Comes Hispaniarum

Army leaders of the Comitatenses and Limitanei in the 5th century AD.

Notitia Dignitatum: the chapter page of Vicarius Hispaniae represents the personifications of three Hispanic provinces: Baetica, Lusitania and Gallaecia. They are depicted with wall crowns on their heads; their tax liability is symbolized by the baskets. The vicarius , like the proconsul in Africa, had jurisdiction, as indicated by the writing utensils shown.

The Hispanic and Mauritanian provinces in the 5th century

The Comes Hispaniarum (Count of Hispania) was a senior officer in the Western Roman army and in the 5th century commander of the Roman forces in the Iberian Peninsula .

The late ancient Roman official and honorary title Comes usually denoted the highest class of the nobility (vir spectabilis) or the closest councilors at the imperial court. Later this title was also awarded to the commanders of the mobile field armies in the provinces or to high officers for temporary and cross-provincial special commands (Comes rei militaris) . The Comes Asterius operating in Hispania was dubbed vir illustris in the 5th century .

A Comes rei militaris Hispaniarum does not appear in the Notitia Dignitatum with its own chapter. There, only in the sections ( distributio ) of the two western military masters, those units are mentioned that were deployed in Hispania and obviously - such as B. also at Comes Illyrici - were only under his command for a limited period of time or a special task. Accordingly, there is no illustration of his insignia, forts, fortress towns or the list of his administrative staff in the Western Notitia. In the latter case, the Comes probably resorted to the office ( officium ) of the army master ( Magister militum ). But it would also be possible that the copyists in the Middle Ages did not consider his chapter for reasons unknown today or simply forgot it. At the time of the final version of the Notitia Dignitatum Occidentalis (after 420), his direct superiors were the Magister peditum or -equitum praesentalis ( OB of the infantry and cavalry units).

His area of ​​command (comitativa) spanned all five Hispanic provinces:

• Tarraconensis ,
• Carthaginiensis ,
• Gallaecia ,
• Lusitania and
• Baetica .

Known comites by name:

• Asterius (around 420),
• Censorius (around 443).
• Mansuetus (around 453)

development

The office of Comes Hispaniarum appears for the first time under the reign of Constantine the Great . However, these were still "civil servants" and were supposed to supervise the governors of the Dioecesis Hispaniae . One of these was previously used as a Comes per Africam . Since they occur more frequently in Spain than in any other Dioecese, the only exception in the Orient, this could have been due to the fact that no emperor had personally visited Hispania for a long time and the intervention of officials with exceptional powers seemed particularly urgent because of grave grievances. The first known of these comites appointed by Constantine , Octavianus, performed this function between 316 and 317. He was followed by Tiberianus who held this office in 332.

AHM Jones believed that the office of Comes rei militaris for Hispania was not granted until shortly before the Notitia Dignitatum was completed. Up until the 4th century, this diocese did not require a large field army stationed there. This changed when 408/409 Vandals , Alans , Suevi and Visigoths / Visigoths in Spain invaded. In the process, the few Roman units stationed there were - probably - wiped out or blown up. In the chronicle of Bishop Hydatius , a Comes Hispaniarum Asterius is mentioned for the year 420. Asterius probably gathered palace troops, units in North Africa and Gaul and, above all, Visigoth federation associations for his army , instead of recruiting a new force. With her he fought the vandals from 419 to 423, pushed them from the province of Gallaecia into the Baetica and delivered the son of the usurper Gerontius , Maximus , to Emperor Honorius . Around 443 a Comes Censorius led a - not very successful - campaign against the Suebi. The Chronicle of Hydatius mentions another Comes , Mansuetus , for the year 453 . Thereafter, nothing is known about further activities of a Comes for Hispania, which was still set up by the Western Roman government in Ravenna .

