The document comprises a list of the names of all the provinces of the empire (c. 100 in total), organised according to the twelve newly created regional groupings called dioceses. Although the dioceses are presented in a single list, they are not ordered in a single geographical sequence but rather in two separate eastern and western groups, the eastern group (Oriens, Pontica, Asiana, Thraciae, Moesiae, Pannoniae) preceding the western (Britanniae, Galliae, Viennensis, Italiae, Hispaniae, Africa). The split is apparent from the discontinuity midway in the list between the dioceses of Pannoniae and Britanniae. The eastern half of the list circles the Mediterranean neatly anticlockwise from south to north or, in continental terms, from Africa, through Asia, to Europe. The arrangement of the western half is less tidy, though it is approximately anticlockwise from north to south, or from Europe to Africa.
The barbarian peoples listed may in some instance have lived outside of the provincial structure of the empire, but they are all clearly regarded as living within the empire. Even in the cases of those barbarians clearly living within provinces, however, the Laterculus suggests that a meaningful distinction was drawn between "civilized" and "uncivilized" areas.[6][7]
Date
Theodor Mommsen had dated the provincial situation in the list to 297, but later research changed the estimate to 314–324 for the Eastern Half and 303–314 for the Western Half of the Roman empire. The most recent work by Timothy Barnes and Constantin Zuckerman concludes that the entire document belongs to a single moment, c. 314, the eastern and western parts corresponding to the respective spheres of responsibility of the emperors Licinius and Constantine during the period between Licinius' defeat of Maximinus Daza in 313 and his own defeat in his first civil war with Constantine in 316–317.
Text
The text on the left is the original Latin, divided into lines beginning with capital letters. The original text uses the interpunct (·) to separate entries and is mostly unicase.[8] The text on the right is an English translation.[9]
Latin original
Incipit eiusdem nomina prouinciarum omnium.
Diocensis Orientis habet prouincias numero XVIII
Libia superior
Libia inferior
Thebais
Aegyptus iouia
Aegyptus herculea
Arabia
item Arabia
Augusta libanensis
Palestina
Fenicen
Syria ecohele
Augusta eupatenses
Cilicia
Isauria
Tupus
Mesopotamia
Osroaena
Diocensis Pontica habet prouincias numero VII
Bitinia
Cappadocia
Galatia
Pamplagonia, nunc in duas diuisa
Diospontus
Pontus polemiacus
Armenia minor, nunc et maior addita
Diocensis Asiana habet prouincias numero VIIII
Phanfilia
Frigia prima
Frigia secunda
Assa
Lidia
Caria
Insuluae
Fisidae
Ellespontus
Diocensis Tracoae habet prouincias numero VI
Europa
Rodope
Tracia
Emossanus
Scitia
Misia inferior
Diocensis Misiarum habet prouincias numero XI
Dacias
Misia superior margensis
Dardania
Macedonia
Tessalia
Priantina
Priualentina
Epiros noua
Epiros uetus
Creta
Diocensis Pannoniarum habet prouincias numero VII
Pannonia inferior
Fauensis
Dalmatia
Ualeria
Pannonia superior
Noricus pariensis
Noricus mediterranea
Diocensis Brittaniarum habet prouincias numero VI
Primam
Secundam
Maxime caesariensis
Aelauiae caesariensis
Diocensis Galliarum habet prouincias numero VIII
Betica prima
Betica secunda
Germania prima
Germania secunda
Sequania
Lubdunensis prima
Lubdunensis secunda
Alpes graiae et poeninae
Diocensis Biennensis habet prouincias numero VII
Biennensis
Narbonensis prima
Narbonensis secunda
Nouem populi
Aquitanica prima
Aquitanica secunda
Alpes maritimas
Diocensis Italiciana habet prouincias numero XVI
Beteiam histriam
Flaminiam picenum
Tusciam umbrenam
Apuliam calabriam
Licaoniam
Corsicam
Alpes cotias
Retica
Diocensis Hispaniarum habet prouincias numero VI
Beticam
Lusitaniam
Kartaginiensis
Gallecia
Tharraconensis
Mauritania tingitania
Diocensis Africae habet prouincias numero VII
Proconsularis
Bizacina
Zeugitana
Numidia cirtensis
Numidia miliciana
Mauritania caesariensis
Mauritania tabia insidiana
Felix saeculum.
