Late Roman Units - February 2022

One of my favorite historical periods is the fall of the Roman Empire. In these years I painted a lot of 28mm miniatures ... around 200 ... and I have to paint at least 24 knights and 50 infantry men yet ...

This summer I was involved in some exhibitions ... I have to write the post for this activities... but this is another story ... now I want to share some pictures of some units I painted again or added 

Herculiani seniores and ... 

... his twin unit ... Ioviani seniores

Celtae Seniores ... an auxilia palatina unit under the command of the Italian Magister Peditum

Menapii Seniores

Some units of archers

and some Cataphractarii. The armored cavalry units usually armed with a long lance called contus that the Romans copied from Parthians and Sarmatian armies.

Miniatures are a mix of Gripping Beast, Armour&Aquila and Warlord games miniatures

Roman unit: Petulantes seniores

Yesterday night I finished my last roman unit. This is a very particular unit from my point of view because, for the first time, I can give a name to a miniature: the signifer.

The Petulantes seniores were an auxilaia palatina assigned to the Italian command. The pattern of their shields were relatively simple with a yellow ground and a blue twin-headed zoomorphic motiv. This pattern is frequent in Notitia Dignitatum even if with a different colors combination (ie Cornuti: Brachiati).

Below the Notitia Dignitatum in the Oxford version:

Here the free links to Notitia Dignitatum resources:

Oxford version:
http://bodley30.bodley.ox.ac.uk:8180/luna/servlet/view/all/what/MS.+Canon.+Misc.+378?sort=Shelfmark%2cFolio_Page%2cRoll_%23%2cFrame_%23

Paris version:

http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b6000542r.r=latin+9661.langEN

Munich version:

http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/bsb00005863/images/index.html?fip=193.174.98.30&seite=179&pdfseitex

The Petulantes were of Germanic origin while the name means "headstrong"

Below a detail of my unit:

It is possible that Petulates fought in the battle of the Milvian Bridge for Constantine the Great. They are reported many times by Ammianus and during the 4th century they are part of Julian army. They are generally associated with the Celtae seniores.

They took part in the Strasbourg Battle and they received the order from Constantius II to reach him in the east. Unfortunately the troops revolted because Julian had promised them to keep near their families. It was the signifer of this unit to put a kind of crown (a torque) to Julian's head when he was named Imperator from his army.

The name of the signifer was "Maurus". Ammianus reported that later he became comes and that he was defeated by the "Succorum". (Ammianus 17-18. XX)

Considering that this unit was involved in Julian's proclamation I decided to paint the detail of their tunics (orbiculi and clavi) in purple even if no historical sources attested it. In the late Empire the purple was a color that only the Imperator could wear. My idea was to use this color for the unit only to indicate that they were a "choosen" unit.

Based on Ammianus's book with the Celate the Petulantes fought against the Alamanni near Sanctium in the Raetia while Julian was in the east.

If someone is interested to the Roman army of the late Empire  it is possible to find more details in these books:

- A companion to the Roman Army - Paul ErdKamp - Blackwell Publishing 
- The grand strategy of the Roman Empire: from the first century AD to the third - Edward Luttwak
- L'esercito romano vol III - Giuseppe Cascarino e Carlo Sansilvestri - Ed Il cerchio
- L'esercito romano vol IV - Giuseppe Cascarino e Carlo Sansilvestri - Ed Il cerchio
- L'esercito romano: da Augusto alla fine del terzo secolo - Yann Le Bohec - Ed Carocci
- 9 agosto 378. Il giorno dei barbari - Alessandro Barbero - Ed Laterza
- Le Storie - Ammiano Marcellino - Ed Utet
- L'arte della guerra - Flavio Vegezio - Ed Bur

Roman unit: Ioviani seniores

The Ioviani seniores were a legiones palatina under the Italian Magister Peditum command.

Their symbol was a red eagle on a blue background. Shield pattern that was similar to their twin unit: the Herculani seniores.

