Dux Moesiae secundae
The Dux Moesiae secundae (Army Commander of Moesia II) was a high officer in the Eastern Roman army and commander of the border troops on the lower Danube .
His area of responsibility ( ducatus ) extended to the Limes of Moesia II , which corresponds to the territory in the northeast of today's Bulgaria . It was mostly a river boundary ( ripae ). Most of their forts stood on the south bank of the Danube. At the same time, however , the Dux is also likely to control the troops in the interior provinces
have commanded. His immediate superior was the Magister militum per Thracias .
In the hierarchy of the late Roman imperial nobility, a Dux took the position of a vir spectabilis .
A Dux known by name is Rumoridus.
development
The imperial reform initiated when Diocletian took office was also reflected in the organization of the Moesian provinces. The capital of the now reduced province Moesia inferior , from then on Moesia II , remained Marcianopolis . The eastern part of Lower Moesia with the Troesmis legionary camp was added to the newly founded province of Scythia minor . These two riverside provinces formed together with the newly founded four Thracian inland provinces
- Thracia ,
- Haemimontus ,
- Rhodope and
- Europe
as an administrative unit the Dioecesis Thraciae . The pressure of the migrating peoples on the borders on the middle and lower Danube increased massively after the middle of the 4th century. The emperors therefore issued a series of orders for the defense and fortification of the border. After the Battle of Adrianople (378) , Ostrom increasingly lost control of the Danube border. At the latest under the rule of Theodosius I , the ducats of Daciae , Moesia II and Scytiae , which are listed as independent in the Notitia Dignitatum , were again combined in a military district. In 382 Constantinople finally left the area between the Danube and the Balkan Mountains (i.e. the provinces of Dacia Ripensis and Moesia Secunda ) to the Gothic federates for defense. In 390 the Gothic army king Alaric was appointed Magister militum of Moesia I and Dacia Ripensis , in 397 Magister militum per Illyricum after he had occupied Thrace and Dacia for many years. Between 408 and 410, the Visigoths withdrew from the province towards the Western Roman Empire. The Balkan dioceses were devastated by the Huns in the middle of the 5th century . At the turn of the 6th to the 7th century, the Danube region was finally overrun by the Avars and Slavs .
Administrative staff
The Officium (administrative staff) of the Dux comprised the following offices:
- Principem de eodem officio, qui completa militia adorat protector (office manager, after the end of his service as a bodyguard)
- Numerarios et adiutores eorum (Paymaster and auxiliaries)
- Commentariensem (bookkeeper and legal expert)
- Adiutorem (assistant)
- A libellis siue subscribendarium (undersecretary and entry point)
- Exceptores et ceteros officiales (clerks and other officials)
troops
The list of troops (distributio) des Dux was only handed down in the Notitia Dignitatum . All units were part of the border troops ( Limitanei ). It probably reflects the target level between the years 394 and 396. In addition, three cohorts listed in the Minus Laterculum are also given under his command. Such units had little combat value and mostly secured outposts, roads and villages.
According to Notitia, the monitoring sections on the Danube were divided into an upper (“ pedatura / partes superioris ”) and a lower (“ pedatura / partes inferioris ”). This is also the case with the Moesia II . Two prefects must have been responsible for the marines who monitored the river, two others - presumably - for the respective forts. The naval units were not always either upstream or downstream of the headquarters, as the Notitia suggests. Legio IX garrison and river police were z. B. stationed in the same warehouse. Strangely enough, the sections in question were always backed up by the fifth cohort. According to Karlheinz Dietz, this was probably a misinterpretation of the acronym CHTV (c [o] h [or] t [i] u [m]) by the medieval copyists of Notitia.
Although only three naval units are given, the legions must also have had river combat ships. In Section 7.17 of the Codex Theodosianus , new ships and repairs are mentioned for the lower Danube. According to this, a total of around 100 Lusorien in the Moesia II and 125 in the neighboring Scythia were in service in the 5th century . Agrarienses and iudicariare are also mentioned in the decree . It is not known what types of ships they were or what function they had.
