Author: Constantius
 Original Thread: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=531621

The Danube Limes
The Danube Limes, re-organisation and disintegration Part I
" ... to make the Ister River the strongest possible line of first defence "- Prokopius of Caesarea Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς


A Brief Historical Narrative :
In the aftermath of the battle of Nedao 454, Hun hegemony north of the Danube collapsed, and new groups migrated across the Danube. One such group was settled by the emperor Marcian in Pannonian (450-7) led firstly by Valamer, then after his murder, by Theodemer. At the same time another group, composed in part by what had previously been referred to as Greuthingi, led by Theoderic Strabo ( who was a relative of the wife of Magister Militum Aspar), crossed into the eastern Balkans. There were of course Goths in positions of power in the empire, Arnegisclus and his son Anagstes held position of Magister Militum per Thrace in 447 and 469-70 respectively- both of these had a personnel military retinue like that of Theodoric Strabo and Theodemir..(Collins.R 2010)
In 470 Anagastes, with the encouragement of Arabur revolted, and lost power. Later Arabur was murdered for his part in the revolt.
This left Theodermer and his son, Theodoric (known to history as the Amal), and Theodoric and his son, Recitach, to struggle for supremacy. By 476 Theodoric Strabo and his son were dead, and Theodoric( Amal) was Magister Militum.(again in 477-478) after periods of fighting for and against the emperor Zeno the emperor and Goth came to an agreement, so in 488 CE the Emperor Zeno and Theodoric signed a treaty which made Theodoric a Patrician and allowed Theodoric to seize Italy and rule on behalf of the emperor. We don't know what Zeno thought, he died shortly after.
This was by no means the end of the problems faced by the empire in the Balkans. The departure of the Goths had freed the Balkans south of the Danube and Sava rivers, but although there was no substantial barbarian presence- it did not seem to facilitate reclamation of the former Danube frontier in total. .(Collins.R 2010)

They -the Romans -did not manage to reassert themselves in Moesia Prima , or Pannonia Secunda, and Sirmium- the largest strategically important fortress in the province- had been seized by the Gepids when the Goths left in the 470's. In Moesia Secunda and Dacia Ripensis the Romans has managed to reassert control, but large parts of Illyricum west of the Moravia river remained beyond imperial control

During the 490's Theodoric felt secure enough in Italae to expand his dominion into western Illyricum, and Theoderic became de facto ruler of coastal Dalmatia - this was never part of the deal with the emperor Zeno, as this had been under eastern juristiction since 437- it was not until 510 that the emperor Anastasius acknowledges the takeover and Theodoric became de jure ruler. But Anastasius was clearly not happy with an Ostrogoth presence in Dalmatia, but was unable to take action due to other concerns elsewhere(Bulgar raids and renewal of Persian war)..(Collins.R 2010)
With this in mind Theodoric launched an attack on his former allies -the Gepids- to seize Sirmium thereby securing Italae from an attack from the east Romans, possible in the form of a federate army as the Ostrogoth's had been. The most the empire had been able to do in this period in response to this Ostrogothic aggression, was to send a naval expedition against Italy in 508, but as mentioned earlier the empire had other concerns at this point.

Events outside the Balkans, still further changed the balance of power in the Danube region. The recapture of Sirmium by the Romans- during the 'war of reconquest'- allowed it to be handed back to the Gepids. Other groups too, were to be utilised by the emperor Justinian I to guard the Danubian frontier. The Lombards were persuaded to move south into Norricum and western Pannnonia , and the Heruls were located around the city of Singidunum, all these groups remained semi-autonmous, but provided contingents for the Roman army, especially for the war in Italy.(Collins.R 2010) In the tradition of divide and rule Justinian often supported the Lombards against the more powerful Gepids, a policy that was to change after the emperors death, with disastrous consequences, under the reign of Justin II.

