Comes litoris Saxonici per Britanniam

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Army leaders of the Comitatenses and Limitanei in the 5th century AD.
Notitia Dignitatum: The forts on the British Saxon coast Othona, Dubris, Lemannis, Branoduno, Garriano, Regulbi, Rutupis, Anderidos and Portum Adurni
The Late Antique Provinces of Britain (AD 400)
The forts and fortress towns of the Saxon coast around the year 380 on both sides of the English Channel

The Comes Litoris Saxonici per Britanniam (literally: " Count of the Saxon coast in Britain ") was a high officer in the British Provincial Army of the 3rd to 5th centuries AD whose task it was to work on the East, Southeast and South coast of England built fortresses to defend against raids by enemy tribes.

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. In the military, this title was given to the commanders of the mobile field armies in the provinces or to high officers for temporary special commands (comes rei militaris) .

The Comes litoris Saxonici per Britanniam was together with the

one of the three most senior officers and deputies in late Roman Britain. This military district probably emerged from a split from the former coastal protection command of the Comes Maritimi Tractus . Like the Dux tractus Armoricani et Nervicani in Gaul, the Comes did not command the entire provincial contingent, but only the garrisons of the forts between the Wash and Solent rivers. His area of ​​command (comitativa) thus included the coasts of the provinces

That corresponds to most of what is now Kent and the south-east region of the island. The addition " per Britannias " meant that the Saxon coast was also divided into several sections or that it extended beyond Britain. In addition to the fleet, the forts on the Norfolk coast (up to a base near Portsmouth) and Hampshire, some more northerly military stations on the North Sea were under his command. His headquarters were probably in Camulodunum / Colchester or in Londinium / London . However, the exact scope of his duties and authority are unknown.

development

In the course of the imperial reform under Emperor Diocletian , new military offices were introduced in Britain and Gaul. At that time, the Limes of the so-called Saxon coast (litoris saxonicum) gradually emerged on both sides of the English Channel . Strongly exposed portions and estuaries were forts partially built or rebuilt already existing. Their crews had the task of repelling looters and invaders or to make access to the interior of the country as difficult as possible. In the middle of the 4th century, a Comes Maritimi Tractus was responsible for securing the coasts of the English Channel . In 367 there was a concerted incursion of several barbarian peoples into Britain, in the course of which the units of the provincial armed forces were either broken up or almost entirely wiped out. Their commanders-in-chief were also killed, including the "Count of the Coastal Regions", Nectaridus. After the island was pacified by Flavius ​​Theodosius , his area of ​​responsibility must have been divided into three military districts between 368 and 395. The aim was to prevent a military commander from getting too many units under his command and thus enabling an uprising (such as the usurpation of the British naval commander Carausius ). Two new ducats were created for the Gallic part of the Saxon coast ( Dux Belgicae secundae and Dux tractus Armoricani et Nervicani ). From this point on, the Comes only commanded the Saxon coastal fort in Britain. The British coastal defense organization could be maintained until the beginning of the 5th century.

In the years 396 to 398 Stilicho once again carried out naval operations off Britain. Obviously, Stilicho's troops were not only able to maintain control of the sea routes to the north-western provinces , but were also able to achieve some success in the fight against Saxons and Scots . This was the opportunity to reorganize the coastal defense in south-east Britain, it was now in the form in which it was handed down in the final version of the Notitia Dignitatum . It is quite possible that the British Comes was not used until this time, as it had not been mentioned anywhere before. The office should have existed officially until around 410, according to the archaeological findings, some of its forts were given up earlier. When the Romans withdrew the higher administrative officials and the field army at the beginning of the 5th century and thus effectively gave up Britain (see Rhine crossing of 406 and Constantine III ), the Comes of the Saxon coast also disappeared from the sources.

Administrative staff

The Officium (administrative staff) of the Comes comprised the following offices:

  • Principem ex officiis magistrorum militum praesentalium parte peditum (Head of the Army, from the staff of the army master)
  • Numerarios ex utrisque officiis omni anno (two paymasters from the army master's staff, appointed for one year)
  • Adiutorem (assistant)
  • Cornicularium (secretary / steward)
  • Subadiuuam (assistant)
  • Regrendarium (administrator)
  • Exceptores (lawyers)
  • Singulares et reliquos officiales (bodyguards and other officials)

There is also a cornicularis in its rod . He was usually responsible for stocking up the units. Such officials can only be found in the Notitia in five other Comes and Duces. In late antiquity this was the responsibility of the civil administration of the province. It is possible that in times of crisis the Comes was able to dispose of the supplies from the public stores without authorization.

troops

According to the ND, the Comes were subordinate to soldiers of the provincial army (7 infantry and 2 cavalry units) until the year 400, probably also units of the Canal Fleet ( Classis Britannica ) , with their help to prevent Germanic looters and invaders from landing on its coasts. However, these are not explicitly stated in the Notitia. In the troop list of the Notitia Dignitatum only nine forts are listed on the Saxon coast , although - verifiably - eleven of them were on the Wash - Solent - Limes . All units of the Comes among the Limitanei . Some were probably identical with the Pseudocomitatenses of the Gallic field army commanded by the Magister equitum . They are also not included in the list of the Magister Peditum .

