Thesis title: Questioni di budget militare nell'impero tardo antico
Introduction
This section outlines the historical issues that the thesis seeks to address. In antiquity, military expenditure represented the principal item in the imperial government’s budget. The study therefore pursues a twofold objective: first, to quantify military spending; and second, to analyse the policies implemented by emperors to sustain it. To assess military expenditure, it is necessary to estimate the size of the Late Antique army. For this purpose, the main source employed will be the Notitia Dignitatum, an exceptionally valuable ancient document that preserves extensive lists of units under the command of military officers. Although calculations of this kind are not new in scholarship, the innovation of this work lies in the use of a recently published inscription—the Perge’s inscription—which, for the first time, provides precise data on the number of soldiers composing a Late Antique legion and their pay. These new calculations will therefore rest on a much firmer documentary basis and allow for a more reliable reconstruction of the strength of the Late Antique army. However, the Notitia Dignitatum is a complex and sometimes contradictory text; before proceeding with any quantitative analysis, it must be studied in depth in order to eliminate as many inconsistencies as possible. The first two chapters of the thesis are devoted to this task.
Chapter I: The Limes
A detailed comparison between the Notitia Dignitatum and the archaeology of the limes has long been a desideratum of historical research, which this chapter aims to fulfil. The study has two main objectives. First, it seeks to determine what archaeology can reveal about the different types of troops stationed along the limes. Is there a correlation between the size and layout of forts and the units they hosted? What was the numerical strength of the garrisons? Was there a coherent strategic plan behind the positioning of units along the frontier?
Secondly, the chapter addresses many of the inconsistencies found in the Notitia Dignitatum. The analysis, however, focuses on the notitia orientis and does not examine the limes of the pars occidentis. This limitation is justified by the successive reconstructions and repairs carried out by Stilicho, Flavius Constantius, and Aetius, which render archaeological investigation of the western limes largely inconclusive. The contradictions of the notitia occidentis will therefore be approached differently and discussed in Chapter II.
Chapter II: The Army
This chapter draws together the conclusions of the previous analyses. It examines the various categories of troops recorded in the Notitia Dignitatum—equites, cunei equitum, alae, cohortes, auxilia, and legiones—considering their origins, strategic functions, evolution during the fourth century, and composition. It also seeks to clarify the ambiguities of the Notitia Dignitatum and to propose an estimate of the total strength of the Late Antique army.
Chapter III: The Military Budget
This chapter explores the question of how soldiers were remunerated in Late Antiquity. It attempts to assess the economic impact of their emoluments, which were paid both in kind (annona) and in cash (stipendium and donativa). The analysis examines the political and economic factors that favoured one form of payment over the other and seeks to elucidate the respective interests of soldiers, taxpayers, and the imperial administration in preferring foodstuffs or currency. In short, the chapter investigates to what extent Late Antiquity may be characterised by a regression toward an Oikoswirtschaftsystem. Finally, it presents quantitative estimates of the Late Antique military budget in terms of gold coinage (solidus) and provisions.
Conclusions
The conclusions, based on new and more reliable data, aim to offer potentially groundbreaking insights and provide the scholarly community with innovative perspectives on military, economic, and fiscal history.