Hello and welcome to another episode of Ancient Warfare Answers. This is episode 159, fabulous stuff.

And I am Murray Dam. I'm the assistant editor of Ancient Warfare Magazine. And with me is the editor,

Jasper Ortage. And he's going to be answering the question today from Alex Thrupp, who we're not sure as a patron,

which just shows you that we'll answer whatever questions you ask,

whether you send us an email or a message or whether, indeed, you are a patron of us on Patreon.

If you want to be a patron, then you can join us at www.

Patreon forward slash Ancient Warfare podcast, and there's three ways that you can support us there,

even get a copy of the magazine.

But today, Alex Thrupp's question is,

what was the difference between Auxilia and Fodorati?

Well, Murray, Fodorati, of course, it's a term that we use specifically for allies of the Romans that were introduced sort of from the late 4th century, first by Theodosius I.

And it's, you know, it's the, we've talked about them before. it's the various Germanic, usually Germanic peoples

who are enlisted as entire communities or as just the warriors first or maybe a section

of the warriors to help bring their Roman army back up to strength after the defeat at Adrianople.

And that's sometimes seen as this is a whole new thing.

We're suddenly enlisting all these people who are not actually Romans.

But of course, and we give them a new name.

And of course, it really is not new at all.

The Romans had almost, you know, had by then been enlisting people for nearly

a thousand years. They'd had the, you know, Italian allies first in their, in the Republican era.

And then client kings who, you know, think of people like Massinissa in the Punic, Second

Punic War, that they made a treaty with,

...