Distributio Numerorum

According to the ND Occ. the following units were available to the comes :

cavalry

Officers / units / forts comment Illustration
Limitanei equites
Praepositus equitum Dalmatarum Branodunensium , Branoduno These riders stationed in today's Brancaster probably originally came from a Dalmatian cavalry unit. Equestrian units from Dalmatia were apparently set up for the first time under Gallienus (260–268) in the late 3rd century. To date, there are no inscriptions for this unit. Another unit of the Equites Dalmatarum was according to the information of the Notitia in Praesedio (maybe Bridlington ) in the army of the Dux Britanniarum . However, both units could once have emerged from British alae .
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Praepositus equitum stablesianorum Gariannonensium , Gariannonor These riders from Burgh Castle (some of them may also have been in the neighboring Caister-on-Sea ) were a vexillation of the British guardsmen ( Comitatenses ), the so-called Equites stablesiani , which are listed in the Notitia Occ. is also given in the field army of the Comes Britanniarum . Neither did she leave any inscriptions, her fort is not mentioned in any other ancient source. What exactly is meant by " stablesiani " (apart from the reference to stable) is still being discussed controversially. Two more of these guard units are mentioned in the list of the Magister equitum : the
  • Equites stablesiani Africani and the
  • Equites stablesiani Italiciani ,

both were in the army of the Comes Africae .

Shield sign unknown

infantry

Officers / units / forts comment Illustration
Limitanei
Praepositus numeri Fortensium , Othonae The "band of the brave" stood in today's Bradwell (formerly Ythanceaster ) and has been regarded as a vexillation of the Legio II Traiana fortis since the middle of the 19th century . According to the Notitia Occ. in Appollonos superioris under the Dux Thebaidos and in Parembole under the Comes limitis Aegypti (both Eastern Empire). Guy Hassall considers the soldiers stationed in Othonae to be cavalrymen, as they were organized in a number .

In addition, the riders of the

However, the term number was not used exclusively for mounted units. In fact, there are numerous inscriptions of Numbers , which were undoubtedly infantry units. The term Cuneus, however, seems to have been reserved in the Notitia only for mounted units. As Hassall himself emphasized, the Legio II Traiana need not have provided all of the departments designated as Fortenses in the Notitia . Unfortunately, to date there is no epigraphic evidence from Bradwell or elsewhere that could provide further clues as to the origin of this troop. The fact that it was commanded by a Praepositus (= holder of a special command ) and not by a Praefectus also speaks for a former legionnaires vexillation.

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Praepositus militum Tungrecanorum , Dubris The "Tungrian soldiers" lay in what is now Dover. The unit seems to have originally emerged from a troop of the Tungri (also Tungrecani or Tongrecani ). This tribe settled in the region around the Belgian city of Tongres . The Notitia lists two other Tungsten Units for Britain. So you could vexilate the
  • Cohors primae Tungri under the Dux Britanniarum in Borcovicio (Housesteads) or even more likely the partially mounted
  • Be Cohors secundae Tungri . Cohors I is not mentioned anywhere else in the Notitia.

Epigraphic evidence of a Cohors Tungrorum millaria is abundant, but there are also inscriptions of a Cohors II Tungrorum milliaria equitata . Most are from northern England, some have also been found in the south. An altar made of Birrens ( Blatobulgium ), an outpost of Hadrian's Wall , was also commissioned by the soldiers of a COH II MIL EQ. So far none has been found in Dover that proves the identity of the late antique garrison. In 1976 Hassall mentioned a loophole in the Dux Britanniarum's list that covers this very unit and was widely accepted as such. This would mean that the Dover garrison was in fact a third, separate, tungsten unit. This fact can be explained that the Cohors I Tungrorum millaria and the rest of Cohors milliaria equitata II Tungrorum aufgingen as infantry force in the army of the British Dux, while the Tungriereinheit of Comes of Saxon Shore from the tabs of the old Cohors II Tungrorum milliaria equitata formed could have been.

