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Abinnaeus archive
COLIN E. P. ADAMS

Flavius Abinnaeus was a Roman cavalry officer

in the reign of Constantius II, in charge of
the fort at Dionysias in the FAYYUM. We are
particularly well-informed about him and his
dealings due to an archive of some eighty-two
documents preserved on papyrus. The archive
was acquired by various collectors during
18923, and is held in several libraries, principally the British Library and the University of
Geneva. He took up command of the fort in
March 342 CE towards the end of what seems to
have been a long and successful military career.
He had enlisted in 304/5 at the age of eighteen,
quickly rising to the rank of ducenarius, and
his career break came when he was selected
to escort prisoners to the emperor in Constantinople. After this he became a protector, and
by petition obtained from the emperor the
command of the cavalry ALA at Dionysias as a
praefectus, but was dismissed from duty in 344.
After petitioning the emperor, he recovered
his position by 346 and served until 351.
The documents in the archive vary in
nature, and comprise, inter alia: orders, ration
lists, letters, and petitions. Many concern complaints made to Abinnaeus about the behavior
of his soldiers. The texts yield much information on the military functions of Abinnaeus.
Not surprisingly, most activity involved the
maintenance of law and order, since there were
no real military threats. Indeed, the principal
role of the ala was the protection of civil
administration. To this end, it provided military escorts for officials and tax collectors;
the protection of revenue collection was of
paramount importance. Other roles included
the suppression of brigandage and smuggling.
The role of Abinnaeus as commanding

officer came down to overseeing recruitment,

ensuring the administration of ANNONA, and
the administration of justice.
Abinnaeus role in recruitment involved
recording details and the forwarding of new
recruits to civil officials, who allocated them
to their units. Many of the documents concern
the annona, a system of taxes in kind intended
to supply the army and imperial administration. Abinnaeus oversaw the collection of
annona for consumption at Dionysias and by
other units. Soldiers represented the ultimate
sanction of civil power within provinces, but
officers such as Abinnaeus were also responsible for the direct administration of justice.
Abinnaeus received petitions from individuals.
Normally military authority extended only
over penal cases and those involving abuse by
soldiers, but it seems likely that, in practice,
military authority extended, in place of civil
authority, over those villages and communities
that lay close to military bases.
The archive provides good evidence for
Abinnaeus and his correspondents. It shows
formal and informal interaction, formulas of
address, the working of patronage, and how
a commanding officer interacted with his
men. Civilians contacted Abinnaeus in order
to secure favors. The archive shows how, on a
local level, a senior officer was a bigwig.
Indeed, it is of singular importance in illustrating relations between soldiers and the society
in which they lived in fourth-century Egypt.
SEE ALSO:

Army, Roman Empire.

REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS

Bell, H. I. et al. (1962) The Abinnaeus archive:
papers of a Roman officer in the reign of
Constantius II. Oxford.

The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, First Edition. Edited by Roger S. Bagnall, Kai Brodersen, Craige B. Champion, Andrew Erskine,
and Sabine R. Huebner, print pages 56.
2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2013 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah13001