Distributio Numerorum
According to the ND Orientum, the following units were available to the Dux :
cavalry
| Officers / unit / Limes section / forts | comment | Illustration |
|---|---|---|
| Limitanei - cunei equitum | ||
| Cuneus equitum scutariorum, at Securisca | A unit of mounted shield bearers in the Cherkovistsa camp , BG. | |
| Cuneus equitum Solensium, at Dimo | The Dimum / Dimo warehouse was in what is now Belene , BG. The horsemen may have descended from one of the British house legions, Legio XX Valeria Victrix . The latter appear in the Notitia as Solenses (see also Dux Britanniarum ). Another infantry division of the Solenses was in the army of the Magister Militum per Thracias . | |
| Cuneus equitum scutariorum, at Latius | A unit of mounted shield bearers, their camp has not yet been located. | |
| Cuneus equitum armigerorum, at Sexagintaprista | An armored cavalry group that, together with the Legio I Italica , protected the port of Sexaginta Prista ( Russe , BG). Armigeri means heavily armed or armored. Another explanation could be that they received the label as a nickname or award. Two more such heavy units:
were in the army of the Comes Africae (Western Empire). |
|
| Cuneus equitum secundorum armigerorum, at Tegra | A heavy cavalry unit in the camp of Marten , Ruse, BG. | |
| Cuneus equitum scutariorum, at Appiara | A detachment of mounted shield-bearers in the Ryachovo camp , BG. | |
| C uneus equitum stablesianorum, at Sucidava | A unit of the provincial guard in the camp of Celei / Corabia, RU. Not to be confused with the Sacidava camp , which is included in the Dux Scythiae troop list . Sucidava was a bridgehead on the left (northern) bank of the Danube. One of the longest bridges ( Pons Constantini ) of antiquity was built here during the reign of Constantine I (328) . |
infantry
| Officers / unit / Limes section / forts | comment | Illustration |
|---|---|---|
| Limitanei - milites | ||
| Milites praeventores, at Ansamo | Border guards ( praeventores = preventers), in the Ansamus camp ( Cherkovitsa , BG) | |
| Milites Constantini, at Trimammio | A unit of auxiliary troops in the camp of Mechka , BG, which may have been set up under Constantine I.
Other units of this name in the Notitia were
|
|
| Milites Daciscii, at Mediolana | A unit of auxiliary troops in the fort of Mediolana , location unknown. | |
| Milites Novenses, at Transmariscae | Perhaps border guards originally posted from Novae to the camp in Tutrakan , BG. | |
| Milites primi Moesiaci, at Candidiana | The first cohort - of soldiers originally recruited in the Moesia province - in the camp of Malak Preslavets , BG. | |
| Milites Moesiaci, at Teglicio | A moesian cohort in the camp at Vetren , BG. | |
| Milites quarti Constantiani, at Durostoro | Probably a cohort dug up under Constantine I in the legion camp of Silistra , BG. | |
| Milites Cimbriani, at Cimbrianis | This auxiliary unit might have been named after its location. The Cimbriani , a Legio palatinae, were assigned to the Comes Africae (Western Empire). |
Legions
| Officers / unit / Limes section / forts | comment | Illustration |
|---|---|---|
| Legiones - limitanei | ||
| Praefectus legionis primae Italicae, at Novas | The Legio I Italica had been stationed in the Novae legionary camp ( Swishtow , BG) since 70 AD . Other units mentioned in the Notitia, were derived from it
|
|
|
Praefectus ripae legionis primae Italicae
cohortis quintae pedaturae superioris, at Novas |
The fifth cohort of the Legio I Italia was also still in Novae in the late 4th century . Your commanding officer secured one of the seven bank prefectures mentioned in the Notitia. | |