During the 5th century, the Roman order in Hispania largely disintegrated. The military activity of the regular army at the time of the rule of the Majorian was limited to selective defense zones in the province of Tarraconensis , which were commanded by a Dux Tarraconensis . The remaining areas were given up. Between 460 and 470, the Visigoths and Suebi increasingly prevailed on the Iberian Peninsula, which finally slipped out of the control of the imperial court in Ravenna . The remnants of the Spanish army and their officers probably entered the service of the new rulers. The office of Dux remained untouched and was still filled with novels . 464, in a letter from Bishop Ascania of Tarragona to Pope Hilarius, there is talk of a Dux Hispaniarum named Vincentius who collaborated with the Visigoths. He penetrated 473 on behalf of the Visigoth king Euric in the Tarraconensis one, captured there some cities and even attacked Italy, where he but eventually was killed in a battle. In 475, Emperor Julius Nepos had to officially cede the provinces they occupied in Gaul and Hispania to the Visigoths.

troops

Since the Notitia also mentions no regular cavalry units for Hispania, the Comes probably had to make do with Gothic federation cavalry. The troop list for Hispania does not include a single unit of pseudocomitatenses , as one would expect from a Roman army of this time period. In addition, she does not lead a troop named after one of the emperors of the 5th century. It would appear, therefore, that the army deployed in Hispania indicated in the Notitia was in fact not hastily drawn together until the early 5th century. The limit units in Hispania were under the command of the Magister Peditum . Prior to the invasion of 409, a Dux or Comes of their own could have been in command of them. Five of the Hispanic Limitanei were stationed in the province of Gallaecia and one in the Tarraconensis . Given that only a few of the Hispanic Comitatenses - and these in other armies, too - are listed, implying their continued existence, the existence of the Hispanic limitanei beyond the early 5th century is extremely unlikely. The most obvious explanation would be that this part of the Notitia at the time of its final drafting - as is so often the case with this document - no longer corresponded to the current status.

Distributio Numerorum

According to the ND Occ. the following units may have been available to the comes :

