Dux Germania Secunda?

[Thomas V.]

Hello Nathan,

An ingenious suggestion, but not sure I follow it! The names of the provinces in the Notitia are given as words (prima, secunda) not numerals, so Germaniae I wouldn't work like that, surely?

According to Scharf, during the passing on of the text of the ND, numerals were changed to words (and the other way round). If words sometimes had been abbreviatet, said alternating between numerals and words could have lead to confusing the letter I and the Roman One (see my previous post).

Is Scharf's view quite widely held, do you know?

Erich Polaschek

A confusion or misspelling of II and I was the reason for the absence of the Germania secunda as a ducat .

Eduard von Nischer

Commanders attested for Germania prima are the Dux Mogontiacensis and the Comes (tractus) Argentoratensis. If one assumed that the Dux Germaniae primae was the commander of all the troops stationed in the eponymous province, he would have to be higher-ranked than he Comes (tractus) Argentoratensis. But as he was lower-ranked, the Dux Germania primae (I) only could be the Dux Germania secundae (II).


So maybe during the first half ofthe 5th century the Roman commander structure at the Rhine looked like this:

Sequania Dux Sequaniae
Germania prima Dux Mogontiacensis
Germania secunda/I(nferior) Dux Germaniae "primae", i.e. I/(maybe) I(nferior)


An additional bit of Scharfs Reasoning: Attributing the Dux Germania I (II?) to Germania secunda would fill the gap in the protection of the Rhine boarder.

Regards,

Thomas