The last legions of the Roman Empire, or those army units that were named after the Roman legions. We are talking about a period when, in fact, the very system of forming combat units - "regiments", changed, the structure of the army changed, which we previously wrote in the article on "VO" "Army structure and regiments of the Byzantine army of the 6th century."
A sufficient number of works, both scientific and popular science, are devoted to this issue. Most often we are talking about the V Macedonian Legion, but, in our opinion, some units escaped the attention of researchers. Or no one set himself such a goal.
VI century many researchers consider the last century of the Roman army. As E. Gibbon wrote:
"… in the camps of Justinian and Mauritius, the theory of military art was no less well known than in the camps of Caesar and Trajan."
But at the same time, the last period of the existence of the Roman army is associated with such events as the next death of personnel during the formation of the new reign of Emperor Phocas, as well as in the fight against an external enemy. Abolition of the Latin language in the army and the transition to the "folk" - Greek. Formation of a mono-ethnic state of the Greeks, etc.
All these factors could not but affect the final disappearance of the old military units and their names.
We have already written about some parts of the cavalry that survived during this period. First of all, we are talking about the Fourth Parthian Regiment of Clibanaries, which at the end of the VI century. based in the Syrian city of Veroe (Halleb). He, at the beginning of the 5th century, according to the "List of all honorary positions" (Notitia Dignitatum), belongs to the Vexillationes comitatenses of the master of the army of the East.
The third Dalmatian vexillation (Equites Tertio Dalmatae) from Palestine, master of the army of the East, was mentioned in the decree of Emperor Justinian.
In Egypt, presumably in the VI century. most of the parts listed at the beginning of the 5th century have survived. So from a papyrus document of 550 it is known about the "legion" from the Egyptian Siena. Ala I Herculia, Ala V Raetorum, Ala VII Sarmatarum were in the Egyptian Siena according to the "List of all honorary positions".
In the last article devoted to the Roman infantry in a new stage of its existence, we will describe these few units that have survived to this time, based solely on the sources and their criticism.
Legion of Lanciarii of the early 6th century
At the end of the 5th century. - the beginning of the VI century. at the coronation of the emperors Anastasius and Justin I, one of the few old legions, Lanziarii, is encountered. This is an old Roman regiment, about which Ammianus Marcellinus wrote back in the 4th century, when the Legion of Lanciarii and Mattiarii, with the support of lightly armed detachments, participate in internecine struggle.
The specialization of these legions was throwing spears, but, as we can see, already in the 4th century, it was a heavily armed regiment. Lanciarii, armed with throwing spears, occupied an intermediate position between praetorians and legionnaires.
The Komitat armies had several such regiments: according to the "List of all honorary posts" of the early 5th century, the Magister Militum in Illyria had two Komitat legions, Lanciarii Augustenses and Lanciarii iuniores. In Thrace, the Komitat Lanciarii Stobenses: in 505, in a battle with the Goths and the squads of Munda, the entire army of the Illyrian master was killed, including, quite possibly, the remaining old regiments.
As for the Lantiaries in the period under review, we are talking, most likely, about the Palatine, i.e., palace, legion of the Lantiaries of the first or second presentary army. An indirect confirmation of the presence of troops in the capital, in addition to the scholarians, is Theophan's message about the protection of the walls of the capital from the Huns and Slavs, along with the guards, "soldier" arithms, as well as the fact that during the "election" of Emperor Justinian, not only the guards were agitated, but also the army units of the capital.
There is another opinion that this part - Lanciarii Galliciani Honoriani - is personally connected with the emperor Theodosius I, a native of Spain, especially since one of the warriors depicted next to Theodosius and his sons Valentian II and Arkady on a platter from Badochos holding a lantiarii shield. Perhaps that is why the Lantiaries and became from the army - the court part.
It was the campiduktor Lanziariev who lays his neck chain on the head of Anastasius in 491, and his soldiers raise the chosen emperor to the shield. Campiduktor Lanziariev Godila performed in 518 a similar ceremony over the Escuvite comit Justin.
Campiductor, or vicar, according to the Strategicon of Mauritius, deputy tribune, in modern parlance, deputy for combat and drill training. He improved the drill, - wrote Vegetius. The tribune of the "regiment" (tagma), was at the head of his regiment, with campiductors and two messengers.
Konstantin Porphyrogenitus writes that during the period of the "election" of the emperor, Justin, campaigning for himself, treated the exubitors and tribunes of army regiments.
It is difficult to determine why it was precisely the campidukor of the Lantiarii regiment that was entrusted with the responsibility to carry out the ceremony of laying his golden chain on the emperor's head, perhaps this tradition arose earlier, when the "elections" were carried out in a military camp.
