Roman cavalry in Josephus

[Duncan Head]

As you say, Perseus doesn't give enough examples to pin down when kontos started to mean specifically a long cavalry spear. However, some scattered references are:

- Strabo XVII.1.54 (late C1 BC) uses kontos for Nubian infantry spears.
- Asklepiodotos, also C1 BC, does not list kontophoroi among his cavalry troop types; nor does Ailian in his corresponding passage, but Arrian (early 2d century) adds kontophoroi to the list.
- Plutarch uses kontos for Armenian cataphract spears in his Life of Lucullus and for Parthian spears in his Life of Crassus, and  he's a near-contemporary of Josephus (about ten years younger).

From this I am beginning to think that kontos only acquired a specialist meaning of "long two-handed cavalry lance" in the mid-first century and we should not necessarily expect Josephus to adhere to this specialised usage. Does he even mean "something long"? Maybe, but the "conventional" Roman cavalry spear is shown as being long enough to reach an infantryman using an overhand thrust, which implies something longer than a javelin in any case.

As to shields at sides, there appears to be a whole class of cavalry tombstones which show cavalry horses with shields hung near horizontal on their sides which may be of relevance to the discussion (see examples here ), or perhaps not.

Ah, we crossed posts there, and you found more examples than I did.

[nikgaukroger]

Has Ala I Ulpia Contariorum been mentioned yet? Don't recall it.

First attested in diplomas dated 112 CE - which would mean the soldiers being discharged at that point had been recruited about 87 CE.

The "contariorum" suggest that at some point the Romans decided that this unit needed to be called after its weapon - contus (don't think there are any suggestions it is for anything else). I believe this is the first use of the term.

The unit could have been raised or be in existence when the soldiers discharged in 112 CE were recruited and honoured by Trajan (hence "Ulpia") or it could have been raised by Trajan from new with some existing soldiers forming part (or indeed all) of it.

Not sure it moves anything forward, but it is a bit more grist to the mill.

[DBS]

Does he even mean "something long"?

I still come back to why people started calling some spears "bargepoles".  Kontos in its original meaning had been around at least since Herodotus.  A bargepole or a punting pole has one or two primary characteristics. It is usually long, and often quite stout, form following function, as it is required to act as a vector for quite considerable force.

One usually uses two hands with such poles.  Certainly when I have had to use a boathook (same principle), one always used two hands whenever possible for control and power.

I do not think it necessarily means that kontoi were always two-handed, but I think there is likely a length and/or girth element to the use of the term.  Otherwise, why suddenly start using it for any old spear - they are all poles...

Also, I think Speidel is on to something with his analysis of Arrian.  Two hands might not be mentioned, but his cavalry, whilst closing with the enemy, are suddenly discarding use of the shield.  That is counter intuitive to put it mildly, and as he argues, surely the only rational explanation is that they need both hands for something at the moment of impact with their kontoi.

Taking Nik's point about Trajan's ala - possible recruitment in 87 AD is only twenty years after Josephus is assigning the kontos to cavalry 

Also, I think I am right that Ala I Ulpia Contariorum is primarily attested in Pannonia and Dacia.  As I argued earlier, I wonder if there is the possibility that there is some regional variation in Roman cavalry equipment.  Josephus and Arrian are in the east, Trajan's lads are quite a bit further west.  Maybe their armament is an innovation there, but not in the east?  After all, they are seemingly coming up against the westernmost Sarmatians, which may demand a response in terms of a longer weapon compared to other western barbarians.

[nikgaukroger]

Taking Nik's point about Trajan's ala - possible recruitment in 87 AD is only twenty years after Josephus is assigning the kontos to cavalry 

Perhaps more usefully it is in the reign of Domitian (who had raised Legio I Minerva a bit earlier FWIW) during his difficult Dacian War which involved heavy reinforcement of the Danube frontier.

[DBS]

If I was being really mischievous, I would note that Trajan had of course served as a tribune in Syria under his father during Vespasian's reign, and would therefore have been very well placed to observe local units and their tactics... 

[Erpingham]

The Greek dictionaries having failed us, I had a quick look at the word contus.  Tacitus apparently uses it of the long, two-handed spear of Sarmatian cavalry. Histories 1.79 is the reference if anyone wishes to check.  As contus is a word borrowed from Greek, this would suggest it was established well before Tacitus' time in the east, though accepting this may not have been its sole meaning, as discussed above.

[DBS]

The very fact that the term is being by Latin from Greek for a weapon suggests that it refers to something distinctive, sui generis.