LIMIGANTES
The
Limigantes is a name applied to a population that lived by the Tisza
river, in Banat, in the 4th century. They are attested by Roman
historian Ammianus Marcellinus (c. 390) in connection to Sarmatians.
Roman
historian Ammianus Marcellinus (c. 390) described the Limigantes
as Sarmatae servi ("Sarmatian slaves/serfs"), as opposed
to the Arcaragantes, Sarmatae liberi ("free Sarmatians").
It is unclear whether the Limigantes were simply an under-class
of ethnic Sarmatians or a non-Sarmatian subject people.
History
:
330s :
In 332, the Sarmatians in Banat asked Constantine the Great for
aid against the Thervingi. These Sarmatians had armed their "slaves"
in order to cope with the situation; according to contemporary sources
there were two categories of Sarmatians: the "masters"
– the Agaragantes, and the "slaves" – Limigantes.
In 334, there was an internal conflict between the Agaragantes and
the Limigantes. The Limagantes had after the conflict with the Goths,
turned and expelled the Arcaragantes who then settled in the area
of the Victohali, to the south of the Danube, and became their vassals.
Conflict
with Rome :
In AD 357, the Roman emperor Constantius II (ruled 337-361) faced
a large force of Limigantes, who had successfully rebelled against
their Iazyges
overlords and then launched an invasion of Roman territory on the
South bank of the Danube. The barbarians entered the empire near
the confluence of the rivers Danube and Tisza, invading the province
of Moesia Superior (roughly mod. Serbia). In a hard-fought battle,
the Romans routed the Limigantes, slaughtering a large number. After
this, the remaining Limigantes surrendered and were assigned lands
to settle in beyond the imperial border, but which were apparently
under Roman control (possibly seized from the "free Sarmatians"
separately defeated earlier in the same year).
In
358, the Limigantes broke the terms of their treaty with Constantius
and raided outside the territory assigned to them the previous year.
Studies
:
George Vernadsky believed that the Agaragantes were Sarmatians and
the Limigantes were Slavs.
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Limigantes