Armament of the Lanciarii. We do not know exactly how the Lanciarii were armed and equipped. The only attribution of this regiment is the drawing on the shield. The Lanciarii iuniores shield pattern, imitating the sun's rays, is found in the "List of all honorary positions." Note that the images that can be seen in the "List" reached in later editions and probably underwent editing, similar shields, as we have already written, can be seen in Theodosius's Goths-bodyguards on a platter from Madrid at the beginning of the 5th century. There is also the same image on clay icons from Vinichko Kale of the 6th-7th centuries. These images are closer to the shields of the Palatine Legion Lanciarii seniores from the "Honorary Posts" of the First Present Army.
The warriors were armed with lance-tipped spears - lancea. Lancea (lancea) or lonha (λόγχή) - a spear, intended both for close combat and for throwing. Therefore, its length could not exceed 2 meters. Three lance-like arrowheads were discovered together with spherical spangenhelms and are kept today in the Hofburg Museum in Vienna. These helmets are called galea or kopus (κόρυς; galea).
These findings miraculously coincide with a mosaic depiction of a warrior, an allegory of the months of April and May, from Argos, presumably the end of the 5th century. This warrior wears muscular armor (toras) with a wide chest band and pterygs. The bodyguard of the "pharaoh" from the miniature of the Syrian Bible of the National Library of Paris in the 6th century has exactly the same helmet with cheeks.
Two legions
About two legions, information about which in the sources is only indirect, we can also speak only hypothetically.
Firstly, it seems to me that the image on the casket of the VI century. The “History of Joseph” from the Hermitage testifies to the presence of one old regiment or memory of it in the period under review.
If the image on the pixid reflects realities, and is not an artistic imitation, then this confirms the existence of another "old" Komitat legion at this time, namely the Constantini Dafnenses of the Master of Militum Thrace, according to the "List of all honorary positions". In favor of confirming the conjecture, the fact that a warrior with this shield is dressed according to the German fashion of the 6th century speaks.
As we know from the work of Procopius from Caesarea, in the city of Melitenus, fortified under Justinian, was in the VI century. a detachment of Romans, possibly connected by tradition with the XII Legion of Lightning (Legio XII Fulminata). The legion was personally recruited by Julius Caesar, and as early as 71 was located in Meletin, in Cappadocia on the eastern border of the empire. In 174, for the victory in the battle against the Quads and Alemanni on the Danube, during which thunder roared, the legion was called "lightning fast" and received the emblem of Jupiter - lightning.
V Macedonian Legion
As we wrote, in Egypt of this period, a number of parts listed at the beginning of the 5th century could have survived. So from a papyrus document of 550 it is known about subdivisions from the Egyptian Siena. According to the "List of all honorary posts" in Egypt, the Limit committee had only two legions. Among them, as you know, was the V Macedonian Legion. Quite a lot has been written about him, both in scientific and popular literature.
He is mentioned together with the "Scythians", possibly IV Scythian Legion from Syria or the Palatine "Scythian" legion. It can be assumed that if we are really talking about the old legion, then most likely this is a palatine unit, since from Syria, where the war was constantly going on during this period, they could hardly have transferred the regiment to a calmer Egypt. More precisely, all the regiments, as we have pointed out more than once, were framed units, and their personnel were used in the expeditionary armies. As for the relatively calm province of Egypt, with the exception of its southern border, that is, there are great doubts that in the conditions of constant wars of the 6th century, personnel stratiots were allowed to sit in their regiments or legions, they could be used on each theater of the theater of operations, although such information on sources we do not have.
An indirect confirmation of the surviving V Macedonian Legion are also images, both from Egypt, one of the 5th century. - "Battle for the City" from the Bode Museum, Berlin, where the infantry has shields, which many authors associate with the V Macedonian Legion, we have the same image on the shields again from Egypt, on an elephant bone plate kept in Trier, Germany. There is one problem, the emblem on the shields depicted on the plates from Egypt does not correspond to the rose-emblem of the V Macedonian Legion according to the "List of all honorary positions", unfortunately in the scientific literature, I have not seen comments on this matter.
The last time information about this legion is supposedly found in 635, this part was located in Lebanon, in the city of Heliopolis (Baalbek).
With this article I conclude a cycle devoted to the structure, armament and equipment of the Roman army of the 6th century - the last century of its existence and the Roman army. Further, in the formation of the army, Byzantium will take a new path, nevertheless, the spirit of the Roman army will always be present here.
