It is interesting to note that the soldiers on this campaign apparently had allowances from which they were expected to purchase food and supplies from local sources. Some supplies must have been carried: the '20 or 30 lbs of hard tack, flour or some other provisions', suggested by the Strategikon, for example. If this is what constituted a campaign ration, soldiers would have been eager to supplement it from local market and very pleased to find such a free supply of fresh fruit.
Making use of tools such its these, armourers, who were attached to most Roman units, could repair damaged equipment as well as re-using battlefield salvage to forge new weapons. (National Museums of Scotland)
The advance to contact
With a firm base established, the Romans marched Out to meet the Vandals. We learn from the Strategikon that 'troops moving from their base camp up to combat should take with them spare horses, small tents or a couple of heavy cloaks, the one for covering if needed and the other as a tent or shelter', They were also instructed to take 20 or 30 lbs of hardtack, flour or other provisions. The soldiers would march out fully equipped, but being still some distance from the enemy, it is quite possible that they would not yet have been wearing their armour. The Strategikon recommends leather or wicker eases for carrying coats of mail behind the troopers' saddles so that 'the mail will not be left unprotected and ruined and the soldiers will not be worn out by the constant weight of the armour’.
Belisarius established his order of march with 300 specially picked bucellarii in the vanguard. They were to scout far ahead of the main body and report anything they saw of the enemy 'so that they might not be compelled to enter into battle unprepared'. The right flank of the column was protected by the coast; the Massagetae were detailed to guard the left; and Belisarius himself commanded the rearguard. Their march was unhindered for seven days, and the soldiers would have been in a relaxed mood, helped by the fact that they were able to supplement their hard rations with food purchased at local markets and which the inhabitants were all too happy to furnish (see Plate I). However, Procopius tells us: 'Gelimer [the Vandal king] was following behind without letting it be known to us, except, indeed, on that night when we bivouacked in Grasse, scouts coming from both armies met each other, and after an exchange of blows they each retired to their own camp.'
These troops, from the Arch of Constantine, are in typical undress clothing. On the march the cavalry would screen the front, rear and flanks of the column, (Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Rome)
K Cavalry reconnaissance (3rd century AD)
The cavalry were the eyes and ears of the army. When advancing in enemy territory cavalrymen would scout ahead, looking for signs of the enemy, good routes, potential camp locations, river crossing points, sources of food and water and so on. They would also be used to screen the army from the eyes of enemy scouts. Some might be employed as flank and rear guards or foraging parties. On the defensive cavalry would be used to locate enemy raiders and perhaps impede their progress.
These men, possibly from a detached vexillation, are observing the movements of enemy raiders. They are lightly equipped and working in small groups. They rely on cunning and mobility to accomplish their missions, rather than their ability to fight. Consequently, any armour and helmets have been left behind and their equipment is kept to a minimum. Having located the enemy, some men would be detailed to keep an eye on them while others reported back to their parent body, who would then try to bring up a force strong enough to destroy the raiders. The increased demand for actions such as these led to a growth in the cavalry arm during the 3rd century.
Perhaps typically for this anarchic period, the men show few signs of uniformity. One wears the pillbox-style pannonian leather cap which was a universal undress headgear for all ranks from the 3rd to the 5th century. Their clothes and the simple shield design are taken from contemporary mosaics.
The destruction of the Praetorians by Constantine's cavalry at the Battle of Milvian Bridge. The scale armour for the Praetorians and lack of armour for other troops was an artistic convention. (Deutsches Archäologisches Institute, Rome)
Accounts of cavalry tactics from the 4th century present a similar picture, Ammianus Marcellinus describes a cavalry action as ‘not a pitched battle but a succession of quick skirmishes'. When the army deploys for battle it is still the infantry who are expected to form up in the centre to fight the main action 'their flank covered by squadrons of cavalry'. This is how the Roman army deployed for the Battle of Strasbourg in AD 357 and at Adrianople in AD 378. Although the infantry were expected to bear the brunt of the heavy fighting, the success of the cavalry in protecting the flanks and defeating the enemy cavalry could decide the action. At Adrianople, for example, Ammianus tells us:
'Our left wing penetrated as far as the Gothic wagons, and would have gone further if it had received any support, but it was abandoned by the rest of the cavalry, and under pressure of numbers gave way and collapsed like a broken dyke. This left the infantry unprotected.'
