Principes Albanorum in patres legit

[pmda]

This from Orberg Cap XLIII describes how the Alabani contributed to the senate:

Principes Albanorum in patres legit, ut ea quoque pars rei publicae cresceret, et senatui ita ab se aucto curiam aedificavit, quae 'curia Hostilia' usque ad patrum nostrorum aetatem appellata est.

He [Tullus] appointed the Albani leaders to the senate, in order to increase that part of the state, and onto the senate, increased by him in this way, he built the Curia which up until the time of our fathers was called the 'curia Hostilia'.

Equitum decem turmas ex Albanis legit, et legiones veteres supplevit [sup-plere, -evisse, -etum = augere addendo quae desunt] et novas conscripsit.

He created forty knights from the Albani and added old legionaries and new conscripts.

I'm not sure why he has to say decem turmas. Orberg explains turmas as follows: turma, -ae (f) = equitum numerus XXX. So I'm guessing decem turmas = 40 ?

[swtwentyman]

If a turma is thirty men, then wouldn't ten of them be three hundred?

A turma isn't just a measure; it's a unit of men. It's akin to "ten battalions": it's a division as well as a number (assuming that a regiment has a definite number of men; I know nothing about the modern military).

[pmda]

ohhh yeah...of course.

thanks.

Paul

[Qimmik]

turma is a "troop" or "battalion" (units similar to squads in the US infantry) of "cavalrymen" or "horsemen" (those terms are better than "knights" as these were actual fighting men. swtwentyman is right: 10 turmae = 300 cavalrymen. (Regiments are much larger units. The US Army no longer has regiments, but the British Army does have them.)

legiones veteres supplevit et novas conscripsit.

Similarly, legiones is "legions," not "legionnaires." "He added manpower to the existing legions and recruited new ones.

senatui ita ab se aucto curiam aedificavit -- "for the senate, thus increased by him, he built a council chamber [curiam]".

usque ad patrum nostrorum aetatem -- "down to the era of our senators [patrum]" Patres often means "senators" or just "the senate."

[pmda]

Thanks Qimmik. Carefully noted.