Comes Tingitaniae
The Comes Tingitaniae (Count of the Tingitanae) was a high officer in the western Roman army and from the 4th century at the latest he was in command of the Comitatenses and Limitanei stationed in western North Africa .
The jurisdiction ( comitativa ) of the Comes rei militaris extended to the Limes of the Tingitanae , in northwestern Africa, today the northern part of Morocco , including the territories of the present-day Spanish enclaves Ceuta and Melilla , as well as western Algeria . The province stretched from the peninsula opposite the Rock of Gibraltar , over Chellah (or Sala ) and Volubilis in the south to the Oued Laou River in the east. The provincial metropolis was the city of Tingis ( Tangier ), after which it was named.
His direct superiors were at the time the western Notitia Dignitatum (after 420) the Magister peditum praesentalis (commander in chief of the infantry) and the Magister equitum praesentalis (OB of the cavalry).
In the hierarchy of the late Roman imperial nobility, the Comes took the position of a vir spectabilis .
Known comites by name:
- Flavius Memorius (mid 4th century)
development
The territory of the Mauretania Tingitana was difficult to control and defend due to its difficult topography. In the northeast, the tribes of the Rif Mountains in particular were a constant source of concern. Although Diocletian's military reforms largely stabilized the Roman borders, neither he nor his co-regent Maximian were able to recapture southern Tingitania from them during their Africa campaign from 297 to 298 after heavy attacks by the Baquates . The Roman army then only controlled a strip of land around 100 kilometers wide between the coast and the south. In the east of the province, the Rif Mountains descend to the sea and blocked the direct land connection between the two Mauritanian provinces. During Diocletian's reign, the Tingitana was added to the Dioecesis Hispaniae . The neighboring province of Mauretania Caesariensis to the east, however, belonged to the Dioecesis Africae . The Limes of the Tingitana also needed the Spanish provinces as a safe hinterland from which its soldiers could be supplied. This could be done better from Hispania than from Africa. In addition, a blocking association in Tingitania also increased the safety of the residents of the Iberian Peninsula. From 429 to 534 both provinces fell to the realm of the Vandals . Parts of the Tingitania , Caesariensis and Sitifensis belonged to the Eastern Roman Empire after the destruction of the Vandal Empire by the Eastern Roman general Belisarius in the 6th century, until the Islamic expansion in the 7th century put an end to the rule of Eastern Rome .
Administrative staff
The Officium (administrative staff) of the Comes comprised the following offices:
- Principem ex officis magistrorum militum praesentalium alternis annis (office manager from the army master’s staff, he was reappointed every two years by the army master)
- Numerarios utrosque (paymaster)
- Commentariensem utrumque (bookkeeper and legal expert)
- Adiutorem (assistant)
- Subadiuuam (assistant)
- Regrendarium (administrator or archivist)
- Exceptores (writers)
- Singulares et reliquos officiales (bodyguards / ordonances)
troops
Although only limit information is given in the troop list ( sub dispositione ) of the Comes , there were also units of the Comitatenses . The Tingitana field army listed in the Notitia consisted of Legiones comitanenses - cavalry and auxilia palatina - units of the provincial guard . They are also included in the Comes Africae troop list . They may have been moved elsewhere by the time the Western Notitia was concluded. The province's garrisons were concentrated near the Oued Laou and Oued Loukos rivers .