Officers / units / castles	comment	Illustration
	Comitatenses - Auxilia palatina
Ascarii seniores	The origins of the name Ascarii are unclear. According to Theodor Mommsen (1889), it could be derived from the Greek “ askos ” (skin, bag, fur). They supposedly specialized in crossing rivers. An ascariate unit is mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus in the course of the capture of an Alemannic juggler king and an unauthorized plundering. When the Ascarii were divided into Seniores (Western Army) and Juniores (Eastern Army) is unknown, probably after the middle of the 4th century. Further Ascariic units recorded in the Notitia are: Auxilia ascarii , limitanei in the army of the Dux Pannoniae secundae ripariensis et Saviae ; the Honoriani ascarii seniores , Auxilia palatina in the army of Magister Equitum Galliarum , who Ascarii seniores and the Ascarii iuniores , also Auxilia palatina in the army of the Magister Militum per Illyricum (Eastern Empire). It is possible that these Ascarii seniores were identical to the unit stationed in the west.	List of troops of the Magister Peditum : shield signs of the Ascarii seniores
Ascarii iuniores	According to the name affix, this unit may have originally been stationed in the east of the empire. It is also possible that the Ascarii iuniores are to be equated with the troops stationed in the west. Your sign shows - presumably - a canid (wolf or dog) running to the left with the hair on the back of the neck.	List of troops of the Magister peditum : shield sign of the Ascarii iuniores
Sagittarii nervi	A unit of archers. But it is also conceivable that they were only partially armed with bows and that their shooters had at some point in a battle distinguished themselves by their accuracy. Nervi means that the recruits of this unit were originally recruited in what is now northeastern France and Belgium, in the Civitas Nerviorum (at the time of the Notitia " Nervica "). The Gallic tribe that settled there were called Nervii . In the middle of the imperial period, several auxiliary troop units were set up there. Some are also mentioned in the Notitia, such as B. the Cohortis sextae nerviorum under the Dux Britanniarum . An inscription that names a soldier of the Sagittarii nervi , Fla (vius) Victurus, comes from the burial ground of Colonia Iulia Concordia ( Portogruaro in Veneto , Italy). Your shield motif shows a zoomorphic animal head in the middle . There are more than a dozen other examples of this in the Notitia, especially among the auxilia palatina.	List of troops of the Magister peditum : Signs of the Sagittarii nervi
Exculcatores iuniores	Unusually for a unit of the auxilia palatina, its shield motif is not given in the notitia. The name Exculcatores means "those who trample everything down, run down or rush forward unstoppably". Two other units handed down in the Notitia Dignitatum bear this name Exculcatores seniores and the Exculcatores iuniores Britanniciani . Both are listed in the Magister Peditum's list of troops as auxiliary palatine units. Only the shield motif of the Exculcatores iuniores Britanniciani has survived in the Notitia.	List of troops of the Magister peditum : Signs of the Exculcatores iunores Britanniciani
Tubantes	The Tubantes or Tui (h) anti were a people who settled in what is now the Netherlands. Today's Twente region was probably named after them. According to Notitia there was a second tubante unit called Auxilia palatina, which was under the command of the Magister Militum praesentalis II (Eastern Empire). It is unclear who the head depicted on the shield is supposed to represent, a barbarian or a deity.	List of troops of the Magister Peditum : Shields of the Tubantes
Felices seniores	The name Felices ("the lucky ones") often occurs in the units given in the Notitia (over 20). However, their unit names are not combined with any other name, usually that of the reigning emperor. It is possible that they once wore one too. However, the ruler in question could later have officially fallen from grace and therefore been discarded (see Damnatio memoriae ). The sign represents - probably - a canid (wolf or dog) rearing up .	List of troops of the Magister Peditum : shields of the Felices seniores
Invicti seniores	Her name Invicti means "invincible, tireless" and is often associated in research with the sun god Sol , especially in the time of Constantine I as Sol Invictus ("the undefeated sun god"). Constantine included it in his titulature before turning to Christianity . The second Invicti unit listed in the Notitia are the Invicti Iuniores , also Auxilia palatina, they were in the army of the Magister Militum per Illyricum (Eastern Empire).	List of troops of the Magister Peditum : Signs of the Invicti seniores
