01-04-2012, 07:46 AM
Mr Campbell wrote: This is getting silly. How (indeed, why) would a Roman calculate 16-squared minus 14-squared?!
No…don’t make me out to be the problem. I only wanted clarification on your previously vague question.
When describing the Roman camp, Polybius states “one simple formula for a camp is employed which is adopted at all times and in all places.” So from this we know there is a formula. If you remember, I stated the 480 man cohort amounted to 16 zodiacs, and that the Etruscan heavens were divided into 16 parts. Well the first part of the formula numbers 16. Is this a coincidence? Polybius divides the Roman camp into four parts, but being a macro micro system, one part can again be subdivided into four therefore producing 4 x 4 = 16. The number 16 when doubled makes 32 which is the size of a cavalry squadron for this time period. The number 14 is very significant to the Romans because it represents their infancy and when doubled it makes 28, which represents manhood. The number 28 is intertwined with other practices and explains why Augustus set the number of legions and 28 and why he established 28 new military colonies.
I notice you mention in your Osprey on the Roman camp that the praetentura for the El-Lejjun camp numbered 16 barracks, and you dabble with the number 14 on one occasion. However, in your Osprey on the Roman camp you neglected to explain the reasons as to why the Romans layout the camp in their chosen manner. Foundation treatises specify that the outer boundaries were drawn with reference to the order of the heavens with the axial streets “in line with the course of the sun...and the axis of the sky, fixed that is by the crisscross of sun line and sky-axis…immovable in and at harmony with the universe at whose centre it was placed.”
Polybius has the consul placed in the middle of the camp. I guess without making a proper investigation some would say it is nothing more than geographical coincidence. Some years back I found this interesting quote:
“they do not think it right to call tactics one of the parts of mathematics, as others do. Rather, they hold that it uses sometimes logistics, as in the tallying of companies, and sometimes geodesy, as in the division and measurements of camps.”
The referenced then goes on to name the shapes within the camps. The Romans are associated with the use of square numbers as opposed to the Greeks use of triangular numbers. The formula 16 squared minus 14 squared results in 60. Returning to the formula, the number 16 could represent poson (quantity) and the number 14 pelikon (magnitude). Poson relates to another quantity and pelikon is either stationary or in motion. In regard to the camp, being either stationary or in motion, means the magnitude can be increased or decreased. It is also helpful to understand the Roman cosmology is based on one of the following:
Even times Even
Even times Odd
Odd times Even
You will also find the Roma Quadrata is helpful in understanding the layout of the camp. The tribes are interconnected with the Roma Quadrata. From memory I think Plutarch calls the Roma Quadrata a square while Varro defines it as a name for the city in augural theory. Fortunately there are better sources defining the Roma Quadrata. However, there are two types of Roma Quadrata, and I believe the earlier one is more appropriate to the structure of the camp. No matter how hard you try to resist it, whether you like it or not, everything bounces back to the cosmos.
No…don’t make me out to be the problem. I only wanted clarification on your previously vague question.
When describing the Roman camp, Polybius states “one simple formula for a camp is employed which is adopted at all times and in all places.” So from this we know there is a formula. If you remember, I stated the 480 man cohort amounted to 16 zodiacs, and that the Etruscan heavens were divided into 16 parts. Well the first part of the formula numbers 16. Is this a coincidence? Polybius divides the Roman camp into four parts, but being a macro micro system, one part can again be subdivided into four therefore producing 4 x 4 = 16. The number 16 when doubled makes 32 which is the size of a cavalry squadron for this time period. The number 14 is very significant to the Romans because it represents their infancy and when doubled it makes 28, which represents manhood. The number 28 is intertwined with other practices and explains why Augustus set the number of legions and 28 and why he established 28 new military colonies.
I notice you mention in your Osprey on the Roman camp that the praetentura for the El-Lejjun camp numbered 16 barracks, and you dabble with the number 14 on one occasion. However, in your Osprey on the Roman camp you neglected to explain the reasons as to why the Romans layout the camp in their chosen manner. Foundation treatises specify that the outer boundaries were drawn with reference to the order of the heavens with the axial streets “in line with the course of the sun...and the axis of the sky, fixed that is by the crisscross of sun line and sky-axis…immovable in and at harmony with the universe at whose centre it was placed.”
Polybius has the consul placed in the middle of the camp. I guess without making a proper investigation some would say it is nothing more than geographical coincidence. Some years back I found this interesting quote:
“they do not think it right to call tactics one of the parts of mathematics, as others do. Rather, they hold that it uses sometimes logistics, as in the tallying of companies, and sometimes geodesy, as in the division and measurements of camps.”
The referenced then goes on to name the shapes within the camps. The Romans are associated with the use of square numbers as opposed to the Greeks use of triangular numbers. The formula 16 squared minus 14 squared results in 60. Returning to the formula, the number 16 could represent poson (quantity) and the number 14 pelikon (magnitude). Poson relates to another quantity and pelikon is either stationary or in motion. In regard to the camp, being either stationary or in motion, means the magnitude can be increased or decreased. It is also helpful to understand the Roman cosmology is based on one of the following:
Even times Even
Even times Odd
Odd times Even
You will also find the Roma Quadrata is helpful in understanding the layout of the camp. The tribes are interconnected with the Roma Quadrata. From memory I think Plutarch calls the Roma Quadrata a square while Varro defines it as a name for the city in augural theory. Fortunately there are better sources defining the Roma Quadrata. However, there are two types of Roma Quadrata, and I believe the earlier one is more appropriate to the structure of the camp. No matter how hard you try to resist it, whether you like it or not, everything bounces back to the cosmos.
