Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago

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The army of the Late Roman Empire (approximately 250 to about 500) has often been seen as one which was dominated barbarians. This was evidenced by the adoption of barbarian equipment like the spatha, in place of the more famous gladius hispaniensus, and ocular shields in place of the rectangular scutum of the classic legions. The helmet design changed as well, and the Late Roman Army adopted a war cry from the barbarians, called the “barritus”.

The increasing number of supposedly barbarian troops eventually led to the downfall of the Roman Empire, so the argument goes. But over the past thirty years this has seriously been called into question, not least because further work done on the Late Roman Army has made it clear that the barbarian influences were consciously constructed on the part of the military based on what they thought barbarians looked like and how they thought they behaved.

So, how “barbarian” was the Late Roman Army?

Note: This is a re-edited version of a video released several years ago, with cleaned up audio etc