Senatorial Battle Dress (3rd century)

[Kai]

Thank you, Graham, this is indeed helpful, especially the hint to the Persian reliefs – unaffected by Roman art conventions (or at least not that much affected) they probably show a different picture of the Roman emperors which conforms with written sources, unlike Roman art. I will have a closer look at them.


Gallienus banned Senators from regular military command, and although the Emperors were more than eager to place Knights in that role, there were still Senators before Gallienus commanding troops because this was still part of the cursus honorum and could not be avoided.

The tricky question is: Both groups, Senate and military, had a great sense of community and identity. Now these two spheres met… A Senator switching to (‘barbarian’) military clothing when in command would almost be a shift in identity – god, the Vienna boys and girls would just LOVE this if it can be proven somehow (although they have moved away from the Goths, the pupils and successors of Herwig Wolfram in Vienna are still focused on identity of peoples in late antiquity)
However the Senators have also proven to be staunch conservatives unlike the Emperors who were often if not usually of Equestrian birth in the 3rd century, so I am not sure if they had not sticked to the traditional clothing even in military service.

I know I am asking for a tiny group of people in a very special situation, which lasted only a short time, so the sources might be lacking. But that is why I would not mind educated guesses, I’d actually encourage everyone to them

I will have a look into the references you gave me, Graham.
Thanks again and regards,
Kai