Look up sagittarii in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Sagittarii (Latin, plural form of sagittarius) is the Latin term for archers. The term sagittariorum in the title of an infantry or cavalry unit indicated a specialized archer regiment.[1] Regular auxiliary units of foot and horse archers appeared in the Roman army during the early empire.[2] During the Principate roughly two thirds of all archers were on foot and one third were horse archers.[2] Mercenary foot archers already served with the Roman republican army, but horse archers were only introduced after the Romans came into conflict with Eastern armies that relied heavily on mounted archery in the 1st century BC, most notably the Parthians, whose mounted archers were decisive for Crassus's major defeat in the Battle of Carrhae. Since the time of Augustus however, Romans and Italians were also levied as dedicated archers.[3] In the early 1st century BC horse archers were already in widespread use and even supported Roman campaigns against the Germanic tribes in the Central Europe.[4]
The normal weapon of Roman archers, both infantry and cavalry units, was the composite bow,[5] although Vegetius recommended training recruits "arcubus ligneis" (with wooden bows), which may have been made in the northern European self bow tradition.[6] It has been suggested that most Roman composite bows may have been asymmetric, with lower limbs shorter than the upper.[7]
By the 5th century, there were numerous Roman cavalry regiments trained to use the bow as a supplement to their swords and lances, but the sagittarii appear to have used the bow as their primary rather than supplemental weapon. According to the Notitia Dignitatum, most units of sagittarii, especially equites sagittarii, were in the Eastern empire or in Africa. Possibly some of the other cavalry regiments there carried bows as back-up weapons, but were not the dedicated mounted archers that the sagittarii were. The use of bows as primary weapons probably originated in the East in the later 4th and earlier 5th centuries to help the Roman army counter Persian and Hunnic bow-armed cavalry.
By the time of Procopius's histories and Maurikios's Strategikon, the main effective field arm of Roman armies was cavalry, many of them armed with bows. After the fall of the Western empire, Eastern Roman armies maintained their tradition of horse archery for centuries.
^G. L. Cheesman: "Auxilia of the Roman Imperial Army", (1914)
^ abJeffrey L. Davies: "Roman Arrowheads from Dinorben and the 'Sagittarii' of the Roman Army", Britannia, Vol. 8. (1977), pp. 257-270.
^Knight, Sir James Turner. Pallas armata, Military essayes of the ancient Grecian, Roman, and modern art of war vvritten in the years 1670 and 1671. London: Printed by M.W. for Richard Chiswell (1615-1686). p. 47
^Tacitus, Annales 2.16
^Coulston, J.C. "Roman Archery Equipment. The Production and Distribution of Roman Military Equipment". Ed. M.C. Bishop. Oxford: B.A.R. International Series, 1985. pp. 202-366.
^http://www.intratext.com/IXT/LAT0189/_PG.HTM Vegetius, Epitoma rei militaris, book 1, chapter 15
^Roman Military Equipment from the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome (Paperback). M.C. Bishop, J.C. Coulston. Oxbow Books 2005. ISBN 1-84217-159-3 ISBN 978-1-84217-159-2
Look up sagittarii in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Sagittarii (Latin, plural form of sagittarius) is the Latin term for archers. The term sagittariorum...
Sigma Sagittarii, Latinized from σ Sagittarii; formally named Nunki /ˈnʌŋki/, is the second-brightest star in the constellation of Sagittarius. It has...
Mu Sagittarii (μ Sagittarii, abbreviated Mu Sgr, μ Sgr) is a multiple star system in the constellation of Sagittarius. The brightest component, designated...
Omega Sagittarii, which is Latinized from ω Sagittarii, is a binary star system in the constellation of Sagittarius, near the eastern constellation border...
Gamma2 Sagittarii (γ2 Sagittarii, abbreviated Gamma2 Sgr, γ2 Sgr), formally named Alnasl /ælˈnæzəl/, is a 3rd-magnitude star in the zodiac constellation...
