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				The Late Roman Period
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			Recreating Roman Cavalry					The Comitatus Ballista
							Comitatus specializes in recreating a Roman legion based in Britain during the late 4th century. This legion is the Praesidiensis. The late 4th century is a crucial time in the history of Rome, Britain is to be abandoned for good in 407, and Rome itself will soon be sacked by barbarians. The soldiers we portray in every detail are the soldiers who left Britain for good, they are the soldiers who failed to defend Rome. And if any troops remained behind in Britain to defend these shores against the Saxons, they would have looked like this.
							It was emperor Diocletian who changed the look of the legions and created a new legionary system. This new fighting force lasted from around 300 AD through to the 6th century. Gone were "legions and auxiliaries", instead there were static frontier forces (limitanei) based in forts, and field armies (comitatus) garrisoned in cities but moving to wherever the barbarians attacked. This two-tier system created a defence in-depth. The legionaries in this reorganisation became multi-skilled warriors, capable of fighting in heavy armour, in boats, with bows or slings, or going light and skirmishing in mountainous terrain.
	The Legio Praesidiensis was a legion based in northern Britain somewhere near York, during the 4th century. Constantine, Count Theodosius and Magnus Maximus came and went. It was probably the general Stilicho who took the legion across the Channel with him in 402, to help defend Italy. It never returned. Our shield design is taken from the Notitia Dignitatum, a surviving army list from the period. At that point Praesidiensis is listed as being part of the Gallic field army (comitatus). This is how we get our name!