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CHAPTER 11
THE ARMY, c. 420–602
michael whitby
The late Roman armies of the fourth and early fifth century are relatively
well documented: Ammianus and other narrative historians describe them
at work in their main theatres of operations on the Rhine, Danube and
Persian frontiers, as well as in Britain and North Africa; the Theodosian
Code preserves a range of laws pertaining to their creation, sustenance and
functioning; the Notitia Dignitatum offers a view, albeit complicated by
partial revision, of the structure and disposition of forces in both east and
west. 1 The year 420 marks a convenient break: between then and the
Persian wars of Anastasius’ reign (502–7), recorded by Procopius and
Joshua the Stylite, there is little reliable narrative of Roman military action,
and no Notitia; also, there are few relevant laws, since only seven of the 175
titles in Theodosian Code vii, the book devoted to military matters, date
from after 420, though eleven laws among the Novels of Theodosius II and
four of Valentinian III can be added. During these years the western
Roman army ceased to exist as a state institution, being superseded by the
military forces of the successor kingdoms in Gaul, Spain, Africa and finally
Italy, none of which maintained a standing army. In the east, however, the
army, and hence the empire, survived in a recognizable form through to the
early seventh century. The nature and causes of these distinct developments
require explanation; but first, an overview of the late Roman army.
i. troops: categories, conditions of service, numbers
The Roman element in the late imperial army was divided into garrison or
territorial units and mobile troops, a distinction that broadly accords with
that between limitanei and comitatenses: the former were assigned to frontier
regions, the latter notionally to the company of the emperor. The distinction
was not absolute, since units might be transferred without necessarily
being recategorized, but it does reflect ways in which armies were perceived
and functioned. The limitanei were under the immediate command of duces,
in charge of a sector of the frontier, but for operational purposes they could
1 For discussion see, Jones, LRE 607–54; Hoffmann (1969); Tomlin (1987).
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