This page created 2 August 2014, and last modified: 26 September 2014 (Jones commentary added)

The second of the pseudocomitatenses units in the Magister Peditum's infantry roster is called the Legio Secunda Iulia Alpina; it is assigned to the command of the Comes Illyricum under the name Secunda Iulia. Its shield pattern in various manuscripts is as shown below:

The pattern is simple, with a white boss encircled by a grey band (more pink in M, W). The rim is white, and the main ground is plain green (faded to yellow in M).

The name Iulia Alpina would appear to refer to the Julian Alps, and this unit is clearly the first of a series of three legions with the same thematic name; there is also a Prima Iulia Alpina, another pseudocomitatenses legion, serving in the Magister Peditum's Italian command; and a Tertia Iulia Alpina, a comitatenses legion, also serving in the Magister Peditum's Italian command (Jones, p 99 of his 3rd volume, instead thought it referred to one of Constantine I's sons: Julius Crispus, Julis Constantius, or Julius Constantine). These units obviously once belonged to the now-defunct command of the Comes Italiae; their shield patterns are shown together below, using the patterns taken from the Paris manuscript show:

Legio III Iulia Alpina, being a comitatenses unit, seems to have been given a "different" pattern from the other two; it may be the patterns shown for the First and Second are their "original" ones from when they were under the command of the Comes Italiae.

Return to the Notitia alphabetical unit list page.
Return to my Notitia index page.