p. 176
- ^ Wintjes, Jorit (2018). "Field Officers: Principate". In Le Bohec, Yann; Brizzi, Giovanni (eds.). The Encyclopedia of the Roman Army. John Wiley & Sons.
- ^ Mann, J.C.: “The Organization of the Frumentarii” in ZPE, vol. 74, 1988, p. 149-150
- ^ Historia Augusta (S.H.A): Life of Claudius; Life of Hadrian; Life of Commodus; Life of Macrinus
- ^ Martin, Archer et al.: “A Third Century Context from S. Stefano Rotondo” in Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, vol. 53, 2008, p. 216
- ^ Baillie Reynolds, P.K.: “The Troops Quartered in the Castra Peregrinorum” in The Journal of Roman Studies, vol. 13, 1923, p. 168-189
- ^ Thayer, Bill (2008-02-10): “Ammian: The History” in LacusCurtius: Into the Roman World. Retrieved 2014-08-01