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{{Short description|Military position in the Late Roman Empire}}
{{Short description|Military position in the Late Roman Empire}}


A '''Biarchus''' was a military position in the [[Roman cavalry]] the [[Later Roman Empire|Late Roman Empire]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Birley |first=Eric |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NtgB6KeOSA8C&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq&hl=en |title=HABES ; 31 |last2=Alföldy |first2=Géza |last3=Dobson |first3=Brian |last4=Eck |first4=Werner |date=2000 |publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag |isbn=978-3-515-07654-8 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sabin |first=Philip |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4aX-W6AVNv8C&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq&hl=en |title=The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare |last2=Wees |first2=Hans van |last3=Whitby |first3=Michael |date=2007-12-06 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-78274-6 |pages=302 |language=en}}</ref> Their duties are unknown, but they may have related to [[Food security|food supply]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Southern |first=Pat |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LzLRCwAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq&hl=en |title=The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History |date=2007-10-01 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-804401-7 |pages=257 |language=en}}</ref> It is possible that the Biarchus commanded a [[Contubernium|''contubernium'']], or group of ten men.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dahm |first=Murray |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SP-wEAAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA22&dq |title=Byzantine Cavalryman vs Vandal Warrior: North Africa AD 533–36 |date=2023-05-25 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-5371-4 |pages=22 |language=en}}</ref> The biarchus was subordinate to the centenarius and the [[ducenarius]] but above the ''circitor'' in the command structure of the [[Military of ancient Rome|Roman military]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cowan |first=Ross |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eaBMDAAAQBAJ |title=Milvian Bridge AD 312: Constantine's battle for Empire and Faith |date=2016-07-20 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-1383-1 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dahm |first=Murray |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CoImEAAAQBAJ |title=Late Roman Infantryman vs Gothic Warrior: AD 376–82 |date=2021-06-24 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-4526-9 |pages=20 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=D’Amato |first=Raffaele |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AeB8DwAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA25&dq |title=Roman Heavy Cavalry: Cataphractarii & Clibanarii, 1st Century BC–5th Century AD |last2=Negin |first2=Andrei Evgenevich |date=2018-11-29 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-3002-9 |pages=25 |language=en}}</ref> This position replaced the role of the [[Optio]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Elliott |first=Simon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s_Z6EAAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq&hl=en |title=Roman Britain's Pirate King: Carausius, Constantius Chlorus and the Fourth Roman Invasion of Britain |date=2022-08-31 |publisher=Pen and Sword Military |isbn=978-1-3990-9439-9 |pages=50 |language=en}}</ref> The earliest mention of the term Biarchus comes from an inscription dating back to 327.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Dixon |first1=Karen R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c9bgAwAAQBAJ |title=Late Roman Army |last2=Southern |first2=Pat |date=2014-06-23 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-72422-2 |pages=62 |language=en}}</ref> It describes an individual named Flavius Iovianus who held the rank of ''biarchus [[draconarius]].'' This means he was a [[standard-bearer]] who held the rank of ''biarchus.''<ref name=":0" /><ref>[[iarchive:inscriptioneslat01dessuoft|ILS 2805]]</ref> Another inscription from 359 records a biarchus named Flavius Vitalianus.<ref>BGU [https://berlpap.smb.museum/result/?Publikation=%22BGU+I+%22&order=Nr_mit_Zusatz-ASC&columns=pubnr&lang=en I] [https://berlpap.smb.museum/record/?result=58&Publikation=%22BGU%20I%20%22&order=Nr_mit_Zusatz-DESC&columns=pubnr&lang=en 316]</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Banaji |first=Jairus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ip4UDAAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq&hl=en |title=Agrarian Change in Late Antiquity: Gold, Labour, and Aristocratic Dominance |date=2007-05-17 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-922603-0 |pages=120 |language=en}}</ref> The position is also mentioned in the text ''[[Ad Pannachium]]'' by [[Jerome|Saint Jerome]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schaff |first=Philip |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924096463470 |title=A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church: St. Jerome: Letters and select works, 1893 |last2=Wace |first2=Henry |date=1893 |publisher=Christian literature Company |pages=433 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bremmer |first=Jan |date=1988 |title=An Imperial Palace Guard in Heaven: The Date of the Vision of Dorotheus |url=https://www.uni-koeln.de/phil-fak/ifa/zpe/downloads/1988/075pdf/075082.pdf |journal=Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik |volume=75 |pages=82–88 |issn=0084-5388}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Bremmer |first=Jan N. |title=The Vision of Dorotheus |date=1993-01-01 |url=https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789004312890/B9789004312890-s013.xml |work=Early Christian Poetry |pages=257 |access-date=2023-11-28 |publisher=Brill |language=en |isbn=978-90-04-31289-0}}</ref>