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Praepositus numeri Turnacensium , Lemannis Probably a unit of Germanic mercenaries from the region around Turnacum in northern Gaul, today's Belgian city of Tournai . The only written evidence from Lympne mentions a prefect from the Classis Britannica stationed there (c. 125 AD), but nothing has been found to date with regard to the land troops located there. It could be that this number is related to the Truncensimani in the Gallic army of the Magister equitum . Furthermore, there is also the possibility that the copyists of the Notitia - as so often - made a copy error and that this unit was once pulled out of one of the Rhine legions ( Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix ). Their remaining troops were in the Tricensimae fort ( Xanten ) in the 4th century .
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Tribunus cohortis primae Baetasiorum , Regulbio This unit, stationed in what is today Reculver (Kent), belonged to a cohort that was probably recruited from the Baetasii tribe in Germania towards the end of the 1st century . On an altar from Maryport in the north of England it is referred to as COH (ors) I BAESTASIORUM C (ivium) R (omanorum). Only brick stamps with the abbreviation of this cohort's name were recovered in Reculver. In the Notitia the unit is called " Vetasiorum ". This was changed by Otto Seeck to [Ba] etasiorum , as it is clearly documented in the written sources.
Shield sign unknown
.
Praefectus legionis secundae Augustae , Rutupis The men belonged to one of the main legions of Britain, the Legio II Augusta . Stationed in the Isca Silurum legionary camp until the early 3rd century , it was near Richborough in Kent in the 4th century. Other - presumed - vexillations of this unit appear in the ND Occ. as

The latter was questioned by Hassal, who sees the "Britones" as an auxiliary force of Provençals and not as legionaries. The archaeological findings clearly indicate that the late antique fort at Richborough is only a tenth the size of the legionary camp at Caernarvon, suggesting that the legion was greatly reduced in personnel in late antiquity. The coins found in Richborough can be dated to around AD 400. Their number is significantly greater than any other archaeological site in Britain, which would confirm its continued importance at the time the Notitia was written. Or maybe just the unit's command staff was stationed there. The Legio II Brittannica attested for the early 5th century was possibly pulled out of the Legio II Augusta under the usurper Carausius , during the existence of his British-Gallic empire (287-296) .

Sign of the Legio Secunda Brittannica
Praepositus numeri Abulcorum , Anderidos The members of this numerus originate from Abula (today Avila ) in the Hispanic province of Tarraconensis , which u. a. mentioned in the Geographica of Claudius Ptolemy . No Roman inscriptions have yet been found in Pevensey , but brick stamps with the inscription "HON AUG ANDRIA" found there later turned out to be crude forgeries. The abulci are mentioned by the chronicler Zosimus as a participant in the battle of Mursa (351). It is not known whether this was the unit in question. In the Notitia two other units have this name, which indicates that they were originally stationed in Pevensey:
  • Soldiers under the Praefectus militum Anderetianorum , in the army of Dux Mogontiacensis in Vicus Iulius and
  • Marines under the Praefectus classis Anderetianorum , stationed in Parisius .

These two units were part of the Gaul army of the Magister peditum presentalis . The Abulcians in Pevensey, however, most likely belonged to the Abulci in the Gallic army of the Magister Equitum , they were withdrawn from Britain in the early 5th century. At that time the number consisted mainly of Germanic peoples . Since Anderitum was probably no longer supplied from state magazines in the final phase of Roman Britain, they and their families mostly ran small, tax-exempt farms and produced everything they needed to live on site.

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Praepositus numeri exploratorum , Portum Adurni A unit whose soldiers were used as reconnaissance and scouts and were located in what is now Portchester . Excavations have shown that in the 4th century the garrison of the fort consisted mainly of Germanic tribes who lived there with their families. It is believed that the unit was originally stationed north of Hadrian's Wall and consisted primarily of horsemen. In the course of the reorganization of the border defense under Valentinian I (364 to 375) they were moved to the Litus saxonicum around 367 . The unit did not leave any inscriptions there. But other Exploratores are mentioned in the Notitia for Britain, the soldiers under the Praefectus numeri exploratorum in Lavatres (Bowes, Durham) in the army of the Dux Britanniarum . Earlier inscriptions show two other units: the
  • N (umeri) EXPLOR (atorum) BREMEN (iensium), known from an altar that was found in Bremenium (High Rochester) and the
  • EXPL [oratores Habitacenses], mentioned on an altar inscription from 209 AD, from Habitancum (now Risingham).

