Английская Википедия:Draco (military standard)
The Шаблон:Lang ("dragon" or "serpent", plural Шаблон:Lang) was a military standard of the Roman cavalry. Carried by the Шаблон:Lang, the Шаблон:Lang was the standard of the cohort, as the eagle (Шаблон:Lang) was that of the legion.Шаблон:Sfn
The Шаблон:Lang may have been introduced to the Roman army after the Dacian wars by Dacian, Sarmatian units in the second century.Шаблон:Citation needed According to Vegetius, in the fourth century a Шаблон:Lang was carried by each legionary cohort.[1]
Literary descriptions
The Greek military writer Arrian describes the Шаблон:Lang in his passage on cavalry training exercises, calling it "Scythian":
The Scythian banners are dracontes held aloft on standard-length poles. They are made of colored cloths stitched together, and from the head along the entire body to the tail, they look like snakes. When the horses bearing these devices are not in motion, you see only variegated streamers hanging down. During the charge is when they most resemble creatures: they are inflated by the wind, and even make a sort of hissing sound as the air is forced through them.[2]
Arrian says the colorful banners offer visual pleasure and amazement, but also help the riders position themselves correctly in the complicated drills.[3] The Gallo-Roman Latin poet Sidonius Apollinaris offers a similar, if more empurpled, description.[4]
Depictions
The Шаблон:Lang is depicted on the Ludovisi battle sarcophagus, above the horseman who is the central figure in the composition. It appears in several other reliefs, including the Arch of Galerius and the Arch of Constantine, both from the early fourth century.[5] The only fully-preserved copper draco head has been found in Niederbieber.[6]
See also
Notes
- ↑ Vegetius 2.13; Pat Southern and Karen R. Dixon, The Late Roman Army (Yale University Press, 1996), p. 98.
- ↑ Arrian, Technē Tacita 35.2–4.
- ↑ Arrian, Technē Tacita 35.5.
- ↑ Sidonius, Panegyric on Maiorianus 5; Southern and Dixon, The Late Roman Army, p. 126.
- ↑ Southern and Dixon, The Late Roman Army, p. 126.
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
References
External links