Preparing for battle
Now battle was imminent and the soldiers would prepare for action. The Strategikon recommends that first thing in the morning, when battle is expected, the horses should be watered anti each soldier should carry a basic supply of rations in case the operation should become prolonged. True to form, and again recommended by the Strategikon, Belisarius gathered the main body of his troops and made a speech of encouragement; 'After speaking these words and uttering a prayer after them, Belisarius left his wife and the barricaded camp to the infantry, and himself set forth with all the horsemen.' This would not he the last time Belisarius left the infantry behind and fought with cavalry only. Apparently he regarded the infantry as useless, except perhaps for guarding camps. Much later, during the Gothic War, when he was about to do the same thing, some infantry officers pleaded with him to allow them to take part in the battle. Even they had to admit, however, that infantry had done 'little of consequence' in the war, and when they were deployed well to the rear to act as a rallying point for the cavalry, they broke and ran on first contact. Apart from his disregard for the infantry, it is even more illuminating to note that the general was accompanied by his wife. We know that families often accompanied the men on campaign, but although Procopius makes frequent references to Belisarius' wile, he does not mention any other women, so we do not know if the common soldiers did the same thing. Given the great distances and logistical problems, one suspects not.
Unbeknown to the main body, the vanguard of 300 bucellarii had already been heavily engaged in combat. It is surprising that they had sent no word back to their commander, particularly as their orders had been to provide advance warning of the enemy and not to become decisively engaged. This is just one of many instances where Belisarius’ troops, even in elite units, showed a distinct lack of discipline and professionalism. Marching blindly forward, with no idea where the enemy was nor what had happened to their advance guard, the Romans blundered into the Vandals, who were equally lost. The battle developed as a series of fierce skirmishes, with both sides consisting entirely of cavalry. Initially it went well for the Vandals, and they succeeded in routing 800 Roman bucellarii. However, they did not press their pursuit vigorously enough, and Belisarius was able to rally the survivors and hit the by now disordered Vandals. The enemy army disintegrated and the way was open to Carthage.
K Cataphracts in action (Strasbourg, AD 357)
In one of the few descriptions we have of Roman cataphracts in action, Ammianus Marcellinus describes their defeat at the hands of the Alamannic cavalry (who may have dismounted):
'The Germans rushed forward with more haste than caution, throwing themselves upon our squadrons of horse... At the very crisis of battle, when our cavalry were bravely regrouping and the infantry were stoutly protecting their flanks with a wall of serried shields, thick clouds of dust arose and the fight swayed this way and that... Our cavalry on the right unexpectedly gave way in disorder. The first to flee, however,
blocked the path of those who followed, and when they found themselves safe in the lap of the Legions, they halted and renewed the fight. What caused this incident was that while their ranks were being re-dressed, the Cataphracts saw their commander slightly wounded and one of their comrades slipping over the neck of his horse, which sank under the weight of his armour. They then began to shift each for himself and would have created total confusion by trampling over the infantry had not the latter, who were being drawn up in very close order, held their ground.'
Typically Ammianus is vague about whether this was a unit of cataphractarii or clibanarii and he uses both terms. Since cataphractarii, probably of Gallic origin, are more likely in Julian's Gallic army, they have been depicted here as such, Their equipment shows Sarmatian influences: spangenhelm helmets, scale armour and the long lance, or contus being wielded in two hands, without a shield. Only a minority of horses are armoured. Perhaps all should have been, but for a second-rate unit in a regional army, full horse armour would have been hard to come by. Many of the horses here only have chamfrons, which the archeological record shows as being fairly common. Although they are often thought to have been used only for cavalry games and parades, it is highly unlikely that the Romans had any equipment that was solely intended for parade use. Modern tests have shown that horses are frightened by the approach of other horses wearing chamfrons, so they may have had benefits in addition to their protection value.
The Notitia Dignitatum lists all cataphractarii units except one as being stationed in the east by the 5th century. They may have accompanied Julian from Gaul when he went east in AD 361 and never returned,
Follow-up actions
With this first major success the tempo of the campaign slowed down. There were other battles, but once the main objective had been captured and later successfully defended, the soldiers of Belisarius' army would have found themselves engaged in the thankless task of pacifying the countryside. The Vandals started to organise a guerrilla war, 'by distributing much money to the farmers among the Libyans... These he commanded to kill Romans who went out into the country, proclaiming a fixed sum of gold for each man killed... And they killed many from the Roman army, not soldiers however, but slaves and servants.'
Procopius describes one incident where Belisarius' aide, Diogenes, went out on a reconnaissance with 22 soldiers. They were seen by Libyan farmers, but since they were too strong for the farmers to kill, the soldiers' presence was reported to Gelimer, who dispatched 300 Vandal cavalry with orders to capture them alive. Diogenes and his men were sleeping on the upper storey of a house when the Vandals reached them at early dawn and sealed off the house. One of the Romans heard the Vandals and quietly roused his companions. Procopius takes up the story:
A close-up view, from the Arch of Constantine, of the typical late Roman pillbox cap worn by soldiers of all ranks and in all branches of the army. (Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Rome)
'Following the opinion of Diogenes, all put on their clothes quietly and taking up their weapons went below. There they put the bridles on their horses and leaped upon them unperceived by anyone. And after standing far a time in the courtyard entrance, they suddenly opened the door there, and straight way all came out. And the Vandals immediately closed with them, but they accomplished nothing. Far the Romans rode hard, covering themselves with their shields and warding off their assailants with their spears. And in this way Diogenes escaped the enemy, losing two of his followers hat saving the rest. He himself however, received three blows in this encounter on the neck and face, from which indeed he came close to dying, and one blow also on his left hand, as a result of which he was thereafter unable to move his little finger.'