A '''Biarchus''' was a military position in the [[Roman cavalry]] the [[Later Roman Empire|Late Roman Empire]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Birley |first=Eric |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NtgB6KeOSA8C&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq&hl=en |title=HABES ; 31 |last2=Alföldy |first2=Géza |last3=Dobson |first3=Brian |last4=Eck |first4=Werner |date=2000 |publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag |isbn=978-3-515-07654-8 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sabin |first=Philip |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4aX-W6AVNv8C&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq&hl=en |title=The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare |last2=Wees |first2=Hans van |last3=Whitby |first3=Michael |date=2007-12-06 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-78274-6 |pages=302 |language=en}}</ref> Their duties are unknown, but they may have related to [[Food security|food supply]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Southern |first=Pat |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LzLRCwAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq&hl=en |title=The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History |date=2007-10-01 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-804401-7 |pages=257 |language=en}}</ref> It is possible that the Biarchus commanded a [[Contubernium|''contubernium'']], or group of ten men.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dahm |first=Murray |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SP-wEAAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA22&dq |title=Byzantine Cavalryman vs Vandal Warrior: North Africa AD 533–36 |date=2023-05-25 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-5371-4 |pages=22 |language=en}}</ref> The biarchus was subordinate to the centenarius and the [[ducenarius]] but above the ''circitor'' in the command structure of the [[Military of ancient Rome|Roman military]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cowan |first=Ross |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eaBMDAAAQBAJ |title=Milvian Bridge AD 312: Constantine's battle for Empire and Faith |date=2016-07-20 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-1383-1 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dahm |first=Murray |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CoImEAAAQBAJ |title=Late Roman Infantryman vs Gothic Warrior: AD 376–82 |date=2021-06-24 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-4526-9 |pages=20 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=D’Amato |first=Raffaele |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AeB8DwAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA25&dq |title=Roman Heavy Cavalry: Cataphractarii & Clibanarii, 1st Century BC–5th Century AD |last2=Negin |first2=Andrei Evgenevich |date=2018-11-29 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-3002-9 |pages=25 |language=en}}</ref> This position replaced the role of the [[Optio]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Elliott |first=Simon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s_Z6EAAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq&hl=en |title=Roman Britain's Pirate King: Carausius, Constantius Chlorus and the Fourth Roman Invasion of Britain |date=2022-08-31 |publisher=Pen and Sword Military |isbn=978-1-3990-9439-9 |pages=50 |language=en}}</ref> The earliest mention of the term Biarchus comes from an inscription dating back to 327.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Dixon |first1=Karen R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c9bgAwAAQBAJ |title=Late Roman Army |last2=Southern |first2=Pat |date=2014-06-23 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-72422-2 |pages=62 |language=en}}</ref> It describes an individual named Flavius Iovianus who held the rank of ''biarchus [[draconarius]].'' This means he was a [[standard-bearer]] who held the rank of ''biarchus.''<ref name=":0" /><ref>[[iarchive:inscriptioneslat01dessuoft|ILS 2805]]</ref> Another inscription from 359 records a biarchus named Flavius Vitalianus.<ref>BGU [https://berlpap.smb.museum/result/?Publikation=%22BGU+I+%22&order=Nr_mit_Zusatz-ASC&columns=pubnr&lang=en I] [https://berlpap.smb.museum/record/?result=58&Publikation=%22BGU%20I%20%22&order=Nr_mit_Zusatz-DESC&columns=pubnr&lang=en 316]</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Banaji |first=Jairus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ip4UDAAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq&hl=en |title=Agrarian Change in Late Antiquity: Gold, Labour, and Aristocratic Dominance |date=2007-05-17 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-922603-0 |pages=120 |language=en}}</ref> The position is also mentioned in the text ''[[Ad Pannachium]]'' by [[Jerome|Saint Jerome]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schaff |first=Philip |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924096463470 |title=A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church: St. Jerome: Letters and select works, 1893 |last2=Wace |first2=Henry |date=1893 |publisher=Christian literature Company |pages=433 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bremmer |first=Jan |date=1988 |title=An Imperial Palace Guard in Heaven: The Date of the Vision of Dorotheus |url=https://www.uni-koeln.de/phil-fak/ifa/zpe/downloads/1988/075pdf/075082.pdf |journal=Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik |volume=75 |pages=82–88 |issn=0084-5388}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Bremmer |first=Jan N. |title=The Vision of Dorotheus |date=1993-01-01 |url=https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789004312890/B9789004312890-s013.xml |work=Early Christian Poetry |pages=257 |access-date=2023-11-28 |publisher=Brill |language=en |isbn=978-90-04-31289-0}}</ref> In the [[Codex Theodosianus]] it is stated that no one is allowed to achieve the rank of Biarchus through [[patronage]]. Instead, it mandates that an individual must achieve the rank through merit.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/theodosiancodeno0000unse |title=The Theodosian code and novels : and the Sirmondian constitutions |date=1952 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-8371-2494-0 |pages=21 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=1970 |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=A. H. M. |title=A History of Rome through the Fifth Century |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-349-00491-1 |journal=SpringerLink |language=en |pages=145 |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-00491-1}}</ref>


== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 21:35, 28 November 2023

A Biarchus was a military position in the Roman cavalry the Late Roman Empire.[1][2] Their duties are unknown, but they may have related to food supply.[3] It is possible that the Biarchus commanded a contubernium, or group of ten men.[4] The biarchus was subordinate to the centenarius and the ducenarius but above the circitor in the command structure of the Roman military.[5][6][7] This position replaced the role of the Optio.[8] The earliest mention of the term Biarchus comes from an inscription dating back to 327.[9] It describes an individual named Flavius Iovianus who held the rank of biarchus draconarius. This means he was a standard-bearer who held the rank of biarchus.[9][10] Another inscription from 359 records a biarchus named Flavius Vitalianus.[11][12] The position is also mentioned in the text Ad Pannachium by Saint Jerome.[13][14][15] In the Codex Theodosianus it is stated that no one is allowed to achieve the rank of Biarchus through patronage. Instead, it mandates that an individual must achieve the rank through merit.[16][17]

References

  1. ^ Birley, Eric; Alföldy, Géza; Dobson, Brian; Eck, Werner (2000). HABES ; 31. Franz Steiner Verlag. ISBN 978-3-515-07654-8.
  2. ^ Sabin, Philip; Wees, Hans van; Whitby, Michael (2007-12-06). The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare. Cambridge University Press. p. 302. ISBN 978-0-521-78274-6.
  3. ^ Southern, Pat (2007-10-01). The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History. Oxford University Press. p. 257. ISBN 978-0-19-804401-7.
  4. ^ Dahm, Murray (2023-05-25). Byzantine Cavalryman vs Vandal Warrior: North Africa AD 533–36. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-4728-5371-4.
  5. ^ Cowan, Ross (2016-07-20). Milvian Bridge AD 312: Constantine's battle for Empire and Faith. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-1383-1.
  6. ^ Dahm, Murray (2021-06-24). Late Roman Infantryman vs Gothic Warrior: AD 376–82. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-4728-4526-9.
  7. ^ D’Amato, Raffaele; Negin, Andrei Evgenevich (2018-11-29). Roman Heavy Cavalry: Cataphractarii & Clibanarii, 1st Century BC–5th Century AD. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-4728-3002-9.
  8. ^ Elliott, Simon (2022-08-31). Roman Britain's Pirate King: Carausius, Constantius Chlorus and the Fourth Roman Invasion of Britain. Pen and Sword Military. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-3990-9439-9.
  9. ^ a b Dixon, Karen R.; Southern, Pat (2014-06-23). Late Roman Army. Routledge. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-134-72422-2.
  10. ^ ILS 2805
  11. ^ BGU I 316
  12. ^ Banaji, Jairus (2007-05-17). Agrarian Change in Late Antiquity: Gold, Labour, and Aristocratic Dominance. OUP Oxford. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-19-922603-0.
  13. ^ Schaff, Philip; Wace, Henry (1893). A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church: St. Jerome: Letters and select works, 1893. Christian literature Company. p. 433.
  14. ^ Bremmer, Jan (1988). "An Imperial Palace Guard in Heaven: The Date of the Vision of Dorotheus" (PDF). Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. 75: 82–88. ISSN 0084-5388.
  15. ^ Bremmer, Jan N. (1993-01-01), "The Vision of Dorotheus", Early Christian Poetry, Brill, p. 257, ISBN 978-90-04-31289-0, retrieved 2023-11-28
  16. ^ The Theodosian code and novels : and the Sirmondian constitutions. Internet Archive. Princeton University Press. 1952. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-8371-2494-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  17. ^ Jones, A. H. M., ed. (1970). "A History of Rome through the Fifth Century". SpringerLink: 145. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-00491-1.


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