04-26-2013, 02:41 AM
Ioannes Lydus' number [435,266] is sometimes assumed to refer to the beginning of the reign of Diocletian, with Zosimus' and Agathias' [645,000] figures dating to the collapse of the Tetrarchy. Treadgold, for example, takes this view, noting that Ioannes Lydus' number is pretty close to some estimates of Antonine and Severan army strengths.