Aturma (from Latin 'swarm, squadron'; pluralturmae;Greek:τούρμα) was acavalry unit in theRoman army of theRepublic andEmpire. In theByzantine Empire, it became applied to the larger,regiment-sized military-administrative divisions of athema. The word is often translated as "squadron" but so is the termala, a unit that was made up of severalturmae.
In the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, the time of thePunic Wars and Rome's expansion intoSpain andGreece, the core of the Roman army was formed bycitizens, augmented by contingents from Rome's allies (socii). The organization of theRoman legion of the period is described by theGreek historianPolybius (cf. the so-called "Polybian army"), who writes that each 4,200-strong infantry legion was accompanied by 300 citizen cavalry (equites). This contingent was divided into tenturmae.[1][2] According to Polybius, the squadron members would elect as their officers threedecuriones ("leaders of 10 men"), of whom the first to be chosen would act as the squadron's commander and the other two as his deputies.[3] As in earlier times, these men were drawn from among the 18centuriae of theequestrian order, the wealthiest classes of the Roman people, who could afford to provide for thehorse and its equipment themselves.[1]
With thereorganization of the army under EmperorAugustus (r. 27 BC – 14 AD) and his successors, theturma became the basic sub-unit of the cavalry, the rough equivalent of the infantrycenturia, both in theauxiliaries, who formed the bulk of the Roman cavalry, and in the legionary cavalry detachments. The auxiliarycohors equitata was a mixed unit combining infantry and cavalry, and existed in two types: thecohors equitata quingenaria, with an infantrycohort of 480 men and 4turmae of cavalry, and the reinforcedcohors equitata milliaria, with 800 infantry and 8turmae. Likewise, the purely cavalryalae contained either 16 (ala quingenaria) or 24turmae (ala milliaria).[4][5] Individualturmae of camel-riders (dromedarii) also appear amongcohortes equitatae in the Middle East, and EmperorTrajan (r. 98–117) established the first all-camel cavalry unit, theAla I Ulpia dromedariorum Palmyrenorum.[6]
Theturma was still commanded by adecurio, aided by two subalternprincipales (under-officers), asesquiplicarius (soldier with one-and-a-half times pay) and aduplicarius (soldier with double pay), as well as asignifer orvexillarius (a standard-bearer, cf.vexillum). These ranks corresponded respectively with the infantry'stesserarius (officer of the watch),optio, andsignifer.[4][7] The exact size of theturma under thePrincipate, however, is unclear: 30 men was the norm in the Republican army and apparently in thecohortes equitatae, but not for thealae. TheDe Munitionibus Castrorum, for instance, records that acohors equitata milliaria numbered exactly 240 troopers, i.e. 30 men perturma,[8] but also gives the number of horses for theala milliaria, composed of 24turmae, at 1000.[9] If one subtracts the extra horses of the officers (two for adecurio, one for each of the two subaltern under-officers), one is left with 832 horses, which does not divide evenly with 24. At the same time,Arrian explicitly says that theala quingenaria counted 512 men,[10] suggesting a size of 32 men for eachturma.
As for the legions, during thePrincipate, each had a cavalry contingent organized in fourturmae. A legionaryturma was led by acenturion, assisted by anoptio and avexillarius as seniorprincipales. Each of them led a file of ten troopers, for a grand total of 132 horsemen in each legion.[11] Their status was distinctly inferior to that of the legionary infantry: the centurions andprincipales of the legionaryturmae were classed assupernumerarii and although their men were included in the legionary cohort lists, they camped separately from them.[11]
In thelate Roman army, theturma and its structure were retained, with changes in titulature only: theturma was still headed by adecurio, who also led the first ten-strong file, while the other two files were led by subalterncatafractarii, in essence the successors of the early Empire'sduplicarii andsesquiplicarii.[12] Traces of this structure also apparently survived in the 6th-centuryEast Roman army: in the late-6th-centuryStrategikon of Maurice, the cavalry files are led by adekarchos (Greek:δέκαρχος, "leader of ten").[12]
In the 7th century, as a result of the crisis caused by theearly Muslim conquests, the Byzantine military and administrative system was reformed: the old late Roman division between military and civil administration was abandoned, and the remains of the East Roman army's field armies were settled in great districts, thethemata, that were named after them.[13] The termturma, in its Greek transcriptiontourma (τούρμα orτοῦρμα), reappears at that time as the major subdivision of athema.[14] The army of eachthema (except for theOptimatoi) was divided into two to fourtourmai,[14] and eachtourma further into a number ofmoirai (μοίραι) ordroungoi (δροῦγγοι), which in turn were composed of severalbanda (singular:bandon, βάνδον, fromLatin:bandum, "banner").[15]
This division was carried through to the territorial administration of eachthema:tourmai andbanda (but not themoirai/droungoi) were identified with clearly defined districts which served as their garrison and recruitment areas.[16] In hisTaktika, EmperorLeo VI the Wise (r. 886–912) presents an idealizedthema as consisting of threetourmai, each divided into threedroungoi, etc.[17] This picture, however, is misleading, as the sources do not support any degree of uniformity in size or number of subdivisions in the differentthemata, nor indeed an exact correspondence of the territorial with the tactical divisions: depending on the tactical exigencies, smaller administrativetourmai could be joined on campaign and larger ones broken up.[18] Since the elementary unit, thebandon, could itself number between 200 and 400 men, thetourma too could reach up to 6000 men, although 2–5000 seems to have been the norm between the seventh and early tenth centuries.[19]
Eachtourma was usually headed by atourmarchēs (τουρμάρχης, "commander of atourma"). In some cases, however, anek prosōpou, a temporary representative of the governingstratēgos of eachthema, could be appointed instead.[14][20] The title first appears in circa 626, when a certain George wastourmarchēs of theArmeniac Theme.[21] Thetourmarchēs was usually based in a fortress town. Aside from his military responsibilities, he exercised fiscal and judicial duties in the area under his control.[17] In the lists of offices (taktika) and seals,tourmarchai usually hold the ranks ofspatharokandidatos,spatharios orkandidatos.[22] In function and rank, thetourmarchēs corresponded with thetopotērētēs of the professional imperialtagmata regiments.[23] Thetourmarchai were paid according to the importance of theirthema: those of the more prestigiousAnatolian themes received 216goldnomismata annually, while those of the European themes received 144nomismata, the same amount paid to thedroungarioi and the other senior officers of thethema.[24] In some sources, the earlier termmerarchēs (μεράρχης, "commander of ameros, division"), which occupied a similar hierarchical position in the 6th–7th centuries,[25] is used interchangeably withtourmarchēs. In the 9th–10th centuries, it is often found in the variant formmeriarchēs (μεριάρχης). It has, however, also been suggested by scholars likeJ. B. Bury andJohn Haldon that the latter was a distinct post, held by thetourmarchēs attached to the governingstratēgos of eachthema and residing at the thematic capital.[17][26][27]
In the mid-10th century, the average size of most units fell. In the case of thetourma, it dropped from 2–3000 men to 1000 men and less, in essence to the level of the earlierdroungos, although largertourmai are still recorded. It is probably no coincidence that the term "droungos" disappears from use at around that time.[28][29] Consequently, thetourma was divided directly into five to sevenbanda, each of 50–100 cavalry or 200–400 infantry.[30] The termtourma itself fell gradually into disuse in the 11th century, but survived at least until the end of the 12th century as an administrative term.Tourmarchai are still attested in the first half of the 11th century, but the title seems to have fallen out of use thereafter.[22]
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