Distributio Numerorum
According to the ND Occ. the following units were available to the comes :
| Officers / units / castles | comment | Illustration |
|---|---|---|
| Comitatenses | ||
| Mauri tonantes seniores ( Auxilia palatina ) | A unit of the governor's guard. The native Mauri were preferred by the Romans as soldiers for the light cavalry. In the Roman army, however, Mauri was probably not only a term for ethnic affiliation, but was also a term for a lightly armed infantry or cavalry unit. The addition Tonantes means "those who thunder". When the empire was divided between Valens and Valentinian I in 364 , the army was also divided. The “older” main units remaining in the west were referred to as seniores , and the “ younger” units stationed in the east as iuniores . | |
| Mauri tonantes iuniores ( Auxilia palatina ) | A unit of the governor's guard. An inscription from Cherchel ( Caesarea ) in today's Algeria , mentions the equitum itemque peditum iuniorum Maurorum iure , it could refer to this unit. A mixed unit (horsemen / infantry) from Moors is not mentioned in the Notitia. | |
| Constantiniani | The same unit, the Constantiaci , or Legiones comitatenses Secunda Flavia Constantiniana was also in Africa . It was probably set up under Emperor Constantine I or his immediate successor. The Legio Secunda Flavia Virtutis in the Army of the Comes Africae could also have emerged from it. | |
| Septimani iuniores | A vexillation of the Septimani iuniores also stood as a pseudocomitatenses in the Gallic field army. Presumably identical to the Septimani who - also as pseudocomitatenses - are listed in the army of Magister Peditum . However, they also appear in the Italian army as Septimani iuniores . | |
| Equites scutarii seniores | The above unit is also listed in the Army of the Comes Africae . The Equites scutarii is not found in any of the western field armies. It is interesting that in the ranks of the western Vexillationes Comitenses this unit was only listed at the end of the list and was also in the remote Tingitana . Perhaps the unit had supported a failed usurper (perhaps the Comes Gildo ) and had been demoted and moved to a remote base because of it. | |
| Equites sagittarii seniores | ||
| Equites Cordueni | This archer unit probably comes from the Corduele region in Mesopotamia (Greek: Gordyene ). It was abandoned by the Romans during Emperor Jovian's retreat from Persia. The Ala quintadecima Flavia Carduenorum , stationed in the Caini fort , army of the Dux Mesopotamiae , was probably also recruited there. | |
| Limitanei | ||
| Praefectus alae Herculeae, Tamuco | ||
| Tribunus cohortis secundae Hispanorum, Duga | ||
| Tribunus cohortis primae Herculeae, Aulucos | ||
| Tribunus cohortis primae Ityraeorum, Castrabariensis | ||
| Tribunus cohortis ..... Sala | ||
| Tribunus cohortis Pacatianensis, Pacatiana | ||
| Tribunus cohortis tertiae Hastorum, Tabernas | ||
| Tribunus cohortis Friglensis, Friglas |
Remarks
- ^ ND occ .: XXXI, 33, Officium autem habet idem vir spectabilis dux hoc modo
- ^ ND Occ. VII, Intra Tingitaniam cum uiro spectabili comite Tingitaniae
- ^ ND Occ: VII, Qui numeri ex praedictis per infrascriptas provincias habeantur
- ↑ sub dispositions
- ↑ CIL 8, 20996
- ↑ ND Occ .: 102 / 5.201, 98 / 9.123
- ↑ ND occ. 102 / 5.155, 98 / 9.147, 102 / 5.82
- ↑ ND occ .: 102 / 5.232, 102 / 5.258
literature
- Ferdinand Lot: La Notitia dignitatum utriusque imperii . Revue des études anciennes XXXVIII 3, 1936, pp. 285–338 and pp. 309–310.
- Brian Herbert Warmington: The North African provinces from Diocletian to the Vandal Conquest . Cambridge, 1954, 16.
- Joey van Kuijck: The Integration of Mauretania Tingitana in the Diocese of Hispaniae. Diploma thesis, 2015. PDF
- Julio Rodríguez González: Historia de las legiones Romanas , Madrid, 2003.
- Adrian Goldsworthy: Storia completa dellesercito romano , Modena 2007. ISBN 978-88-7940-306-1
- Yan Le Bohec: Armi e guerrieri di Roma antica. Da Diocleziano alla caduta dell'impero , Roma 2008. ISBN 978-88-430-4677-5
Web links
The Comes in the Notitia Dignitatum
Comes Britanniarum | Comes litoris Saxonici per Britanniam | Dux Britanniarum | Dux Belgicae secundae | Dux tractus Armoricani et Nervicani | Comes tractus Argentoratensis | Dux Mogontiacensis | Dux Germaniae primae | Dux provinciae Sequanicae | Comes Italiae | Comes Illyrici | Dux Raetiae primae et secundae | Dux Pannoniae Primae et Norici Ripensis | Dux Valeriae ripensis | Dux Pannoniae secundae ripariensis et Saviae | Dux provinciae Tripolitanae | Comes Africae | Dux et praeses provinciae Mauritaniae et Caesariensis | Comes Tingitaniae | Comes Hispaniarum