Ever since the war in Italy, the Gepids had become the second biggest problem on the Limes- the Huns and Bulgars being the first, which I will come to in a moment- petty kings and a burgeoning aristocracy with large warrior retinues had ruled the Gepid tribes, sometimes an over king had reigned from Sirmium, the last of which Cunimund (560-567) minted coins -Roman/Ostrogoth copies- bearing the name of Sirmium. (Kurta, 2006) Justinian realising the potential menace of having another rising Germanic power in the Balkans, stopped paying the annual subsidies, and as mentioned earlier chose to pay the Lombards as federates. In 547 a joint Roman-Lombard expedition defeated the Gepids, repeated again in 551 by the Lombards alone.(Kurta, 2006)
Further trouble on the Danube Limes came in the form of an attack in 545 by a large group of Sclavenes, they crossed the Danube raided the countryside taking large numbers of Roman slaves, theses raids were to grow in frequency and ferocity as the century progressed

In 482 the emperor Zeno had sought military aid from the Bulgars, against the Ostrogoths, but during the reign of the emperor Anastasius I (491-518) raids by Bulgar Utrigurs and Kutrigurs had grown more frequent and dangerous, even raiding far into Thrace, Moesia, and Illyricum. These horseman would be allies one day, enemies next and became a ever presence in the Balkans. Raids by Hunnic groups- generic term used by such writers as Prokopius, Jordannes, and Count Marcellinus to describe nomadic horseman- and the Bulgars and Sclavenes led to the massive fortifications of Justinian carried out along the Danube Limes, see Prokopius below.
The Slavic groups grew in power in the century to come, expanding into large parts of the Balkans (Pohl, 2005) the balance of power remained just that, finely balanced among tribes of nomads- Utrigurs, Kutrigers, Bulgars and others- beyond the frontier, the fortifications were a great success initially- but larger groups formed to carry out deeper, more damaging- from a Roman perspective- raids. In 559 the Kutrigers led by Zabergan, raided deep into Thrace, as far as the long walls of Konstantinoupolis, and in the early 580's Sclavenes scaled the walls of Thesalonica, and a large raid in 558 led by Ardagastus which like that of the Kutrigers reached the outskirts of the capitol.
Then in the twilight of Justinian's reign everything changed, the finely tuned balance of power was shattered by the arrival of the Avars. In 558 having arrived in the Caucasus they sent an emissary to Justinian, in they asked for subsidies and promised to destroy all his enemies. The fate of many was decided in that moment, the Avars had arrived

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For these works have been executed with due regard for the nearness of the Ister River and for the consequent necessity imposed by the barbarians who threaten the land. 5 For it has as neighbours nations of Huns and of Goths, and the regions of Taurus and of Scythia rise up again it, as well as the haunts of the Sclaveni and of sundry other tribes — whether they are called by the writers of the most ancient history Hamaxibian or Metanastic Sauromatae,1 and whatever other wild race of men really either roams about or leads a settled life in that region. 6 And in his determination to resist these barbarians who were endlessly making war, the Emperor Justinian, who did not take the matter lightly, was obliged to throw innumerable fortresses about the country, to assign to them untold garrisons of troops, and to set up all other possible obstacles to an enemy who attacked without warning and who permitted no intercourse. 7 Indeed it was the custom of these peoples to rise and make war upon their enemies for no particular cause, and to open hostilities without sending an embassy, and they did not bring their struggles to an end through any treaty or cease operations for any specified p223period, but they made their attacks without provocation and reached a decision by the sword alone. But still we must proceed owing to the remainder of our story. 8 For when we have begun a task it will be better to go through to the end in any fashion whatever than to depart leaving it unfinished. 9 Certainly my action would not be free from blame, if, after our Emperor has performed the work, I for my part, should shrink from telling of what he has done. 10 But now that we are on the point of enumerating the buildings of this Emperor in Europe, it is proper first to make a few observations regarding this land.

