Cohort dislocations in Pannonia in the 130s – Consequences of the Bar Kokhba revolt?

Abstract

It is generally accepted that vexillations of the legio I Adiutrix and legio II Adiutrix were sent to Judaea for the repression of the Bar Kokhba revolt, although epigraphic testimonies are missing. We did not know anything about a possible participation of Pannonian auxiliary units. A military diploma from 135 AD shows the lack of a cohort and the presence of another cohort, cohors I Brittonum, but probably in a different garrison. The article discusses of the possibility the cohors I Brittonum was brought here as a substitution, and the exact identity of this troop. It may have been either the cohors I Ulpia, dislocated from Dacia for cca. two years, or the cohors I Aelia, which was most likely constituted for the occasion. The probable garrison of this unit was Albertfalva in these two years, where it might substitute a vexillation of the legio II Adiutrix; an epigraphic relic of this short period is a little altar in Aquincum dedicated to Mithras for the common welfare of a certain troop called C I B.