THE FOEDERATI, THE PHOIDERATOI, AND THE SYMMACHOI OF THE LATE ANTIQUE EAST

[Dave Beatty]

Another excellent paper on late Roman warfare:
https://www.academia.edu/15110353/The_foederati_the_phoideratoi_and_the_symmachoi_of_the_late_antique_east_ca._A.D._400-650_

Abstract:

This thesis is a systematic examination of the use of the term  phoideratos in Greek and how it relates to the Greek word
symmachos. The term was recognized as not precisely equivalent to its Latin cognate foederatus over a century ago by Jean Maspero, but no complete study of every use of the term has been made until now. This has been facilitated by the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae, an online database of searchable Greek texts. These terms are important since they provide a framework within which foreigners came to serve the Roman army. They also reveal the changing nature of that army, and how the
foederati, formerly allies who came to serve the Roman state in exchange for a combination of land, supplies, and cash became the phoideratoi, an elite regular unit in the Roman army. Meanwhile, symmachos came to refer to those who were formerly called phoideratoi. This interpretation is crucial since some modern historiography has considered the phoideratoi
of the sixth century as equivalent to the foederati of the fourth.

[Jim Webster]

Thanks for finding it, I'll have a read over lunch

[bmayolg]

Thanks a lot.

[Patrick Waterson]

Good precis, Dave.

Symmachos is of course the traditional Greek word for 'ally', hence it would seem less a case of 'phoideratoi' changing its meaning than the reintroduction of 'symmachoi' to denote an associate or ally, reflecting the transition from Latin to Greek as the administrative language of the Empire.

The paper does however distinctly help the reader to avoid the trap of assuming that 'foederati' and 'phoideratoi' are one and the same.  One can consider it a landmark study.