5th- Century danubian foedera and foederati and their consequences for the Late Antique roman political-institutional framework

The inhabitants of the Pannonian provinces lived under extremely unstable conditions starting with Marcus Aurelius’ military operations against the Marcomanni and Valentinian I’s expedition against the Quadi and the Sarmatians, although such conflicts reached their peak only between the late 4th and early 5th centuries. The initial phase of the «Great Migrations» acted as a cultural yet also a political watershed since it was during this period that clusters of Germanic and nomadic populations settled, thanks to diplomatic agreements, in the imperial areas, with the task of defending the borders. It was at the end of the 4th century, with the transformation of the Goths, Alans and Huns into foederati, that Pannonia, divided into four provinces, Pannonia I, Savia, Valeria and Pannonia II, enjoyed a period of relative stability. Archaeological research has shown that the actions to strengthen the defences in the military encampments set up along the limes can be correlated with a reduction in the number of soldiers in the Roman regiments.