Invicti iuniores Britones	The troupe was also named after the sun god. Britones means that the unit was originally set up in Britain . Presumably she was identical to the Invicti iuniores Britanniciani in the army of the Magister peditum . A letter text fragment from the 5th century (around 416), known as Epistula Honorii , has been preserved in the Rotense Codex of Madrid. He mentions three units stationed in Hispania, including the Britanici and two more, of which, however, only the suffix seniores and iuniores has been preserved.	List of troops of the Magister peditum : shield sign of the Invicti iuniores Britanniciani
Victores iuniores	The name means "the victorious". Victrix was often given as a designation of honor to Roman military units. The unit may have been set up under Constantine I. The emperor accepted the honorary title " Victor " after he had defeated his rival in the east, Licinius , and thereby became the sole ruler of the empire. Five other units mentioned in the Notitia had this name: Victores , a unit of the auxilia palatina under the Magister Militum Praesentalis I (Eastern Empire), Victores seniores (Auxilia palatina?), They were in the Italian army of Magister Peditum , Galli victores , Auxilia palatina in the Italian army of Magister Peditum , Honoriani victores (iuniores) , Auxilia palatina in the army of Comes Illyrici and the Victores iuniores Britanniciani ( Auxilia palatina ?) In the army of the Comes Britanniarum , but - strangely enough - they are not included in the list of troops of the Magister Peditum . Two other items noted in the Notitia had very similar names: Cohors prima Victorum , Limitanei under Dux Syriae et Eufratensis Syriae (Eastern Empire), and the Ala prima Victoriae a cavalry unit of the Limitanei under the Dux Osrhoenae (Eastern Empire).	List of troops of the Magister Peditum : Signs of the Victores iuniores
Brisigavi seniores	The unit of was established from members of the Alemannic tribe of the Brisgavi (according to Ammianus Marcellinus). They settled in what is now Breisgau , Germany. Another Brisigavi unit listed in the Notitia were the Brisigavi iuniores in the Italian army of Magister Peditum . They are likely to have been erected between 395 and 398 under Emperor Honorius and were composed for the most part of warriors from the Breisgau-Alamanni. Possibly part of the troop contingents that the Alemannic kings Gundomad and Vadomar had to provide to Emperor Julian Apostata in 357 after the lost battle of Argentorate .	Troop list of the Magister Peditum : Signs of the Brisigavi seniores
Salii iuniores Gallicani	The name Salii refers to the Salfranken , it could be derived from salt, as they originally lived on the Lower Rhine as far as Salland and the IJssel . Other units recruited from this tribe were the Salii , Auxilia-Palatina under the command of the Magister Militum Praesentalis I (Eastern Empire); and the Salii seniores , Auxilia-Palatina under the Magister Peditum in the army of the Magister Equitum Galliarum .	List of troops of the Magister peditum : Signs of the Salii iuniores Gallicani
	Comitatenses - Legiones comitatenses
Fortenses	Fortenses means "courageous" or "steadfast", a name of honor that was often given to Roman units in the middle imperial period when they had proven themselves in battle. Several Fortenses units are given in the Notitia. In addition to the army of the Hispanic Comes , there were also Africae Fortenses in the field army of the Comes , but had different shields. The African unit was - according to the infantry list of the Magister Peditum - a Legio comitatenses. The Hispanic Fortenses could be the vexillation of an honorary Fortis legion. Presumably, the Fortenses departments of late antiquity took on this name after being assigned from their original unit. Other Fortenses units in the Notitia: Fortenses , a Legio palatina under the Magister Militum Praesentalis I (Eastern Empire), Fortenses auxiliarii , a unit of the Pseudocomitatenses under the Magister Militum per Orientem (Eastern Empire), Numerus Fortensium , Limitanei under the Comes litoris Saxonici per Britanniam , Limites Fortenses , Limitanei under the Dux et praeses provinciae Mauritaniae et Caesariensis , Milites Fortenses , Limitanei under the Dux provinciae Tripolitanae , Cuneus equitum Fortensium , Limitaneirritt, as well as the Auxilia Fortensia , Limitanei , both under the Dux Valeriae ripensis .	List of troops of the Magister peditum : shield signs of the Hispanic Fortenses
Propugnatores seniores	The name means "defender" or "elite fighter". Its origins are difficult to pinpoint. An indication of this could be the correspondence of their shield painting with that of the Minervii , who descended from the Legio I Minervia . The Propugnatores seniores could also have emerged from it, since Minerva et al. a. was the patron goddess of tactical warfare (as opposed to Mars, god of war). The legion was probably divided into several field armies in late antiquity. Other Propugnatores units in the Notitia are: Propugnatores iuniores , a Legio comitatenses in the army of Comes Illyrici who Armigeri propugnatores seniores , a Legio palatina, and the Armigeri propugnatores iuniores , another Legio palatina under the command of the Comes Africae . Their shield paintings are very similar. When they in Seniores and Iuniores were divided, is unknown.	List of troops of the Magister Peditum : shield mark of the Propugnatores seniores
