In historiography, the Later Roman Empire traditionally spans the period from 284 to 641 in the history of the Roman Empire.
Syriac manuscript of Eusebius' Church History (National Library of Russia, Codex Syriac 1)
Bust of Emperor Decius (r. 249–251), a staunch persecutor of Christians (Palazzo Nuovo, Capitoline Museums, Rome)
Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs (St Mark's Basilica, Venice)
Head of a bronze colossus of Constantine (Capitoline Museums, Rome)
The Notitia dignitatum et administrationum omnium tam civilium quam militarium is a document of the Late Roman Empire that details the administrative organization of the Western and the Eastern Roman Empire. It is unique as one of very few surviving documents of Roman government, and describes several thousand offices from the imperial court to provincial governments, diplomatic missions, and army units. It is usually considered to be accurate for the Western Roman Empire in the 420s AD and for the Eastern or Byzantine Empire in the 390s AD. However, the text itself is not dated, and omissions complicate ascertaining its date from its content.
Page from a medieval copy of the Notitia Dignitatum commissioned in 1436 by Pietro Donato, depicting shields of Magister Militum Praesentalis II, a late Roman register of military commands. Bodleian Library, Oxford.
Palestine and the River Jordan, from the Notitia Dignitatum illuminated by Peronet Lamy
Shield pattern of the armigeri defensores seniores (4th row, third from left). Bodleian Library, Oxford.
