The army of the fourth Century

Abstract

Abstract This chapter will continue the theme of Chapter III. The relevant information on army organization will be analysed in an attempt to gain a better understanding of the function of the troops. During the late third and early fourth centuries, in the reigns of the tetrarchs and of Constantine, a major reorganization is known to have taken place. We shall have to consider both the nature of the reform and the change in the distribution of the. troops in the east, notably the increased army presence in the desert. Numerous relatively small installations can be dated to this period. Their function will be discussed. The interpretation proposed, like other opinions expressed in this book is closely connected with the interpretation of the concept ‘limes’ proposed in a recent paper and briefly restated in Chapter IX. It is argued that limes nowhere means ‘defended frontier’ and never denotes any physical form of military organization. For the period under discussion, the fourth century, it can easily be shown that limes is an administrative concept. It means ‘frontier district’ and refers to an area under the military (as distinct from the civil) command of a dux limit is. This has important consequences for our understanding of the military organization in districts called limites, as attested in the provinces of Palaestina and Arabia. If a limes is not a defended frontier it is no longer necessary to interpret the military installations in such an area as connected with frontier defence and we are free to consider other hypotheses.