From which of these two units the listed in the Notitia arose is unclear. Since the Gaul Army of the Magister Equitum also had a unit of Exploratores in its ranks, which is also listed immediately after the Abulci , these two units seem to have been used together in the field, just like the Numerus Abulcorum and the Numerus exploratores on the Saxon coast . The unit in Portchester could later have been assigned to the Gallic field army, although it is also conceivable that the force in Bowes was used for this.

In the Notitia there are four other Exploratores units : three under one

  • Praefectus militum exploratorum in the army of Dux Moesiae primae (Eastern Empire) and the soldiers of
  • Praefectus militum exploratorum in the army of Dux Daciae ripensis (Eastern Empire).
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Remarks

  1. ↑ Ralf Scharf, 2005, pp. 69, 71 and 301.
  2. ↑ barbarica conspiratio , Ammianus Marcellinus 27.8.1-6, Peter Salway 2001, p. 281, AHM Jones 1986, p. 1424.
  3. ↑ AHM Jones, 1986, p. 1424.
  4. ^ Officium autem habet idem vir spectabilis dux hoc modo
  5. ↑ Konrad Staude 2010, pp. 133 and 153.
  6. ↑ Occ. XXVIII.
  7. ↑ Sub dispositione viri spectabilis comitis litoris Saxonici per Britanniam ("at the disposal of the most honorable Count of the Saxon coast in Britain")
  8. ↑ sub dispositions
  9. ↑ ND occ. 154.3.
  10. ↑ ND occ. 102, 5.254, 102, 5.23 and 102, 5.41.
  11. ↑ ND or. 56, 7.13, 52, 7, Hassall 1976, p. 113f. .
  12. ↑ ND occ. 143.6 and ND or. 80.2
  13. ↑ ND occ. 132, 3, 154, 24, Altar Birrens: RIB 2100 .
  14. ↑ ND occ. 132.4, RIB 66
  15. ^ ND Occ. XXIII, 18, RIB 838 , RIB 2468 , RIB 830 ("COH I BAETASIORVM C R"); RIB 843 ("COH I BAETASIOR C R"); and CIL 16, 48 ("I BAETASIORVM")
  16. ↑ ND occ. 52, 23
  17. ↑ ND occ. 132, 9.
  18. ↑ ND occ. 28, 21, DuBois 2015, p. 275, RIB 1235 , RIB 1270 .

literature

  • Ammianus Marcellinus ("Ammianus"); "Res gestae a fine Corneli Taciti".
  • Otto Seeck: Notitia Dignitatum accedunt Notitia urbis Constantinopolitanae et Latercula prouinciarum. Weidman, Berlin, 1876.
  • Thomas S. Burns: Barbarians within the gates of Rome . Indiana University Press, Bloomington 1994, ISBN 0-253-31288-4 .
  • Alexander Demandt : History of late antiquity: The Roman Empire from Diocletian to Justinian 284-565 AD Munich 1998, ISBN 3-406-57241-3 (Beck historical library).
  • Nic Fields: Rome's Saxon Shore Coastal Defenses of Roman Britain AD 250-500 . Osprey Books, 2006, ISBN 978-1-84603-094-9 (Fortress 56).
  • Adrian Goldsworthy : The Legions of Rome . Verlag Zweausendeins, Frankfurt a. M. 2004, ISBN 3-86150-515-0 .
  • Arnold Hugh Martin Jones : The Later Roman Empire, 284-602. A Social, Economic and Administrative Survey . 2 vols., Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1986, ISBN 0-8018-3285-3
  • Stephen Johnson: The Roman Forts of the Saxon Shore , 1976 and JC Mann, in VA Maxfield (Ed.): The Saxon Shore , 1989.
  • Simon MacDowall: Late Roman Infantryman, 236-565 AD. Weapons, armor, tactics . Osprey Books, 1994, ISBN 978-1-85532-419-0 (Warrior 9).
  • Ralf Scharf: The Dux Mogontiacensis and the Notitia Dignitatum. A study of late antique border defense . Walter de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 2005, ISBN 3-11-018835-X ( Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde . Supplementary volumes, Volume 48. Limited preview in the Google book search).
  • Peter Salway: History of Roman Britain , Oxford History of England, Oxford Paperbacks 2001.
  • Michael S. DuBois: Auxillae: A Compendium of Non-Legionary Units of the Roman Empire. Lulu Press 2015, ISBN 978-1-329-63758-0 .
  • Konrad Stauner: The cornicularius in the offices of the comital and ducal commanders in the Notitia dignitatum. In: Tyche. Contributions to ancient history, papyrology and epigraphy . Volume 25, 2010, pp. 131-171 ( online ).
  • Marc Hassall: Aspects of the Notitia Dignitatum, Oxford, 1976.

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