Notitia dignitatum

The circumstances surrounding the creation of Notitia Dignitatum remain unclear to date. Opinions coincide only in the fact that a section of this document dedicated to the Eastern Empire was created between 399 and 401. He probably served as a model for the section on the Western Empire. Since then, the “eastern” section has remained unchanged, while the “western” one, apparently, has been repeatedly remade in accordance with changes in government.

Maintaining and storing this document was part of the task of the notary, the chief notary of the empire. Among its other functions was the execution of documents on the assignment of posts. In the course of changes in the bureaucratic and military structures of the empire, he introduced Notitia corresponding amendments. After the death of Emperor Honorius in August 423, in the autumn of that year, with the support of Flavius ​​Aetius, John became the new emperor of the West (423-425). John was the only one of the emperors who, prior to accession, held the position of notary notary, that is, he was in charge of lists of troops and orders for the appointment of commanders. Notitia Dignitatum would do well for this official emperor. This suggests that the document (in its latest version, relevant to the Western Empire) was presented to Emperor John on the occasion of his accession to the throne on November 20, 423 (version of Ralph Scharf). At the same time, Notitia reflects the close connection of Western and Eastern empires; this makes us recall that the western emperor Valentinian III (425–455) was enthroned by his cousin, the eastern emperor Theodosius II , after which both empires became closer again. According to Jamfranco Purple, the manuscript could be a gift from Theodosius to his relative on his 10th birthday. Peter Brennan also hypothesized that the prefector Pretoria Ambrose Theodosius Macrobius was the originator of the document.

The text of the document gives an overview of the administrative division of the late Roman Empire, civil and military posts, as well as the structure of the troops in both parts of the empire.

Notitia is richly illustrated; in particular, its pages depict drawings applied to the shields of various military units (a kind of coat of arms), as well as stylized views of cities and fortresses. These colorful illustrations are present in all four surviving manuscripts and probably correspond to the original, but still contain some errors and anachronisms. Data on the Eastern Roman Empire date back to about 395, when Emperor Theodosius I died. Changes in the Western Roman Empire were clearly recorded in the document until 408, and partially up to 422 years. Obviously, the document is of great value as a source of late antiquity , although many of its aspects are questioned - for example, the presence of Britain (from where troops were withdrawn in 410) in the list of provinces is explained by the fact that the Romans continued to consider this island as part of the empire.

Lists of troops

Notitia Dignitatum contains two lists of field armies ( committees ). The first list lists military units ( numeri ) and their commanders ( magister peditum in infantry units and magister equitum in cavalry units). The second list lists the locations of these units and the commanders of the plots. A serious problem is the almost complete lack of data on the number of troops: an exact estimate of the size of the then army is impossible, and any reliable conclusions can be made only at the end of the 4th century. Another problem is that a satisfactory assessment of the administrative and military organization in the border provinces in the space from the Alps to the Danube has not yet been given. Recent studies show that data on the field forces of the Western Empire (committees and palatines ) most likely correspond to the state of affairs for 420-425, however, notes on the armies of the Eastern Empire ceased to be relevant already from 395. The only exception is the list of armies in East Illyria , which was updated again in 396-410. The lists of frontier armies ( limiters ) standing on the Danube also contain a lot of diverse and often conflicting information. In addition, it is unclear whether the data on the limitans in Norik and Pannonia were updated after 375–378.

An analysis of these lists suggests that the army of the Western Empire suffered the most severe losses after the barbarians crossed the Rhine in 406 . Almost half of the military units were destroyed or disintegrated during the battles at the beginning of the V century. In 395, the field army of the Eastern Empire numbered 157 units; by 420, the Western Empire had 181 divisions, but only 84 of them existed until 395 - the remaining 97 were formed later. However, it should be noted that 62 new units were reorganized from the limitans . Many of the disbanded border detachments were recorded in that part of the lists, which were no longer updated, and therefore were still listed in the same areas of the limes . Thus, the army’s losses were not compensated for by recruiting new soldiers, but solely by changing the status of existing units. Of the 35 divisions formed “from scratch”, about a third were recruited from Germanic tribes ( Attakotta , Markoman , Brisigawa). According to the numbers given in the final version of Notitia Dignitatum , the reader can assume that the army of the Western Empire has become even stronger than it was 25 years ago. In practice, however, the size of the army was greatly reduced, since the lack of money did not allow a new recruitment to be made to the border troops instead of the units transformed into committees. The most weakened were the troops in Gaul. In general, the number of units of “full-fledged” committees fell by almost 25% (from about 160 to 120).

