We read that “the camel was not employed in combat” but was reserved for transporting baggage (Yann Le Bohec, La guerre romaine, Paris: Tallandier, 2014, 181), while another book tells us that “in the eastern provinces, Roman army units often contained a few camel riders, who were usually attached to a cohors equitata” (Pat Southern, The Roman Army, Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2006, 123). It is difficult to substantiate either statement.
Of course, it is true that, in desert zones, camels had always been used for transport, exploiting their carrying capacity and low maintenance needs. Diodorus Siculus claimed that the drom edary could travel for 1500 stades (170 miles) without a break ( 19.37.6), by which he probably meant that they required only overnight rest, while Pliny the Elder claimed that “they can endure thirst for a space of four days” ( 8.26.68), making them ideal as beasts of burden in a dry climate. The Romans certainly