Below a detail of the shield as reported into the Notitia Oxford version:

Here the free links to Notitia Dignitatum resources:

Oxford version:
http://bodley30.bodley.ox.ac.uk:8180/luna/servlet/view/all/what/MS.+Canon.+Misc.+378?sort=Shelfmark%2cFolio_Page%2cRoll_%23%2cFrame_%23
Paris version:
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b6000542r.r=latin+9661.langEN
Munich version:
http://daten.digitalesammlungen.de/~db/bsb00005863/images/index.html?fip=193.174.98.30&seite=179&pdfseitex

Ioviani were a very important Roman unit

The eagle was a symbol of Jupiter (Iovius) but this unit was not dedicated to the god. Ioviani were a Tetrarchic creation of the last 3rd century part and they were enlisted by Emperor Diocletian. The original name of Diocletian was Diocle that means "the son of Jupiter".

Below some details of the command group

Many evidences for the Ioviani are reported in different places: Colonia Iulia Concordia (north east Italy), Arles (France) and Milan (Italy). The Ioviani seniores were involved in different struggles in particular during civil wars of the 3rd-4th century.

Below some pictures of the Ioviani against their twin unit: the Herculiani

If someone is interested to the Roman army of the late Empire  it is possible to find more details in these books:

- A companion to the Roman Army - Paul ErdKamp - Blackwell Publishing - The grand strategy of the Roman Empire: from the first century AD to the third - Edward Luttwak- L'esercito romano vol III - Giuseppe Cascarino e Carlo Sansilvestri - Ed Il cerchio- L'esercito romano vol IV - Giuseppe Cascarino e Carlo Sansilvestri - Ed Il cerchio- L'esercito romano: da Augusto alla fine del terzo secolo - Yann Le Bohec - Ed Carocci- 9 agosto 378. Il giorno dei barbari - Alessandro Barbero - Ed Laterza- Le Storie - Ammiano Marcellino - Ed Utet- L'arte della guerra - Flavio Vegezio - Ed Bur

Roman unit: Ballistarii

In the late Roman Empire the Ballistarii were indipendent units of artillery generally not associated to the legions as in the past. 

The Notitia Dignitatum reported at least seven units of ballistarii (from ballista= catapult) but they are considered pseudocomitatenses unit. It is possible that they are deployed as border forces.

Below some of my Ballistarii. A mix of Gripping Beast (plastic and not), A&A and Warlord miniatures

The purpose of an independent artillery unit was to permit heavy concentration of firepower in particular during the sieges.

The ballistae described by Ammianus seems similar to the cheiroballistra sculpted in the Trajan's column. 

(Wikipedia source)

Below some pictures of my war machines 

The manuballista is a Gripping beast miniature. It is no possible to find this kind of war machine intact but it was re-created based on some parts found in Romania (the Orosova fortress)

(Photo Baatz 1978)

(copyright Legio XV Apollinaris)

Roman unit: Equites cataphractarii

To prepare the Late Imperial Roman I painted many infantrymen but also cavalry units.

Cavalry units were generally divided in: light and heavy. Furthermore a great part of these units were enlisted between the Allies.

Equites cataphracactarii I painted were Armour & Aquila miniatures  and they are Palmyrian cavalrymen. 

These miniatures wear typical armours and hoods of the Eastern part of the Empire. Based on Notitia Dignitatum during the second half of the IV century there is a significant increase of these units.

(A funeral painting in which the two central figures show the armour and hood of the late Roman period)

The Cataphractarii were an heavily armored cavalry unit usually armed with a long lance called contus that the Romans copied from Parthians and Sarmatian armies.

They were specialized for shock action and they attacked usually in a wedge formation. Below two examples

Heavy cavalry against another Roman unit

Heavy cavalry against a group of Huns

The weak points of this kind of units were the difficulty to change direction during a charge and the lack of the stirrups. Ammianum and Vegetio reported different battles in which cataphractarii were involved: Maranga (Aurelian vs Palmyrian), Turin (Massenzio vs Costantin I), Strasbourg (Alamans vs Julia) and so on.

Below other details of my miniatures

Roman unit: Herculiani seniores

One of the most important (and well known) legiones palatinae listed in the late roman documents is the Herculiani seniores. This unit was assigned to the Italian command.

The pattern of their shield is reported into Notitia. Below the Oxford version:

(second shield on the top part of the page)

Here the free links to Notitia Dignitatum resources:
Oxford version:
http://bodley30.bodley.ox.ac.uk:8180/luna/servlet/view/all/what/MS.+Canon.+Misc.+378?sort=Shelfmark%2cFolio_Page%2cRoll_%23%2cFrame_%23

Paris version:

http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b6000542r.r=latin+9661.langEN

Munich version:

http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/bsb00005863/images/index.html?fip=193.174.98.30&seite=179&pdfseitex

The symbol in their shield was an "eagle" so it is possible that they maintain the eagle  to indicate their unit. 

