Tlemcen Roman Fort
About
Roman soldiers founded a military outpost here in the 2nd century AD, drawn to the site's fertile land and reliable water sources on the western edge of Mauretania Caesariensis. The name Pomaria simply means orchards, a fitting label for a garrison post that grew into a real agricultural settlement around it. A civilian town grew up in the shadow of the camp and eventually gave its name to the whole area, later resurfacing as the medieval city of Tlemcen. Little firm evidence pins down exactly which unit garrisoned Pomaria or precisely when in the 2nd century the fort first went up.
What happened here
Five hundred men, sometimes a thousand, recruited from a province rather than from citizens, and often stationed a long way from where they were raised. Cavalry units get a bigger fort and far more stabling; the smell tells you which kind you are in before the plan does. The layout copies a legionary fortress at a quarter of the size — headquarters, commander's house, granaries, barracks, a bath house usually built outside the walls because of the fire risk. Duties are patrolling, escorting, customs, and policing rather than pitched battle. After twenty-five years a man is discharged with citizenship for himself and his children, recorded on a bronze diploma he keeps for life. A village grows outside the gate within a decade.
Sources
Nearby
 - Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya - Barcelona 2014.JPG?width=800)
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