Ethnic units in the late Roman Army? The case of the equites dalmatae

Tomasz Dziurdzik

doi:10.14746/seg.2017.16.22

Abstract

The article relies on the case study of the equites Dalmatae to analyse the relationships between Late Roman military unit naming conventions and the recruitment patterns of the era. Of special importance is the question of the extent to which the army employed ethnic units, recruited from a particular population and using their own, traditional fighting styles. The conclusions are reached through a combination of historical and onomastic study, with special regard to the possible meanings of the term Dalmatae and the entities and identities it could have represented.

Highlights

The article relies on the case study of the equites Dalmatae to analyse the relationships between Late Roman military unit naming conventions and the recruitment patterns of the era
This paper looks at the specific case of the equites Dalmatae, a numerous cavalry formation, and aims to resolve the problem of their relation to the eponymous province Dalmatia and its inhabitants, in an attempt at determining whether they could have had any qualities of an „ethnic unit”[1], or if the origin and the meaning of their name should be explained otherwise
The article analyses the name of the Late Roman cavalry formation equites Dalmatae in an attempt to determine its origin and meaning, especially whether the corps could have been raised as an ethnic unit out of particular population, had a special identity and possibly its own armament and fighting style

Summary

Introduction

Abstract The article relies on the case study of the equites Dalmatae to analyse the relationships between Late Roman military unit naming conventions and the recruitment patterns of the era. Of special importance is the question of the extent to which the army employed ethnic units, recruited from a particular population and using their own, traditional fighting styles.

Results

Conclusion