Dominate-era sagittarius
Archers served Rome long before late antiquity, in allied and auxiliary formations, on foot and horseback. Caracalla’s citizenship edict of AD 212 changed civil status, but did not itself introduce archers into legions or make citizenship a marker of a particular weapon.
In the third and fourth centuries archers remained important in field battles and the defence of fortifications. Archer unit names occur in late Roman lists. Vegetius recommends different ways of deploying archers; these cannot be reduced to one compulsory fourth or fifth rank.
Latin sagittarius means “archer”, from sagitta, “arrow”. Images, texts and surviving bow components are important evidence. Composite recurve bows are represented in material from Dura-Europos, but shape, materials and dimensions need not have been identical for every archer.
Finds from Qustul and Nydam offer comparisons from other cultural contexts; they cannot automatically be treated as regulation Roman equipment. The Notitia Dignitatum records imperial arms workshops, but does not establish one construction for every bow in the empire. See bow.
Images show archers both with and without protective equipment. Helmets, mail or scale armour could accompany a bow. An item’s absence from one image does not establish a prohibition for all archers.
Quivers stored and carried arrows; methods of suspension and supplying arrows varied. A sword could be a secondary weapon. Reconstruction details should follow a particular prototype rather than combine Roman, northern European and Nubian finds without explanation.
Equipment
The equipment of the Dominate-era sagittarius could consist of the following elements: Fabric and leather items: - Upper tunic-manicata (tunica manicata), made of wool - Underwear tunic-manikata, made of linen - Pannonian cap (pileus pannonicus) - Leggings (bracae) - Cloak (sagum or chlamys) - Military boots (campagi militaris) - Cingulum - Focale - Socks - Windings - Subarmalis Elements of protective equipment made of metal and wood: - Helmet (cassis) - Lorica hamata or Lorica squamata Elements of offensive weapons: - Bow - Arrows - Quiver - Spatha Other elements: - Clasp (fibula) - Bag The sagittarius' set may not consist of all the items of equipment listed above. The minimal set of weapons may include only bow, quiver and arrows. Bow
Reenactment
The best reason to reenact sagittarius is, of course, the interest in archery. The minimum clothing set is the same as that of the dominate-era hastatus - a woolen tunic of a red colour, a cingulum and shoes. After that, you should attend to the main weapon of any sagittarius - a short composite recurve bow. It makes sense to have two sets of arrows - for training in the archery range and a soft-tipped set for the field games. After the bow you need to purchase other personal equipment: a quiver and, when using a thumb draw, a thumb ring. Only after that it is worth to take care of such things as a helmet, armor, and a sword. It should also be noted that the main point of archer reenactment is the archery, and is recommended primarily to those who enjoy shooting or the archery aesthetics itself. We recommend reading the article on archery techniques.
Dominate-era sagittarius, reenactmentRelated topics
Literature and sources
1) The Roman Army in the IV century. From Constantine to Theodosius. A.V. Bannikov 2) Armies of the Late Roman Empire. AD 284 to 476. History, Organization and Equipment. G. Esposito 3) De Re Militari. Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus 4) Rerum Gestarum. Ammianus Marcellinus 5) Notitia Dignitatum 6) Excavations between Abu Simbel and the Sudan frontier. Thomas A. Holland
Dominate-era sagittarii in light equipment, illustration from the manuscript Vergilius Romanus, V century CE
Dominate-era sagittarii in scalemail, illustration from the manuscript Vergilius Romanus, V century CE
Dominate-era sagittarius, Arch of Constantine, IV century CE
Venus and Cupid. Mosaic from Antioch, 4th century AD; a Late Antique image of the goddess of love.
Floor mosaic from Church of saint martyrs Lot and Procopius. Mount Nebo, Jordan, IV-V cent.
Dominate-era saggitarius with bow and spathaInterested in Ancient Rome beyond reading? Join Legio X Fretensis or explore our reenactment directions.