The eagle (or aquila) was for centuries the symbol of the Roman legions. No original eagles arrived to us, but we have many immages on the monuments (ie Arch of Constantine, Trajan column) or on the coins.   

In the 3rd/4th century the Roman vexillifers carried different type of symbols: draco, labari but Ammianum (XX 5.1) and Vegetio (II.13) reported that the eagles were used also during that period.

The Herculiani  (and the Ioviani) were a Tetrarchic creation. The Arch of Galerius (one of the Tetrarchs - 3rd century), shows two shield patterns that apparently belong to the original Ioviani and Herculiani units.

Below some details of my minitures

The Herculiani  were a senior palatine guard under Diocletian reign (284-305 Ad). It is sure that they continued to be a military unit also in the further periods and the choice of the name was not random. The co-imperators (Diocletian and Maximian) linked their name to two gods: Jupiter and Hercules. The original Herculiani seniores were  so the personal protectores of the Tetrarch and co imperator: Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Herculius 

Below another detail of my miniatures that are defending a breach against a Vikings shield-wall

If someone is interested to the Roman army of the late Empire  it is possible to find more details in these books:
- A companion to the Roman Army - Paul ErdKamp - Blackwell Publishing 
- The grand strategy of the Roman Empire: from the first century AD to the third - Edward Luttwak
- L'esercito romano vol III - Giuseppe Cascarino e Carlo Sansilvestri - Ed Il cerchio
- L'esercito romano vol IV - Giuseppe Cascarino e Carlo Sansilvestri - Ed Il cerchio
- L'esercito romano: da Augusto alla fine del terzo secolo - Yann Le Bohec - Ed Carocci
- 9 agosto 378. Il giorno dei barbari - Alessandro Barbero - Ed Laterza
- Le Storie - Ammiano Marcellino - Ed Utet
- L'arte della guerra - Flavio Vegezio - Ed Bur

Roman unit: Celtae Seniores

Celtae Seniores were a auxilia palatina unit under the command of the Italian Magister Peditum

Details of their shields pattern are reported into the Notitia Dignitatum (Oxford version) and it is possible to see them below:

(the fourth of the third line starting from left)

Here the free links to Notitia Dignitatum resources:

Oxford version:
http://bodley30.bodley.ox.ac.uk:8180/luna/servlet/view/all/what/MS.+Canon.+Misc.+378?sort=Shelfmark%2cFolio_Page%2cRoll_%23%2cFrame_%23

Paris version:

http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b6000542r.r=latin+9661.langEN

Munich version:

http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/bsb00005863/images/index.html?fip=193.174.98.30&seite=179&pdfseitex

Their shield shows a very common theme for late roman units (in particular for auxilia palatina units) that is a kind of twin-headed zoomorphic motif.

The name  "Celtae" refers obviously to "Celts"

It is possible to find references to Celtae in Ammianus. During the Julian wars against the Alemannics they are generally linked to another auxilia palatina unit: the petulantes. 

It possible that they took part to Strasburg battle (357 AD) [Ammianus XVI, 12]. It is sure that they are part of Julian army after his appointment to Emperor [Ammianus XX.5] 

Below a photo in which  a group of Celtae Seniores are attacked by an Alemannic tribe (the Lentienses Alamanni)[Ammianus XXI.10.4] 

If someone is interested to the Roman army of the late Empire  it is possible to find more details in these books:
- A companion to the Roman Army - Paul ErdKamp - Blackwell Publishing 
- The grand strategy of the Roman Empire: from the first century AD to the third - Edward Luttwak
- L'esercito romano vol III - Giuseppe Cascarino e Carlo Sansilvestri - Ed Il cerchio
- L'esercito romano vol IV - Giuseppe Cascarino e Carlo Sansilvestri - Ed Il cerchio
- L'esercito romano: da Augusto alla fine del terzo secolo - Yann Le Bohec - Ed Carocci
- 9 agosto 378. Il giorno dei barbari - Alessandro Barbero - Ed Laterza
- Le Storie - Ammiano Marcellino - Ed Utet
- L'arte della guerra - Flavio Vegezio - Ed Bur


and many Osprey Publishing books.