Originally posted by Hypatia_Alexandria
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Are you familiar with the Cohors II Italica Civium Romanorum? FWIU, they were something established by Julius Caesar and consisted of troops from Italia. The name gives it away ("the cohort called Italian" or "Second Italian band of Roman citizens"). Of course over time the membership did change with most being Syrian, according to Josephus IIRC -- but he could be talking about later.[1]
That they were a notable group is likely why Luke goes out of his way to mention it.
More importantly. They were most certainly not part of Herod's crew.
Typically, scholars in recent years like Alexander J.M. Wedderburn[2], posit that Cornelius was permitted to live in Caesarea away from his unit, or that this is evidence that they were in the region before 40A.D.[3], the other earliest but uncertain mention of them being there, which is the view of Michael Speidel[1] and others.
1. In his Roman Army Studies, Michael Speidel notes that "after Titus’ Jewish war the Flavian emperors revamped the Judaean army, and at the same time ”cohors II Italica” seems to have been transferred north into Syria," but maintains "yet for the time of the procurators there is no reason to doubt the accuracy of Acts 10."
p. 228 (1992). Oh and volume 2.
2. A History of the First Christians, p. 217 (2004).
3. D. B. Saddington's Roman Military and Administrative Personnel in the New Testament, in Haase, W. (ed.), ANRW* 26.3 (Part 2, Principat; Berlin: De Gruyter) pp. 2409-2435 (1996).
Their operation in Judaea cannot be placed before AD 40 on the evidence available, but it is of course possible that they had been sent there before that, even under the first prefect after the fall of Archelaus.’
* Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt (Rise and Fall of the Roman World)
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