The ''Heruli'' was an ''

auxilia palatina ''Auxilia palatina'' (sing. ''auxilium palatinum'') were infantry units of the Late Roman army, first raised by Constantine I as part of the new field army he created in about 325 AD. Some of the senior and probably oldest of these units had speci ...

'' unit of the

Late Roman army In modern scholarship, the "late" period of the Roman army begins with the accession of the Emperor Diocletian in AD 284, and ends in 480 with the death of Julius Nepos, being roughly coterminous with the Dominate. During the period 395–476, ...

, active between the 4th and the 5th century. It was composed of 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 The ''Constitutio Antoniniana'' (Latin for: "Constitution r Edictof Antoninus") (also called the Edict of Caracalla or the Antonine Constitution) was an edict issued in AD 212, by the Roman Emperor Caracalla. It declared that all free men in th ...

''. Their name was derived from the people of the

Heruli The Heruli (or Herules) were an early Germanic people. Possibly originating in Scandinavia, the Heruli are first mentioned by Roman authors as one of several "Scythian" groups raiding Roman provinces in the Balkans and the Aegean Sea, attacking b ...

. In the sources they are usually recorded together with the '' Batavi'', and it is probable the two units fought together. At the beginning of the 5th century two related units are attested, the ''Heruli seniores'' in the West and the ''Heruli iuniores'' in the East.

History

The ''Heruli'' probably belonged to the army of the emperor Julian, and probably fought in the

Battle of Strasbourg The Battle of Strasbourg, also known as the Battle of Argentoratum, was fought in 357 between the Western Roman army under the ''Caesar'' (deputy emperor) Julian and the Alamanni tribal confederation led by the joint paramount King Chnodomar. ...

(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 Constantius II (Latin: ''Flavius Julius Constantius''; grc-gre, Κωνστάντιος; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germani ...

for a campaign in the East, the ''Heruli'', the '' Batavi'' and two ''numeri Moesiacorum'' were sent ton Britain under the command of Lupicinus, Julian's ''

magister militum (Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...

'', probably to counter a rebellion. They embarked at ''Bononia'' (

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

) and arrived at ''

Rutupiae Richborough Castle is a Roman Saxon Shore fort better known as Richborough Roman Fort. It is situated in Richborough near Sandwich, Kent. Substantial remains of the massive fort walls still stand to a height of several metres. It is p ...

''. Later the ''Batavi'' and the ''Heruli'' returned to the continent, but it is unknown when this happened. The Emperors

Valentinian I Valentinian I ( la, Valentinianus; 32117 November 375), sometimes called 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. Vale ...

and

Valens Valens ( grc-gre, Ουάλης, Ouálēs; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the eastern half of ...

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 In modern scholarship, the "late" period of the Roman army begins with the accession of the Emperor Diocletian in AD 284, and ends in 480 with the death of Julius Nepos, being roughly coterminous with the Dominate. During the period 395–476, ...

and to the

Eastern Roman army The Eastern Roman army refers to the army of the eastern section of the Roman Empire, from the empire's definitive split in 395 AD to the army's reorganization by themes after the permanent loss of Syria, Palestine and Egypt to the Arabs in the 7t ...

. In 365, Emperor

(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. In 367–369 there was a revolt in Britain against Valentinian I, known as

Great Conspiracy The Great Conspiracy was a year-long state of war and disorder that occurred near the end of Roman Britain. The historian Ammianus Marcellinus described it as a ''barbarica conspiratio'', which capitalised on a depleted military force in the p ...

and put down by the later emperor

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...

. On this occasion, both the ''Batavi'' and the ''Heruli'' were sent to Britain, along with the '' Iovii'' and '' Victores''. They landed at

Richborough Richborough () is a settlement north of Sandwich on the east coast of the county of Kent, England. Richborough lies close to the Isle of Thanet. The population of the settlement is included in the civil parish of Ash. Although now some dist ...

and headed for

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

.Esmonde Cleary, A. Simon, ''The Ending of Roman Britain'', Routledge, 2000, {{ISBN, 0-415-23898-6, pp. 44-45. The ''

Notitia Dignitatum The ''Notitia Dignitatum'' (Latin for "The List of Offices") is a document of the late Roman Empire that details the administrative organization of the Western and the Eastern Roman Empire. It is unique as one of very few surviving documents of ...

'', a document prepared in the years 400-420, shows the deployment of the ''Heruli seniores'' under the command of the ''

magister peditum (Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...

'' for Italy.

Notes

Auxilia palatina Heruli

History

See also

Notes