| Praefectus ripae legionis primae Italicae cohortis quintae pedaturae inferioris, at Sexagintaprista | A detachment of the Legio I Italica , which secured the lower section of the river and port of Sexaginta Prista (Ruse, BG). | |
| Praefectus legionis undecimae Claudiae, at Durostoro | The Legio XI Claudia was stationed in Durostorum (Silistra, BG) since the 2nd century . Other vexilarii of this legion listed in the Notitia were the
|
|
| Praefectus legionis undecimae Claudiae cohortis quintae pedaturae superioris, at Transmariscae | The fifth cohort of Legio XI Claudia in Tutrakan , BG. Your commanding officer secured the upper section of one of the seven bank prefectures mentioned in the Notitia. | |
| Praefectus ripae legionis undecimae Claudiae cohortis quintae pedaturae inferioris, at Transmariscae | A detachment of Legio IX Claudia , the lower section of the river and the port of Tutrakan secured, BG. |
Marine infantry
| Officers / unit / Limes section / forts | comment | Illustration |
|---|---|---|
| Classes - Milites navium | ||
| Milites navclarii Altinenses, at Altino | A naval unit in the camp in Oltina , RO. | |
| Milites tertii navclarii, at Appiaria | The third division of a naval unit in the Ryachovo camp , BG. | |
| Praefectus navium amnicarum et militum ibidem deputatorum | The prefect of a department assigned to guard the ship. |
Road safety units
| Officers / unit / Limes section / forts | comment | Illustration |
|---|---|---|
| Lesser laterculum | ||
| Cohortes - limitanei | ||
| In provincia Rotopia | ||
| Cohors quarta Gallorum, at Ulucitra | The fourth cohort of Gauls in camp at Utum, BG. | |
| Cohors prima Aureliana, Radice-Viamata | This first cohort - probably established at the time of the Aurelian - was in the camps of Beli Osam and Mihiltsi, BG. It protected the road from Philippopulis to Oescus . | |
| In provincia Thracia | ||
| Cohors tertia Valeria Bacarum, at Drasdes | Perhaps a unit that emerged from the Cohors III Bracaraugustanorum . This was originally recruited in Bracara Augusta ( Braga) in northern Portugal. |
Remarks
- ↑ ND.occ. XL, 1 and 11
- ↑ brick temple AE 2015, 01224 of Silistra.
- ↑ See Codex Theodosianus, XV 1.13 , Rescript of Valentinian to the Dux Tautomedus.
- ↑ Codex Theodosianus 7.17.1
- ↑ Zos. Hist. Nov. IV 34. 4: the Goths of Athanarich, Guidea / Zahariade 2016, pp. 25–26 and 76.
- ↑ Officium autem habet ita: / His staff as follows:
- ↑ ND or .: XL
- ↑ Dietz 1993, pp. 298 and 312.
- ↑ ND or .: XL, Sub dispositione viri spectabilis ducis moesiae secundae , Edelmann-Singer / Konen 2013, p. 255, note 48.
- ↑ sub dispositions
- ↑ Notitia Dignitatum Or. VI and VII.
- ↑ Edelmann-Singer, / Konen 2013, p. 255.
- ↑ Et quae de minore laterculo emittuntur:
literature
- Otto Seeck : Notitia dignitatum. Accedunt notitia urbis Constantinopolitanae et laterculi provinciarum. Weidmann, Berlin 1876 ( digitized ; reprinting unchanged. Minerva, Frankfurt am Main 1962).
- Babett Edelmann-Singer, Heinrich Konen: Salutationes - contributions to ancient history and its discussion: Festschrift for Peter Herz for his 65th birthday. Frank & Timme, 2013.
- Florian Himmler: Investigations into ship-based border security on the late antique Danube (3rd to 6th century). BAR Int. Ser. 2197, Oxford 2001.
- Karlheinz Dietz: Cohortes, ripae, pedaturae. On the development of the border legions in late antiquity. Self-published by the Seminar for Ancient History, Würzburg 1993.
- Octavian Bounegru, Mihail Zahariade, Gocha R. Tsetskhladze: Les Forces navales du Bas Danube et de la Mer Noire aux Ier.-VIe siècles. Oxbow Books, 1996.
- Nicolae Gudea , Mihail Zahariade: Dacia Ripensis, fortresses on the northern border of the province and their troops, Amsterdam 2016. PDF
