Roman Auxiliary Cavalry (Equites Singulares)--5 mounted unpainted plastic figures & 5 horse figures
$40.00
Item Number: 60RMN02-S
Auxiliary Cavalry (Equites Singulares)
Following the civil war with Mark Antony in 30 B.C.E., Augustus created a permanent corps composed of the more effective non-citizen auxiliaries to serve beside the legions (composed of Roman citizens). This corps, the Auxilia, became a major part (60%) of the Army. It was divided into 3 types of regiments:
(i) Ala (Auxiliary Cavalry),
(ii) Cohors (Auxiliary Infantry); and
(iii) Cohors Equitata (mixed Mounted & Foot Auxiliaries).
The Alae (Auxiliary Cavalry) provided the majority of Roman cavalry in the field. Many of these horse soldiers were recruited from among Gauls, Germans, Spanish, Thracians and Numidians.
For our purposes, we have selected the famous Germanic cavalry unit known as the Equites Singulares for our reference models.
As early as the times of Julius Caesar, there are comments that Germanic cavalry is superior even to the Gauls. Germanic cavalry are thus often found serving as personal bodyguards and battle reserves of army commanders. The Equites Singulares became imperial guards when their commander (Tiberius) took the throne. Their emblem is the scorpion (birth sign of Tiberius) and hexagonal shields are associated with Germanic warriors.
For the officer of the set, we have decided on a senior officer, the Praefectus Ala, the equivalent of a Wing Commander (ala = wing in Latin). He is a nobleman (of equestrian class at least) and wears a classic Roman attic helmet, and bronze corselet with a waist sash as mark of senior office. Of course, we have also included a cloak (detachable) and a more elaborate saddle-cloth for such a noble fella.
Each set contains 5 model cavalrymen and 5 horse models comprising of 1 commander and 4 troopers in various action poses plus weapons sprues. All models are supplied unpainted.
Released in APRIL 2019.
