08-02-2012, 01:27 PM
The charge that Ammianus was 'classicising' when using terms such as 'Auxilliaries', 'Cohorts', 'Maniples', 'Gladius' etc can be countered by the fact that he also uses contemporary terms along side them such as 'Spiculum' for spears and 'Veruta' for javelins. And of course it may just well be the case that the older terms were still in regular use, at least by the 'older generation' such as Ammianus would have been when he wrote his history.
As to my point about auxilliaries, there appears to have been two types, the auxilia units raised since Diocletian as 'Auxilia Palatina', which also served alongside other auxilia units called 'comitatensis' and 'pseudocomitatensis', which were probably the older auxilia units serving on the frontiers. The second type were troops hired for the occasion such as the 'Skythians' I mentioned plus Sarmatians and other tribes hired or approached during the 4th Century. These appear only to have served for a specific campaign and generally returned home afterwards. That's not to say that more permanent auxilia units could not be raised from them as the Notitia shows that there were units of both Cavalry and Auxilia raised from the Taifali, there was a auxila unit raised from the Heruli that was brigaded with the Batavi auxilia unit to the extent they both shared the same standards.
As to my point about auxilliaries, there appears to have been two types, the auxilia units raised since Diocletian as 'Auxilia Palatina', which also served alongside other auxilia units called 'comitatensis' and 'pseudocomitatensis', which were probably the older auxilia units serving on the frontiers. The second type were troops hired for the occasion such as the 'Skythians' I mentioned plus Sarmatians and other tribes hired or approached during the 4th Century. These appear only to have served for a specific campaign and generally returned home afterwards. That's not to say that more permanent auxilia units could not be raised from them as the Notitia shows that there were units of both Cavalry and Auxilia raised from the Taifali, there was a auxila unit raised from the Heruli that was brigaded with the Batavi auxilia unit to the extent they both shared the same standards.
Adrian Coombs-Hoar
