Regii

The Regii or Reges was an auxilia palatina (light infantry) unit of the Late Roman army, active between the 4th and the 5th century. There was also a legio comitatensis with the same name.

Shield of the Regii under the magister militum praesentalis of the East, according to the Notitia Dignitatum.

History

This unit was probably formed under Constantius II or Magnentius, even if another reconstruction suggests they originated during the Constantinian period and formed by the Alamannic king Crocus.[1]

The Regii belonged to the army of the Caesar Julian. They fought in the Battle of Strasbourg (357): they were deployed on the second line and held, together with the Batavi, the pressure of the Alamannic cavalry that had repulsed the Roman cavalry.[2]

In the Notitia dignitatum (395-420 circa) the Regii are listed in the army of the magister militum praesentalis of the East.

Notes

  1. Colombo, p. 154.
  2. Whitby, Michael, Rome at War Ad 293-696, Osprey Publishing, 2002, ISBN 1-84176-359-4, p. 42.

References

  • Maurizio Colombo, "Constantinus rerum nouator: dal comitatus dioclezianeo ai palatini di Valentiniano I", Klio, 90, 2008, p. 124–161.
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