Late Roman Auxilia Palatina - Mattiaci Seniores

This unit belongs to the Auxilia Palatinae, the Mattiaci Seniores.

The Auxilia Palatinae were elite crack troops of the Late Roman Army. They could fight as both heavy line infantry and light skirmishers. They were attached to the Palatine Legions, the palace guards of the Late Roman Empire and were armed with a multitude of weapons: javelins and spears, swords, axes, big and small shields. The Legio Palatinae were not the same as the troops of the same name from before the military reforms of Constantine the Great and Diocletian. The Praetorian Guard was eventually disbanded, thanks to its habit of regularly murdering Emperors, and new forces were created to guard the palaces and persons of the royal family. The 'Auxilia of the Palatine Hill' was made up of well trained provincial Romans, with about one in five being non-Roman 'barbarians'. It could be presumed that often tribal warlords and their followers were recruited and formed so certain units, often named after the tribe they belonged to. While they were a 'court guard' they were also a practical force that was expected to go on campaign, not stand around looking good in over-polished armour and could be relied on to fight hard in most circumstances.

Very often there were so-called Seniores and Iunores units. The Seniores mostly served in the Eastern part of the Empire while the Iunores in the Western part.