Life for the soldiers so far from home, at risk of assassination if they strayed from their units, would have been hard to bear once the initial excitement had worn off, Many deserted and others mutinied, but if they ever wanted to see their homes again they had to continue with their duties, since it would have been impossible to finance a trip home independently. We do not know if troops were rotated after a certain period of time, but one suspects not, and probably not many who set out on that spring day in AD 533 ever saw Constantinople again. Some may have remained in Africa, but most probably ended their days in Italy during the terrible Gothic War which was to last another 20 years.
The head of a Draco standard. Adopted from the Sarmatians and carried by most late Roman cavalry units, standards played an important part in controlling the movement of cavalrymen. (Staatliches Amt fur Vorund Frühgeschichte, Koblenz)
PLACES TO VISIT
Unfortunately there are very few places to visit that specifically relate to the late Roman period. Most Roman sites and museum collections concentrate on the High Imperial period which has left more artifacts to posterity. The following suggestions, however, are worth a trip:
Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Corinium Museum
Cologne, Germany
Römisch-Germanisches Museum
Dover
Painted House Museum
Ephesus, Turkey
The city was abandoned in the late Roman period because of plague.
Chesterholm, Cumbria, Hadrian's Wall
Chesters and Housesteads, Northumberland
Istanbul, Turkey
Constantinople, the former Eastern Capital.
Krefeld, Germany
Burg Linn Musium. Finds from Romano-Merovingian graves.
Leiden, Netherlands
Rijksmuseum. Magnificent late Roman helmets.
Piercebridge, Durham
Roman fort from the 4th century.
Ravenna, Italy
The 5th century Western Capital; many mosaics.
Rome
Arch of Constantine, Aurelian Walls and Vatican Museum, are worth a visit.
Saxon shore forts
Burgh Castle, Norfolk; Cardiff Castle, S. Glamorgan; Richborough, Kent; Pevensey, East Sussex; Portchester Castle, Hants.
Strasbourg, France
Musée Archeologique.
Trier, Germany
One of the 4th century capitals.
Chesterton, Cumbria
Roman fort from the 4th century.
York
Yorkshire Museum, city walls.
The Imperial Baths at Trier. Even the towns in the frontier regions had reasonable facilities, making life for the soldiers billeted in the towns fairly comfortable. (Rahmel-Verlag GmbH)
These soldiers surrounding the emperor on the Arch of Galerius, although probably infantrymen show typical 3rd-4th-century full equipment of spangenhelm helmet, full scale armour and large round or oval shields. Note also the typical round disc decoration on the skirt of the emperor's tunic. (Deutsches Archäologisches Institut Rome)
This magnificent gilded silver helmet can be identified as belonging to a soldier of the Equites stablesiani in the mid—4th century from an inscription and some coins found with it. (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden)
Fanciful weapons like this Currodrepanus Singularis, a scythed chariot driven by a cataphract lancer, were proposed by the anonymous author of a 4th-century treatise as a solution to Rome's military problems. (Bodleian Library, Oxford)
GLOSSARY
Alamanni A confederation of German tribes who were one of Rome’s main opponents in this period.
auxilia A new type of unit created at the end of the 3rd century with a full strength of about 500 men. All belonged to the elite palatini.
bucellarii Personal retainers of magnates and warlords.
bucellatum Dried biscuit or hard tack which formed part of the soldier’s field rations.
cataphract A heavily armoured cavalryman modelled either on the Sarmatians (cataphractarius) or the Persians (clibanarius). His horse might also have been armoured.
comitatenses Line troops of the mobile field army.
dekarch Commander of ten men and fife leader in 6th-century cavalry units.
draco A windsock-style dr
agon standard, adopted from the Sarmatians and carried by most cavalry units.
eques An ordinary cavalry trooper.
equites The cavalry.
fabricae State run arms factories.
foederati (federates) Foreign troops serving in the Roman army under their own leaders.
hasta A spear.
Illyria A Roman province roughly equating to the former Yugoslavia of the 20th century. It was a major source of recruits, particularly in the 3rd century.
Illyriciani (Equites Illyriciani) Troops of the central cavalry reserve formed in the 3rd century, and consisting of promoti (former legionary cavalry), dalmatae (recruited from Illyria), mauri(from North Africa) and scutarii (probably heavier cavalry).
Isauria A mountainous area of Asia Minor and source of many 6th century infantry recruits.
lancea A light spear that could either be thrown or retained for hand-to-hand combat. Probably the preferred weapon of the late Roman infantryman.
limes Frontier zones.
Warrior [15] Late Roman Cavalryman AD 236-565 Page 6