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(Redirected from Taifali)
The 'Taifals', 'Taifali', 'Taifalae', or 'Tayfals' were a barbarian people settled by the late Roman Empire in Poitou in the fourth century. They served as ''laeti'' in the Roman and subsequently Merovingian militaries. They were a bellicose people, fighting primarily as cavalry. Ambrose of Milan and Gregory of Tours are the best primary sources for the Taifal history.
The Taifals were probably not Germanic (though some sources consider them closely related to the Goths), but rather related to the Sarmatians, with whom they emigrated from the Central Asiatic steppes. They settled on the Danube and initially fought the Goths in the Balkans (332)[1] and were subsequently made ''foederati'' of the Romans, from whom they obtained the right to settle in Oltenia. Some were settled in Phrygia in the diocese of Nicholas of Myra around 336, when they revolted against Constantine the Great and were put down by the generals Herpylion, Virius Nepotianus, and Ursus.[2] With the Iazyges and the Carpi they were harassing Dacia in the mid fourth century. They allied with the Goths of Farnobius against Rome in 377, but were defeated and officially resettled as ''colonii'' to farm lands in northern Italy and Gaul. Abandoned Oltenia was settled by the Huns c. 400. Some Taifals allied with the Huns as early as 378, and some were later still allied with them at the Battle of Chalons (451). However, the victory of Adrianople in 378 meant that those Taifals who remained with the Visigoths fought against their cousins at Chalon. In 412, the Taifals entered Aquitaine in the train of the Visigoths.
Sometime before their conversion to Christianity, Ammianus Marcellinus wrote:
The Taifals were often teamed with the Sarmatians and the ''Citrati iuniores'' by the Romans and subsequently by Clovis I. According to the ''Notitia Dignitatum'' of the early fifth century, there was a unit called the Equites Taifali established by Honorius under the ''comes Britanniarum'' in Britannia between 395 and 398. Possibly this unit may have been sent to the island by Stilicho in 399, and they may have been the same unit as the Equites Honoriani seniores mentioned around the same time. Thus, the Equites Honoriani Taifali seniores served in Britain while the Equites Honoriani Taifali iunores served in Gaul under the ''magister Equitum''. They used the dragon-and-pearl device on their shields.[4]
Also according to the ''Notitia'', there was a ''praefectus Sarmatarum et Taifalorum gentilium, Pictavis in Galia'', that is, a Sarmatian and Taifal prefect in Poitiers in Gaul.[5] The region of Poitou was even called 'Thifalia' or 'Theiphalia' in the sixth century. The Taifals were instrumental in defeating the Visigothic cavalry hand to hand at the Battle of Vouillé in 507.[6] Finally, the ''Notitia'' refers to a troop called the ''Comites Taifali'' who were formed by Theodosius the Great and served in the Eastern Empire.[7]
Under the Merovingians, Theiphalia had its own ''dux'' (duke).[8] It is possible that the Taifal ''laeti'' who had served the Romans also served as garrisons for the Franks, but this is not referred to in primary records. The ''laeti'' were formally integrated into the Merovingian military establishment under Childebert I.[9] The last mention of the Taifals as a distinct group dates from year 561.
One of the most famous Taifals was Saint Senoch, who founded an abbey at the Roman ruins which are now called Saint-Senoch. The Taifal influence extended into the ninth century and their fortresses, like Tiffauges and Lusignan, continued in use under the Carolingians.[10] They also left their mark in the municipal nomenclature of the region: asides from Tiffauges, mentioned above, Taphaleschat in Corrèze, Toufailles and Toufailloux in Aquitaine, and Chauffailles (formerly ''Taïfailia'') in Burgundy owe their names to Taifal settlement. Perhaps the town of Tafalla in the Navarre owes its name to these people, but if so, it is unknown if the Taifals were established in Hispania (probably to tame the Basques) by the Romans before 412 or by the Visigoths after that.
★ Bachrach, Bernard S. ''Merovingian Military Organization, 481–751''. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1971.
★ Bachrach, Bernard S. "Procopius, Agathias and the Frankish Military." ''Speculum'', Vol. 45, No. 3. (Jul., 1970), pp 435–441.
★ Bachrach, Bernard S. "Military Organization in Aquitaine under the Early Carolingians." ''Speculum'', Vol. 49, No. 1. (Jan., 1974), pp 1–33.
