The Third Equites Stablesiani at Cyrrhus

Abstract

The history of the equites stablesiani, a class of late Roman cavalry attested in the Notitia dignitatum and inscriptions, is poorly documented and imperfectly understood. This short article introduces two sources that have been overlooked in previous studies: a letter by Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrrhus, dated 432/33, and an imperial missive of Justin I in 520. Both texts, ninety years apart, place personnel of the equites tertii stablesiani at Cyrrhus in Euphratensis. These documents shed light on regimental history, deployment and titulature in the context of long-term continuities in the late Roman army.