History
The Heruli probably belonged to the army of the Caesar Julian, and probably fought in the Battle of Strasbourg (357), even if the sources do not mention them.
In 360, before Julian received the order to send most of his troops to Emperor Constantius II for a campaign in the East, the Heruli, the Batavi and two numeri Moesiacorum were sent in Britain under the command of Lupicinus, Julian's magister militum , probably to counter a rebellion. They embarked at Bononia (Boulogne-sur-Mer) and arrived at Rutupiae . Later the Batavi and the Heruli returned to the continent, but it is unknown when this happened. [1]
The Emperors Valentinian I and Valens divided the army among themselves. Many units were divided into two sub-units, sharing the name of the original unit and each distinguished by the name seniores, for the units of the senior Augustus Valentinian, and iuniores, for the units of the iunior Augustus Valens, and aggregated respectively to the Western Roman army and to the Eastern Roman army. [2]
In 365, Emperor Valentinian I (364-375) had to confront the invading Germans. The barbarians were able to capture the banners of the Batavi and Heruli units, which were made the object of derision by the raiders until recovered. [3]
In 367-369 there was a revolt in Britain against Valentinian I, known as Great Conspiracy and put down by the later emperor Theodosius I. On this occasion, both the Batavi and the Heruli were sent to Britain, along with the Iovii and Victores . They landed at Richborough and headed for London. [4]
The Notitia Dignitatum , a document prepared in the years 400-420, shows the deployment of the Heruli seniores under the command of the Magister peditum for Italy.
Flavius Valens was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. He was the younger brother of the emperor Valentinian I, who gave Valens the eastern half of the Roman Empire to rule. Before 364, Valens had a largely unremarkable military career, and as emperor he displayed administrative but little military competence. In 378, Valens was defeated and killed at the Battle of Adrianople against the invading Goths, which astonished contemporaries and marked the beginning of barbarian encroachment into Roman territory.
The Battle of Adrianople, sometimes known as the Battle of Hadrianopolis, was fought between an Eastern Roman army led by the Eastern Roman Emperor Valens and Gothic rebels led by Fritigern. The battle took place in the vicinity of Adrianople, in the Roman province of Thracia. It ended with an overwhelming victory for the Goths and the death of Emperor Valens.
Valentinian I, also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces while Valentinian retained the west.
Flavius Theodosius, known as Count Theodosius or Theodosius the Elder, was a senior military officer serving Emperor Valentinian I and the Western Roman Empire. His son was the Emperor Theodosius I. He was granted the title of Comes Rei Militaris per Britanniarum by the Emperor Valentinian for his work there; putting down the Great Conspiracy (367–368). After restoring order in Britain he returned to mainland Europe and fought against the Alemanni; as Valentinian's Magister Equitum he successfully invaded Alamannic territory. In 372 Theodosius led a successful campaign against the Sarmatians. In the same year Firmus, a Mauritanian prince, rebelled against Roman rule. Theodosius was sent to Africa and in two hard-fought campaigns (373–374) put down the insurrection. In 376, after the death of emperor Valentinian, he was arrested and executed, presumably as he was seen as a threat to the new western emperors Gratian and Valentinian II.
Procopius was a Roman usurper against Valens, and a member of the Constantinian dynasty.
The Great Conspiracy was a year-long state of war and disorder that occurred in Roman Britain near the end of the Roman rule of the island. The historian Ammianus Marcellinus described it as a barbarica conspiratio that capitalized on a depleted military force in the province brought about by Magnentius' losses at the Battle of Mursa Major after his unsuccessful bid to become emperor.
Justina was the second wife of the Roman Emperor Valentinian I and the mother of Valentinian II, Galla, Grata and Justa.
The Scholae Palatinae were an elite military guard unit, usually ascribed to the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great as a replacement for the equites singulares Augusti, the cavalry arm of the Praetorian Guard. The Scholae survived in Roman and later Byzantine service until they disappeared in the late 11th century, during the reign of Alexios I Komnenos.
Petulantes was an auxilia palatina of the Late Roman army.
Arbitio was a Roman general and Consul who lived in the middle of the 4th century.
Serenianus was an officer of the Roman Empire, involved in the death of Caesar Constantius Gallus and in the usurpation of Procopius.
Decentius was an officer of the Roman Empire; he played a role in the acclamation of Julian as emperor against Constantius II in Paris (360).
The Batavi was an auxilia palatina (infantry) unit of the late Roman army, active between the 4th and the 5th century. It was composed by 500 soldiers and was the heir of those ethnic groups that were initially used as auxiliary units of the Roman army and later integrated in the Roman Empire after the Constitutio Antoniniana. Their name was derived from the people of the Batavi.
The Primani was a legio palatina of the Late Roman army, active in the 4th and 5th century.
Flavius Saturninus was a politician and a military man of the Roman Empire.
Traianus was a Roman general under Emperor Valens with whom he died in the battle of Adrianople.
Flavius Arinthaeus was a Roman officer who started his career as a middle-ranking officer and rose to senior political and military positions. He served the emperors Constantius II, Julian, Jovian and Valens. He was appointed consul in 372 alongside Domitius Modestus.
Victor was a Roman military officer and politician, who served the emperors Constantius II, Julian, Jovian and Valens. He was appointed consul in AD 369, alongside Valentinianus Galates.
Dagalaifus was a Roman army officer of Germanic descent. A pagan, he served as consul in 366. In the year 361, he was appointed by Emperor Julian as comes domesticorum. He accompanied Julian on his march through Illyricum to quell what remained of the government of Constantius II that year. He led a party into Sirmium that arrested the commander of the resisting army, Lucillianus. In the spring of 363, Dagalaifus was part of Julian’s ultimately-disastrous invasion of Persia. On June 26, while still campaigning, Julian was killed in a skirmish. Dagalaifus, who had been with the rear guard, played an important role in the election of the next emperor. The council of military officers finally agreed on the new comes domesticorum, Jovian, to succeed Julian. Jovian was a Christian whose father Varronianus had himself once served as comes domesticorum.
Sebastianus was a Roman general who died at the Battle of Adrianople alongside the Emperor Valens during the Gothic War.
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