★ Lenski, Noel. "Initium mali Romano imperio: Contemporary Reactions to the Battle of Adrianople (in History and Ideology)." ''Transactions of the American Philological Association'', Vol. 127. (1997), pp 129–168.
★ Heather, Peter. "The Huns and the End of the Roman Empire in Western Europe." ''The English Historical Review'', Vol. 110, No. 435. (Feb., 1995), pp 4–41. (''See map for Taifal migration route in Balkans, p. 8.'')
★ Nickel, Helmut. "The Dragon and the Pearl." ''Metropolitan Museum Journal'', Vol. 26. (1991), pp 139–146.
★ Barnes, T. D. "Another Forty Missing Persons (A. D. 260–395)." ''Phoenix'', Vol. 28, No. 2. (Summer, 1974), pp 224–233.
★ Barnes, T. D. "Constans and Gratian in Rome." ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', Vol. 79. (1975), pp 325–333.
★ Nischer, E. C. "The Army Reforms of Diocletian and Constantine and Their Modifications up to the Time of the Notitia Dignitatum." ''The Journal of Roman Studies'', Vol. 13. (1923), pp 1–55.
★ Greenberg, David. ''The Construction of Homosexuality''. 1988.
1. Lenski, 157.
2. Barnes, "Forty", 226. Ibid, "Constans", 331–332.
3. Ammianus, 31.IX.v. Greenberg, 243, believes this refers to practices of ritualistic homosexual pederasty among the Taifali warrior class.
4. Nickel, 139.
5. Bachrach, ''Merovingian'', 12 n30.
6. Ibid, 17.
7. Nischer, 51.
8. Bachrach, ''Merovingian'', 29 and 38.
9. Ibid, 44.
10. Bachrach, ''Aquitaine'', 24.
The dragon-and-pearl device of the shields of the Equites Taifali unit based in Britain. The dragon was blue, as was the "pearl" (the central boss). The band around the boss was red. The field was white.
The 'Taifals', 'Taifali', 'Taifalae', or 'Tayfals' were a barbarian people settled by the late Roman Empire in Poitou in the fourth century. They served as ''laeti'' in the Roman and subsequently Merovingian militaries. They were a bellicose people, fighting primarily as cavalry. Ambrose of Milan and Gregory of Tours are the best primary sources for the Taifal history.
The Taifals were probably not Germanic (though some sources consider them closely related to the Goths), but rather related to the Sarmatians, with whom they emigrated from the Central Asiatic steppes. They settled on the Danube and initially fought the Goths in the Balkans (332)[1] and were subsequently made ''foederati'' of the Romans, from whom they obtained the right to settle in Oltenia. Some were settled in Phrygia in the diocese of Nicholas of Myra around 336, when they revolted against Constantine the Great and were put down by the generals Herpylion, Virius Nepotianus, and Ursus.[2] With the Iazyges and the Carpi they were harassing Dacia in the mid fourth century. They allied with the Goths of Farnobius against Rome in 377, but were defeated and officially resettled as ''colonii'' to farm lands in northern Italy and Gaul. Abandoned Oltenia was settled by the Huns c. 400. Some Taifals allied with the Huns as early as 378, and some were later still allied with them at the Battle of Chalons (451). However, the victory of Adrianople in 378 meant that those Taifals who remained with the Visigoths fought against their cousins at Chalon. In 412, the Taifals entered Aquitaine in the train of the Visigoths.
