Late Roman Army Questions

[Robert Vermaat]

It's not Always easy to discern the details of a 'barbarian band' and a 'barbarian leader'. Barbarians served in the Roman army before leading tribesmen: we see that with both Civilis in the Batavian uprising as well as Arminius before him. So when we hear of 'barbarian kings' leading (e.g.) Alaman tribesman in Roman campaigns we can't say for sure if these are purely barbarian groups gone over to Rome and then used in a campaign. We might equally deal with men who became leaders after first doing several tours with the Roman army before gaining a 'gefolgschaft' back home. Such officers could raise high into the army ranks by themselves, and some no doubt chose to follow that road, instead of returning home to gain an equally high status.

The later we get in Roman military history though, the more we see non-Roman troops being commanded by non-Romans. The later 4th century seems to have been a turning point, especially after the battle of Adrianople, when Roman influence no longer managed to gain control of some non-Roman groups within the borders, and had to rely on treaties with barbarian commanders.