Septimani seniores	Their name ("the sevens") is clearly derived from a legion. Either from the Legio VII Claudia under the Dux Moesiae primae (Eastern Empire), which was stationed in Viminacium (today Stari Kostalac in Serbia ) for a long time , or the Legio VII Gemina , the Spanish house legion, stationed in the camp of León in northern Spain. Since the Septimani seniores also operated in Spain, their origin from this legion seems plausible. Other Septimani units in the Notitia were: Septima gemina under the Magister Militum per Orientem (Eastern Empire), the Septimani iuniores in the army of the Comes Tingitaniae , probably also descendants of the Spanish legion, since the Tingitania was organizationally part of the Dioecesis Hispaniae and the Septimani in the Magister Equitum's army of Gaul , perhaps also a vexillation of Legio VII Claudia . However, none of these units have similar shield paintwork.	List of troops of the Magister Peditum : shields of the Septimani seniores
Vesontes	The name is derived from the city of Vesontio (today's Besançon / France), where this unit was probably once stationed or recruited. At the time of Caesar it was the metropolis of the Celtic Sequani and in late antiquity it was probably the seat of the Dux provinciae Sequanicae . The shield pattern of the Vesontes is very similar to that of the Octavani , a unit that descends from the Legio VIII Augusta , which was long stationed in Argentorate (Strasbourg) on ​​the Rhine Limes . In late antiquity it was probably under the command of the Comes tractus Argentoratensis and was divided between forts in northern Switzerland and on the Rhine before it was finally enlisted in the Italian army of the Magister Peditum . Perhaps one of their departments was also in Vesontio for a while . The Vesontes could therefore have emerged from this legion. The crescent-shaped emblems on the shield painting of this unit are reminiscent of lawn cutter blades (the Latin name is unknown) that were used by the legionaries when building camps. One specimen has been excavated in Newstead, Scotland. But it could also be pelte-shaped decorative elements , which can often be seen in different variations on Tabula ansata 's . Such tabulas have been painted on the shields since the Principate in order to be able to identify the respective units by their order number, but also as a decorative element, as several metopes at the Tropaeum Traiani in Adamclisi, Romania prove. It is therefore possible that the shield paintings of the Vesontes and the Octavani go back to such decorations. A similar motif can be seen on a shield that is carried by one of the soldiers on the so-called Brescia casket, an ivory box from the 4th century.	List of troops of the Magister Peditum : shield sign of the Vesontes
Undecimani	The Undecimani ("the Elfer") stationed in the west probably descended from the Legio XI Claudia . Those in the east also served as Legiones palatinae in the army of the Magister Militum Praesentalis II (Eastern Empire); their shield painting is very different from that of their sister unit. They too were probably once pulled out of the Legio XI Claudia . The main camp of this legion was Durostorum ( Silistra ), in what is now northeastern Bulgaria. According to Notitia, one of their departments was still located there in the 5th century and was part of the border protection under the Dux Moesiae secundae (Eastern Empire). The rest of her vexillations had been distributed among the forts in Moesia II .	List of troops of the Magister peditum : shield sign of the Undecimani
	Limitanei
Praefectus legionis septimae geminae, at Legione	The remainder of the former Hispanic house legion Legio VII Gemina , which was still stationed in its main camp, Legio (León), in northern Spain.	List of troops of the Magister peditum : shield sign of the Septimani Gemina
Tribunus cohortis secundae Flaviae Pacatianae, at Paetaonio	The cohort was barracked in the former legionary camp of Petavonium (Rosinos de Vidriales, Northern Spain).	Shield sign unknown
Tribunus cohortis secundae Gallicae, at cohortem Gallicam	A cohort that was originally recruited in Gaul.	Shield sign unknown
Tribunus cohortis Lucensis, at Luco	A cohort that was garrisoned in Lucus Augusti ( Lugo ) in the 5th century .	Shield sign unknown
Tribunus cohortis Celtiberae, at Brigantiae	A unit that was recruited from the tribes of the indigenous Celtiberians and was perhaps still in Flavium Brigantium , province of Gallaecia (today A Coruña in northwestern Spain) until the 5th century .	Shield sign unknown
Tribunus cohortis primae Gallicae , at Valeia	The soldiers of this cohort were recruited from tribes in the Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis . Their fort, Veleia, was in the province of Tarraconensis .	Shield sign unknown