Document Structure

Notitia Dignitatum includes 90 chapters, each of which occupies a page with illustrations (from 5 to 20 drawings). Along with illustrations, the book contains about 3,600 lines of text. On the pages dedicated to the commander of the border troops ( Duxes and Komites ), their title is given in the upper left corner. The inscription is given in abbreviation and reads:

“ [ Fl ] oreas [ int ] er [ ali ] is [ com ] ites [ ord ] inis [ pr ] imi ” - “May you prosper among other first-class companions ."

In the illustrations, this text is placed on a white plate, which is often similar to insignia (insignia) in the form of a booklet. Such tablets are present only in chapters devoted to viri spectabiles - officials who, since 364, belonged to the middle rank of senators. Next to the plate is always a scroll symbolizing the decree of the emperor on the appointment. The illustration below shows the places where the garrison is subordinate to any duks troops; these places are indicated by stylized drawings of cities and fortresses, under which there are signatures. So, on the page dedicated to the Dux of Phenicia ( dux Foenicis ), thirteen cities and fortresses are drawn, symbolizing the garrisons subordinate to it. It should be noted, however, that these drawings are very conditional and essentially repeated with slight differences - the variety is achieved due to the different number of towers and gates, as well as due to the changing color. The author had no intention to depict a real fortress or convey some of its features.

The text of the chapter always begins with the words “ sub dispositione viri spectabilis ” - “at the disposal of a high-born dux / comes ...”

The lists of troops have the same structure: first, the rank of the officer who commands the unit is called, then the name of the unit and the place of its deployment. After information about the unit, the highest officials in the office ( officium ) of the dux are indicated, for example:

• princeps officii (chairman of the office);
• numerarius (treasurer);
• commentariensis (clerk).

As a comparison with antique images shows, various manuscript illustrators tried to convey the appearance of the insignia of late Rome as accurately as possible, but nevertheless made inaccuracies in some decorative details (for example, when depicting clothes). In addition, they apparently misinterpreted some Latin abbreviations. The insignia of the highest statesmen are depicted as a decree decorated with gold on the appointment to the position, enclosed in an ivory frame with a portrait of the emperor, or as a book with a heraldic image on a binding and a scroll lying next to it. As a rule, they are painted lying on a table covered with patterned fabric. Here and there, a carved ivory column standing on a tripod is depicted - a ceremonial writing instrument symbolizing the judiciary.

Interestingly, Notitia contains the most ancient image of the symbol Yin and Yang . The infantry units of the Western army, Armigeri defensores seniores and Mauri Osismiaci , carried a sign on the shields corresponding to the dynamic (clockwise) version of this eastern symbol. Another unit, Thebaei ("Thebans"), applied to the shields a sign similar to a static version of the symbol. These Roman symbols were ahead of the Taoist images of the same symbol by almost seven centuries ^[1] .

• Peitinger table

• Tkachenko A. A. “Notitia Dignitatum” as a source for late-antique emblem // Signum: Scientific Information Bulletin of the Center for Herbological and Genealogical Studies, IVI RAS / Otv. ed. A.P. Chernykh. M., 2000. Issue. 2, p. 33-40.
• Heather P. The Fall of the Roman Empire. M .: AST, 2011.P. 380-383.
• Bury JB The Notitia Dignitatum // Journal of Roman Studies . N 10. 1920.P. 131-154.
• Polaschek E. Notitia Dignitatum // Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft . 17.1.1936. Coll. 1114-1116.
• Jones AHM Notitia Dignitatum // Jones AHM The Later Roman Empire, 284-602. A social, economic, and administrative survey. V. 1 - 3. Oxf., 1964. (Appendix II. P. 347-380).

• Scanned edition of 1436 (neopr.) . Bodleian Library . Date of treatment February 21, 2019.