The Numeri and Cunei

Numeri and Cunei were other kinds of infantry and cavalry units which seem to have been raised from the more barbarous provinces on the frontiers in the second century by Trajan and regularized by Hadrian. By the second century AD the process of Romanization had advanced so far that the recruits into the auxilia were reasonably civilized and lacking in the tough, warlike qualities of the tribes beyond the frontiers which they had to face in battle. These irregular formations were thus used in the frontier districts against similar barbarians of hostile intent. by this very practical policy the Romans were able to absorb the potential hostile tribes on the frontiers and use them as a screen between the more distant barbarians and the regular army.

A good example of numeri were units of Britons settled in Upper Germany, on the outer parts of the German frontier. Watchtowers were built at regular intervals. Though there are suggestions that the watchtowers were rather meant as a means of control by which to keep the Britons in, rather than the Germans out.

Due to the random nature of these auxilia units, records on them are rather rare and we hence know little of there composition and order of command, except that their commmander was a praepositus.

The main districts from which such numeri and cunei were drawn were Britain, Germany, Syria, Africa and Dacia.

The main differences between these units and the regular auxilia were that they did not receive Roman citizenship on discharge.

And words of command and battle cries were in the native tongue, not in Latin.