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Laeti, the plural form of Latin laetus, literally = "happy", but probably in this case meaning "friendly (native)", was a term used in the late Roman empire, from the 3rd century onwards, to denote communities of barbari (= foreigners, people from outside the empire) permitted to settle inside the empire on condition that they provide recruits for the Roman military. An alternative term used for laeti was gentiles (= "natives").

Status

Laeti were groups of migrants drawn from the warlike tribes that existed on the empire's borders, and which had fought the Romans intermittently for the entire duration of the empire since its foundation by Augustus in the first century. In the West, these tribes were primarily Germans, living beyond the Rhine, or Sarmatians, Iranic mounted nomads from the Eurasian steppe that had occupied the Hungarian plain facing the Roman province of Pannonia (E. Hungary) across the Danube. In the East, laeti were drawn from, among others, Caucasian Iberians from Georgia, Armenians, and Arabs.

Reproductively self-sufficient groups of laeti (i.e. including women and children) would be granted land to settle in the empire by the imperial government.. They would form distinct military cantons, under the supervision of a Roman praefectus laetorum, who would control either individual communities e.g. praefectus gentilium Sarmatarum Novariae = prefect of the Sarmatian community at Novara N Italy; or all communities of a particular tribe in a particular region e.g. praefectus gentilium Sarmatarum per Bruttios at Apuliam = prefect of Sarmatians in Abbruzzi and Apulia, regions in southern Italy.

In return for their privileges of admission to the empire and land grants, the laeti were under an obligation to supply recruits to the Roman auxiliary forces. All laeti males of military age (i.e. 16 years or above) might be liable to compulsory service in the auxilia. Alternatively, the treaty granting a laeti community land might specify a fixed number of recruits required each year.

It appears that, in the 3rd or early 4th century at least, laeti were normally drafted into existing military units, and only rarely formed their own. However, the ala I Sarmatarum and numerus Hnaufridi attested in 3rd century Britain were probably units formed of laeti. In the later 4th century, the Notitia Dignitatum lists a large number of regiments with barbarian names. These appear to be regular units, and not foederati (allied warbands of barbari), and therefore may be recruited from laeti.

Notitia Dignitatum

Almost all our information on laeti is contained in the Notitia Dignitatum, a document drawn up at the turn of the 3rd/4th centuries.

From the Notitia Dignitatum we know that around 400, in the Western empire, the following nations (gentiles 'people' is a generic term, also used for analogous Sarmatae in Italian provinces) had supplied units, which were garrisoned in places (followed by the province in the genitive) in the Gallic prefecture, each commanded by a Praefectus laetorum (prefect), under the overall command -along many regular units- of the Magister militum for the pedites praesentales' (imperial escort infantry):

• Batavi and Suevi: Baiocas and Constantia, Lugdunensis II
• Suevi: Ceromannos and another, unknown location in Lugdunensis III
• Francs: Redonas, Lugdunensis III
• Teutoniciani: Carnunta, Lugdunensis IV
• Suevi: Arumbernos, Aquitanica I
• Taifali: Poitiers, Aquitanica
• Lingonenses: dispersed over Belgica I
• Acti: Epuso, Belgica I
• Nervii: Fanomantis, Belgica II
• Batavi of Nemetacum, Belgica II
• Batavi Contraginnenses: Noviomagus, Belgica II
• unspecified gentiles: Remo and Silvamectum, Belgica II
• Lagenses: near the Tungri, Germania II

Notes

1. A. Goldsworthy Roman Warfare (2000) 215
2. Goldsworthy op cit 215
3. Notitia Dignitatum West Title XLII
4. Goldsworthy op cit 208
5. A. Goldsworthy Complete Roman Army (2003) 208
6. www.roman-britain.org List of auxiliary units
7. Notitia Dignitatum East Titles

External links

• Notitia dignitatum
• Pauly-Wissowa (not yet exploited)

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