11 There is a narrow arm or bight which is pushed out from the Adriatic Sea, as it is called, and strays away from the remainder of the sea and goes up into the mainland, and dividing the continent for a great distance it forms the Ionian Gulf, having on the right the Epirotes and the other peoples of that region and on the left Calabria; then, being compressed into a narrow inlet for a very long way, the sea bounds practically the whole continent.2 12 And the River Ister, flowing higher up,3 and opposite the sea, makes the land of Europe an island, as it were. 13 In that region this Emperor built many noteworthy buildings. 14 Indeed he fortified the whole of Europe so safely that he rendered it inaccessible to the barbarians who live beyond the Ister River. 15 But I must commence from the native land of the Emperor, to which of all places must be given first rank in all other respects, and with this I must begin p225my present account
(Procopius, Buildings, 1-3 Illyricum)



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5 Thus did the Emperor Justinian fortify the whole interior of Illyricum. I shall also explain in what manner he fortified the bank of the Ister River, which they also call the Danube, by means of strongholds and garrisons of troops. 2 The Roman Emperors of former times, by way of preventing the crossing of the Danube by the barbarians who live on the other side, occupied the entire bank of this river with strongholds, and not the right bank of the stream alone, for in some parts of it they built towns and fortresses on its other bank. 3 However, they did not so build these strongholds that they were impossible to attack, if anyone should come against them, but p267they only provided that the bank of the river was not left destitute of men, since the barbarians there had no knowledge of storming walls. 4 In fact the majority of these strongholds consisted only of a single tower, and they were called appropriately "lone towers," and very few men were stationed in them. 5 At that time this alone was quite sufficient to frighten off the barbarian clans, so that they would not undertake to attack the Romans. 6 But at a later time34 Attila invaded with a great army, and with no difficulty razed the fortresses; then, with no one standing against him, he plundered the greater part of the Roman Empire. 7 But the Emperor Justinian rebuilt the defences which had been torn down, not simply as they had been before, but so as to give the fortifications the greatest possible strength; and he added many more which he built himself. 8 In this way he completely restored the safety of the Roman Empire, which by then had been lost. And I shall explain how all this was accomplished.
(Procopius, Buildings, Epirus, Macedonia, Dardania, Thessaly, and inner Illyricum, 4-6)





Quaestura Exercitus
Viktorinos, designed the fortifications of the Danube and the Balkans for the emperor Iustinian, but that was not the end of the changes to the defence of this region. In 536 Iustinian created the office of the Quaestura Exercitus (John Malalas 18.17) this post combined the territories of Moesia inferior, Scythia minor, Karia, Cyprus and the Aegean islands all of which was run from Odessos. Combining the areas of the biggest naval presence and some of the wealthiest regions, with the areas of greatest military need would make operations easier against the barbarians, by supplying it with amongst other things the annona (food supplies). Perhaps this reorganisation was the forerunner of the Karabisianoi ?(Kurta. F, 2006)



Map of empire before Iustinians reconquest
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Ivstiniana Prima- an example of how cities had shrunk around a fortified center, dominated by church buildings.
Image by Goran Ivanovic http://caricin-grad.tripod.com/index.html





Bibliography:
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Procopius/Buildings/home.html
Ellis H. Minns (1941). Review of M. Spinka 'Chronicle of John Malalas, Books VIII–XVIII' The Classical Review, 55 , pp 102-102 doi:10.1017/S0009840X00310381
Maas, M (ed)(2005)' The Cambridge Companion To the Age of Justinian', Cambridge University Press.
Kurta, F(2006) 'Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages 500- 1250', Cambridge Medieval Textbooks, Cambridge University Press.
Collins, R(2010)' Early Medieval Europe 300-1000' Palgrave History of Europe, Basingkstoke, Palgrave McMillan.
Translation by Cyril Mango, ( 1997), 'The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor'. Byzantine and Near Eastern History, AD 284-813, pp. 497-499,Oxford
Scott, Roger D (1985), ' Malalas, The Secret History, and Justinian's Propaganda' , Dumbarton Oaks Papers , Vol. 39, pp. 99-109, Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard UniversityArticle Stable URL:http://www.jstor.org/stable/1291517
Kurta, F(1996) 'Invasion or Inflation? Sixth- to seventh century Byzantine coin hoards in Eastern and Southeastern Europe' Annali dell'Istituto Italiano di Numismatica 43 (1996), pp. 65-224
And a Special thanks to Prof Florin Curta (University of Miami) Pseudo-Methodius (EoR) and Pompeius Magnus, for their assistance and insights in matters of the sixth century

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