This is the list of notable stars in the constellation Sagittarius, sorted by decreasing brightness. List of stars by constellation ESA (1997). "The Hipparcos...
Chi Sagittarii (χ Sagittarii) is shared by three star systems in the zodiac constellation of Sagittarius. The brightest of these, χ1 Sagittarii and χ3...
Zeta Sagittarii (ζ Sagittarii, abbreviated Zeta Sgr, ζ Sgr) is a triple star system and the third-brightest star in the constellation of Sagittarius after...
Sagittarii (α Sagittarii, abbreviated Alpha Sgr, α Sgr), also named Rukbat /ˈrʌkbæt/, is a star in the constellation of Sagittarius. Alpha Sagittarii...
Sagittarii (Gamma Sagittarii) is shared by two stars in the constellation Sagittarius: γ1 Sagittarii, a Cepheid variable better-known as W Sagittarii...
vary in brightness and was given the variable star designation V3893 Sagittarii in the 62nd name-list of variable stars. Faint nebulosity was discovered...
Delta Sagittarii (δ Sagittarii, abbreviated Delta Sgr, δ Sgr), formally named Kaus Media /ˌkɔːs ˈmiːdiə/, is a star in the southern zodiac constellation...
Mandevilla sagittarii, synonym Mandevilla dodsonii, is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae, native to Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador...
Tau Sagittarii (Tau Sgr, τ Sagittarii, τ Sgr) is a star in the southern zodiac constellation of Sagittarius. With an apparent visual magnitude of +3.3...
Lambda Sagittarii (Latinized from λ Sagittarii), formally named Kaus Borealis /ˈkɔːs bɒriˈælɪs/, is a star in the southern constellation of Sagittarius...
Jarrett, A. H.; Grabner, G. (1976), "On the Period Between Flares of V1216 Sagittarii", Information Bulletin on Variable Stars, 1221 (1221): 1, Bibcode:1976IBVS...
The Bayer designation Theta Sagittarii (θ Sagittarii) is shared by two stars, θ1 Sagittarii and θ2 Sagittarii, in the constellation Sagittarius. The pair...
Eta Sagittarii (Eta Sgr, η Sagittarii, η Sgr) is a binary star system in the southern zodiac constellation of Sagittarius. Based upon parallax measurements...
V356 Sagittarii is an eclipsing binary star system in the southern constellation of Sagittarius, abbreviated V356 Sgr. It has a peak apparent visual magnitude...
62 Sagittarii is a single, variable star in the constellation of Sagittarius. It has the Bayer designation c Sagittarii and the variable star designation...
VX Sagittarii is an asymptotic giant branch star located more than 1.5 kiloparsec away from the Sun in the constellation of Sagittarius. It is a pulsating...
consisting of ρ1 Sagittarii ξ1 Sagittarii, ο Sagittarii, π Sagittarii, 43 Sagittarii and υ Sagittarii. Consequently, ρ1 Sagittarii itself is known as...
KW Sagittarii is a red supergiant, located approximately 1,900 parsecs (6,200 light-years) away from the Sun in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius...
Phi Sagittarii, Latinized from φ Sagittarii, is an interferometric binary star in the southern constellation of Sagittarius. With an apparent visual magnitude...
designated β1 Sagittarii (itself a probable binary star) and β2 Sagittarii. The two systems are separated by 0.36° in the sky. β1 Sagittarii β2 Sagittarii β1 Sagittarii's...
Pi Sagittarii (π Sagittarii, abbreviated Pi Sgr, π Sgr) is a triple star system in the zodiac constellation of Sagittarius. It has an apparent visual magnitude...
The Bayer designation Xi Sagittarii (ξ Sagittarii) is shared by two stars, ξ1 Sagittarii and ξ² Sagittarii, in the constellation Sagittarius, separated...
archery in the 1st century BC. They had regiments such as the Equites Sagittarii, who acted as Rome's horse archers in combat. The Crusaders used conscripted...
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