Istvánovits Eszter: International Connections... (Jósa András Múzeum Kiadványai 47. Aszód-Nyíregyháza, 2001)
Andrea Vaday: Military system of the Sarmatians
From the last third of the 4 th c, the appearance of the Germanic and Iranian population fragments fleeing from the Huns rendered the ethnic composition in the Hungarian Plain even more mixed, and the Roman presence became more emphasised along the barbarian borders. A Late Sarmatian cemetery was found at Mezőszemere (DOMBORÓCZKI 1997) where the dead were given Roman military belts in Sarmatian graves. The propeller-mounted Roman belt, however, was fastened with a Sarmatian buckle! 40 Fibulas with onion-shaped head, the exportation of which had been banned, also appeared in the burials of men, but with the head-knobs missing (BARKÓCZI 1994). Both the fragmentary belts and the fibulas imply that the Sarmatian warriors had been given some sort of rank by the Romans, which was expressed in their costumes. Similar finds exist primarily in the northern zone and the southern part of the Hungarian Plain, where military activity was concentrated. Another characteristic find group with possible evidence of Roman donations also deserves mention. It is the group of conical and dotted glasses which were found mostly in graves with grave goods suggesting military or armed functions and which are also characteristic of the Late Roman cemeteries in Pannónia. As can be seen on our map (fig. 4), the graves with weapons show a denser distribution at the fords on the Tisza and on both banks of the river. Finally, some observations are in order about the crucial question of the Csörsz Ditch. According to Mócsy (MÓCSY 1990,47) "It can be said with great certainty about the Csörsz Ditch encircling the Sarmatian territory that it was built during the Late Empire and a stronger confederation with the Sarmatians had some part in it." The field surveys and test excavations by É. Garam, S. Soproni and P. Patay, and the subsequent rescue excavations in the course of which the entrenchment was also investigated, allow us to attribute the earthwork system to the Sarmatians. The problem of the multiple entrenchment system with parallel stretches has yet to be adequately interpreted. It is certain that such a large defence system can accomplish its function successfully only if it is defended by a unified ethnic group; 41 still, the multiple, nearly parallel stretches of the ramparts seem irrational. The structural comparison of the multiple rampart elements is a task for the future. What is evident from a glance at the sketchy picture is that it is not a question of choosing between two periods for the construction of the defence system (e.g. GARAM-PATAY-SOPRONI 1983, 112). It is certain, however, that the entrenchments cannot be treated as a single system: the distance between them is too large for this. It seems rather that territorial modification necessitated the construction of new stretches. If we accept that a defence system can be built only when it encircles a unified territory, the earliest relevant period in the history of the Sarmatians of the Carpathian Basin would be the time around the Marcomannic Wars, when the Vandali appeared in the Upper Tisza region and the Sarmatians extended their power sphere, thereby creating common borders with the Vandali. It is striking that the easternmost section of the entrenchment runs east of Tibiscum, which was Roman territory until the last third of the 3 rd c. So we 40 This costume may indicate that the barbarians were defending the border in alliance with the Romans, but their paraphernalia were partly different from those used in the Roman army since they did not enjoy the same rank. 41 The Sarmatians can be considered to have been unified in this respect even if, as we have seen, new tribes and tribal fragments immigrated occasionally.