Gentes barbarae, quae pullulauerunt sub imperatoribus
Scoti
Picti
Calidoni
Rugi
Heruli
Saxones
Camari
Crinsiani
Amsiuari
Angri angriuari
Fleui
Bructeri
Cati
Burgunziones
Alamanni
Sueui
Franci
Gallouari
Iotungi
Armilausini
Marcomanni
Quadi
Taifruli
Hermundubi
Uandali
Sarmatae
Sciri
Carpi
Scitae
Gothi
Indii
Armeni
Horro [ ]
Palmoerni
Mosoritae
Marmeritae
Theui
Isaur [ ]
Friges
Persae
Item gentes, quae in Mauretaniae sunt
Mauri gensani
Mauri mazazeses
Mauri baueres
Mauri bacautes
Celtitibari
Turini
Ausitani
Calpitani
Cantabri
Enantes
Nomina ciuitatum, trans Renum fluuium quae sunt
Usiphorum [Usipiorum]
Tuuanium [Tubantum]
Nictrensium
Nouarii
Casuariorum [Chasuariorum]
Istae omnes ciuitates trans Renum in formulam Belgicae primae redactae. Trans castellum Montiacesenam LXXX leugas trans Renum Romani possederunt. Istae ciuitates sub Gallieno imperatore a barbaris occupatae sunt. Leuga una habet mille quingentos passus. Explicit.
All these cities across the Rhine were received into the rule of Belgica Prima. Across from the fortress of Mogontiacum, the Romans possessed 80 leagues beyond the Rhine. Under the Emperor Gallienus, these cities were occupied by barbarians. One league has one thousand five hundred paces [i.e., 1.5 Roman miles]. Explicit.
Notes
^Verona, Biblioteca Capitolare, MS II (2), at fol. 255 recto, line 14-fol. 256 recto, line 19; E. A. Lowe, Codices Latini Antiquiores 4 (Oxford, 1947), p. 21, No 477
^The text is drawn from Seeck 1876, pp. 247–253, with punctuation removed and the spelling of provincial names corrected to better reflect the idiosyncrasies and errors of the original manuscript based on Barnes 1982, pp. 202–203.
^The provincial names are from Barnes 1982, pp. 205–208; except where noted, those of the barbarian peoples and cities from Seeck 1876, pp. 251–253, relying on Karl Müllenhoff.
^The discrepancy between the promised 16 and the listed 8 is the largest in the existing copy of the Laterculus. Barnes 1982, p. 219, lists a further four Italian provinces that were probably in existence at the time of the document but are not listed: Aemilia et Liguria, Campania, Sicilia and Sardinia.
^Barnes 1982, p. 208, suggests Mauretania Tubusuctitana as a possible alternative name of the province.
^The translation of this line is from Arce 2018, p. 377.
^Müllenhoff suggested a people named for the river Flevum (Latin Fleuus fluuius).
^It is unlikely that Indii refers to Indians. It was corrected to Vinidi by Müllenhoff, while Hartmann 2008, p. 34, suggests Iudaei (Jews).
^The name is corrupted. Müllenhoff suggested it should read Bosoritae; Riese suggested Bostritae. See Kroll 1933 and Hartmann 2008, p. 34.
^According to Hartmann 2008, p. 34, Riese suggested reading Theui as a corruption of Nabathei.
^The translation of this line is from Shaw 1986, p. 82.
^Kerneis 1999, p. 360, emends it to Nicirenses and takes it to mean "people of the Neckar".
^This emendation is suggested by Kerneis 1999, p. 360.
References
Arce, Javier (2018). "Goths and Romans in Visigothic Hispania". Transformations of Romanness: Early Medieval Regions and Identities. De Gruyter. pp. 371–378.
Hartmann, Udo (2008). "Die literarischen Quellen". In Klaus-Peter Johne (ed.). Die Zeit der Soldatenkaiser: Krise und Transformation des Römischen Reiches im 3. Jahrhundert n.Chr. (235–284). Akademie Verlag. pp. 19–44.
Kerneis, Soazick (1999). "La Bretagne rhénane Note sur les établissements bretons dans les Champs Décumates". Latomus. 58 (Fasc. 2): 357–390. JSTOR41538748.
Zuckerman, Constantin (2002). "Sur la liste de Vérone et la province de Grande Arménie, la division de l'empire et la date de création des diocèces". In Déroche, Vincent; Feissel, Denis; Morrisson, Cécile; et al. (eds.). Mélanges Gilbert Dagron = Travaux et Mémoires 14 (in French). pp. 617–637. ISBN978-2-9519198-0-8.