Remarks

1. ↑ D. Henning 1999, p. 88.
2. ↑ ND Occ .: VII, 118-134: Qui numeri ex praedicits per infrascriptas provincias habeantur / Intra Hispenias cum uiro spectabili comite , R. Scharf 2008, p. 155.
3. ↑ Cod. Theod. IX 1, 1. XII 1, 4, 332, Cod. Iust. VI 1, 6 and 333, Cod. Theod. VIII 12, 5. 18, 3. XI 39, 2, Cod. Theod. XII 5, 1.
4. ↑ Chronikon Hydatii 155, H. Böhm 2014, p. 199, Jacek Wiewiorowski 2006, p. 326, R. Scharf p. 2008, 155–156, G. Maier 2005, pp. 238–239 and footnote 128, D. Henning 1999, p. 87.
5. ↑ Limit egg cohorts listed in: ND occ. Hispaniae: XLII. Item praepositurae magistri militum praesentalis a parte peditum .
6. ↑ sub dispositions
7. ↑ Res Gestae 27.2.9
8. ↑ CIL 5, 8762
9. ↑ Their use is described in Vegetius' work - roughly contemporary with the Notitia, as follows: Post hos erant ferentarii and levis armatura, quos nunc exculcatores et armaturas dicimus ... , d. H. "[The first line] was followed by the Ferentarii and [other] light infantry, which we now call Exulcatores and Armaturas ...".
10. ↑ Michael Kulikowski 1998, pp. 247-252.
11. ↑ See also the article Brescia Casket in the English language Wikipedia.

literature

• Theodor Mommsen : The Roman military system since Diocletian . In: Hermes , Volume 24 (1889), pp. 195-279, ISSN  0018-0777 ( online ). Reprinted in: Collected Writings . Part 6, Volume 3. 1910; 3rd edition (reprint) Olms, Hildesheim, 1994, ISBN 3-615-14646-8 , pp. 206-283 (p. 270).
• Michael Kulikowski: The Career of the “Comes Hispaniarum” Asterius. Phoenix No. 54, 2000, pp. 123-141.
• Michael Kulikowski: Late Roman Spain and Its Cities. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004, pp. 195-196. ISBN 9780801898327 .
• Michael Kulikowski: The Epistula Honorii . Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik No. 122, 1998, pp. 247-252.
• Ingo Maier: Numeration of the new edition of the compilation. Appendix 4: Notitia Dignitatum.
• Publius Flavius ​​Renatus Vegetius: Epitoma rei militaris .
• Philip Rance: The Scouts of the Late Roman Army and a Disputed Etymology. Latomus 73, 2014, pp. 474-501.
• Henning Börm : Hydatius von Aquae Flaviae and the unity of the Roman Empire in the fifth century. In: Bruno Bleckmann , Timo Stickler (Hrsg.): Greek profane historians of the fifth century AD. ( Historia-Individual Writings Volume 228). Stuttgart 2014, pp. 195-214.
• Jacek Wiewiorowski: Comes Hispaniarum Octavianus - the special envoy of Constantine the Great (some Remarks). Gerión No. 24, UAM Poznań, 2006.
• Ralf Scharf: The Dux Mogontiacensis and the Notitia Dignitatum: A Study of the Late Antique Border Defense. Publisher Walter de Gruyter, 2008.
• Gideon Maier: Officials and rulers in Romania Gothica: comparative studies on the institutions of the East Germanic migration empires. Franz Steiner Verlag, 2005.
• Dirk Henning: Periclitans res publica: Emperors and elites in the crisis of the Western Roman Empire 454 / 5–493 AD Franz Steiner Verlag, 1999.
• RW Burgess: The Chronicle of Hydatius and the Consularia Constantinopolitana: Two Contemporary Accounts of the Final Years of the Roman Empire. Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 9780198147879
• Arnold Hugh Martin Jones : The Later Roman Empire 284-602. A Social, Economic and Administrative Survey. 3 volumes, Blackwell, Oxford 1964.

Web links

The Comes in the Notitia Dignitatum