Hello! To introduce myself: I'm a Roman history enthusiast, in particular the history of the late Roman Empire/the Dominate period of the Empire. Unfortunately, sources detailing what happened back then are scarce, and if I find one I'm not sure if they are accurate or not so I'd like to ask a few questions, hoping knowledgeable people here can provide answers to. My questions:
Afaik, there were four troop grades: limitanei, comitatenses, palatini and scholares. I read a bit from "The complete Roman army" by Adrian Goldsworthy and noted (from the Notitia Dignitatum) that there were quite some "combinations": legio comitatenses, vexillatio palatina, auxilia palatina,...and so on, but I don't see any mention of "auxilia comitatenses". Did this kind of unit exist?
To continue from the "auxilia palatina", does the "auxilia" part carry the same meaning as in "auxiliary" troops of earlier times?
Also from the same book, reference to the Notitia Dignitatum showed that there were 7 scholares in the East but none of these in the West. Did Western emperors employ some sort of personal guard equivalent to the scholares?
I'd like to read more about this period, mostly about the military and administration, aside from Adrian Goldsworthy's works, where can I start?
Lastly, I'm not sure if this is the right sub to post these question so if this post cause inconveniences, my apologies.
Thanks in advance!
If the Dominate and the fourth century is your area of interest you and me might be having a few conversations, because that is my area of research and I am always happy to discuss!
First, you're right there, afaik there were no auxilia comitatenses. Why this may be is not exactly clear. The military structure and terminology underwent a lot of change in this period.
Second, no it did not. The auxilia of the early period were non-citizen soldiers, compared to the legions, which were recruited from the citizen population. But in 212 the emperor Caracalla gave (almost) every man living within the Empire citizenship, so this distinction disappeared. However the prestige difference between the auxilia and legio of the late Roman army is still probably based on the class-rankings of this earlier period.
Third, there were Scholae in the west, five of them. See in partibus Occidentis 9.4-8.
If you want to read more, I love Yann le Bohec (ed.), The Encyclopedia of the Roman Army, 2015. Great source book to quickly check things and find sources for further reading. I would also recommend looking through the Cambridge Ancient History series, there are some wonderful overview chapters in there.
Pat Southern and Karen Ramsey Dixon have written a couple of good books together, including The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine and The Late Roman Army.
Hope those help!