Alpinorum auxiliary regiments
The cohortes Ligurum were originally raised from the Ligures people of Alpes Maritimae and Liguria regio of NW Italia.
In addition, some regiments were denoted sagittaria (from sagitta, "arrow") meaning they were composed of archers.
[1] Until 212, only a minority of the empire's inhabitants (inc. all Italians) held full Roman citizenship.
In 212, all the inhabitants of the empire were granted full Roman citizenship and so the title became redundant.
Unlike for the legions, ancient Roman historians only rarely mention the auxilia at all, and never denote a specific unit.
The epigraphic record includes: (1) inscriptions from Roman military diplomas, which were bronze certificates of Roman citizenship awarded to peregrini soldiers who completed the minimum 25 years' service in the auxilia: these are very useful as, if complete, they contain a precise date and the province in which the regiment was serving at the time (as well the name, origin and rank of the recipient).
(2) tiles or bricks, used in building work on Roman forts, stamped with the regiment's name.
Most of the regiments attested in the 2nd century are believed by inference to have been established in the early Julio-Claudian period, i.e. before 37 AD, but very few have left records dating to before 75.
Auxiliary regiments were mostly housed in Roman forts in frontier provinces or even beyond the empire's settled borders, to keep watch on barbarian activity.
More rarely, regiments appear to have been housed in the castra legionaria (legionary fortress) of the legion they were attached to.
Auxiliary personnel left traces in inverse proportion to their numbers, for the obvious reason that memorials such as votive altars or tombstones were expensive and could be better afforded the higher the rank.
The Ligures occupied the coastal western Alps and the eponymous region of Liguria in NW Italy.
As mountain people, the Alpini et al. supplied mainly infantry: all the regiments in this article are cohortes save for one ala Noricorum.
Of the first series, II Alpina is attested only in the early 1st century (in a single inscription) and was therefore evidently disbanded or destroyed in action.
The reason for assuming 2 I Alpinorum equitata that a unit of that name is attested both in Dacia Sup and Pannonia Inf.
[4] In conclusion, a total of 7 Alpinorum, Ligurum, Montanorum and Noricorum regiments appear to have been raised in the Julio-Claudian era.