Sometime before their conversion to Christianity, Ammianus Marcellinus wrote:
It is said that this nation of the Taifali was so profligate, and so immersed in the foulest obscenities of life, that they indulged in all kinds of unnatural lusts, exhausting the vigour both of youth and manhood in the most polluted defilements of debauchery. But if any adult caught a boar or slew a bear single-handed, he was then exempted from all compulsion of submitting to such ignominious pollution.[3]
The Taifals were often teamed with the Sarmatians and the ''Citrati iuniores'' by the Romans and subsequently by Clovis I. According to the ''Notitia Dignitatum'' of the early fifth century, there was a unit called the Equites Taifali established by Honorius under the ''comes Britanniarum'' in Britannia between 395 and 398. Possibly this unit may have been sent to the island by Stilicho in 399, and they may have been the same unit as the Equites Honoriani seniores mentioned around the same time. Thus, the Equites Honoriani Taifali seniores served in Britain while the Equites Honoriani Taifali iunores served in Gaul under the ''magister Equitum''. They used the dragon-and-pearl device on their shields.[4]
Also according to the ''Notitia'', there was a ''praefectus Sarmatarum et Taifalorum gentilium, Pictavis in Galia'', that is, a Sarmatian and Taifal prefect in Poitiers in Gaul.[5] The region of Poitou was even called 'Thifalia' or 'Theiphalia' in the sixth century. The Taifals were instrumental in defeating the Visigothic cavalry hand to hand at the Battle of Vouillé in 507.[6] Finally, the ''Notitia'' refers to a troop called the ''Comites Taifali'' who were formed by Theodosius the Great and served in the Eastern Empire.[7]
Under the Merovingians, Theiphalia had its own ''dux'' (duke).[8] It is possible that the Taifal ''laeti'' who had served the Romans also served as garrisons for the Franks, but this is not referred to in primary records. The ''laeti'' were formally integrated into the Merovingian military establishment under Childebert I.[9] The last mention of the Taifals as a distinct group dates from year 561.
One of the most famous Taifals was Saint Senoch, who founded an abbey at the Roman ruins which are now called Saint-Senoch. The Taifal influence extended into the ninth century and their fortresses, like Tiffauges and Lusignan, continued in use under the Carolingians.[10] They also left their mark in the municipal nomenclature of the region: asides from Tiffauges, mentioned above, Taphaleschat in Corrèze, Toufailles and Toufailloux in Aquitaine, and Chauffailles (formerly ''Taïfailia'') in Burgundy owe their names to Taifal settlement. Perhaps the town of Tafalla in the Navarre owes its name to these people, but if so, it is unknown if the Taifals were established in Hispania (probably to tame the Basques) by the Romans before 412 or by the Visigoths after that.
| Contents |
| Sources |
| Notes |
Sources
★ Bachrach, Bernard S. ''Merovingian Military Organization, 481–751''. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1971.
★ Bachrach, Bernard S. "Procopius, Agathias and the Frankish Military." ''Speculum'', Vol. 45, No. 3. (Jul., 1970), pp 435–441.
★ Bachrach, Bernard S. "Military Organization in Aquitaine under the Early Carolingians." ''Speculum'', Vol. 49, No. 1. (Jan., 1974), pp 1–33.
★ Lenski, Noel. "Initium mali Romano imperio: Contemporary Reactions to the Battle of Adrianople (in History and Ideology)." ''Transactions of the American Philological Association'', Vol. 127. (1997), pp 129–168.
★ Heather, Peter. "The Huns and the End of the Roman Empire in Western Europe." ''The English Historical Review'', Vol. 110, No. 435. (Feb., 1995), pp 4–41. (''See map for Taifal migration route in Balkans, p. 8.'')
★ Nickel, Helmut. "The Dragon and the Pearl." ''Metropolitan Museum Journal'', Vol. 26. (1991), pp 139–146.
★ Barnes, T. D. "Another Forty Missing Persons (A. D. 260–395)." ''Phoenix'', Vol. 28, No. 2. (Summer, 1974), pp 224–233.
★ Barnes, T. D. "Constans and Gratian in Rome." ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', Vol. 79. (1975), pp 325–333.
★ Nischer, E. C. "The Army Reforms of Diocletian and Constantine and Their Modifications up to the Time of the Notitia Dignitatum." ''The Journal of Roman Studies'', Vol. 13. (1923), pp 1–55.
★ Greenberg, David. ''The Construction of Homosexuality''. 1988.
Notes
1. Lenski, 157.
2. Barnes, "Forty", 226. Ibid, "Constans", 331–332.
3. Ammianus, 31.IX.v. Greenberg, 243, believes this refers to practices of ritualistic homosexual pederasty among the Taifali warrior class.
4. Nickel, 139.
5. Bachrach, ''Merovingian'', 12 n30.
6. Ibid, 17.
7. Nischer, 51.
8. Bachrach, ''Merovingian'', 29 and 38.
9. Ibid, 44.
10. Bachrach, ''Aquitaine'', 24.
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