12-20-2013, 03:11 PM
It may just be possible that the old style Legiones were still in existance during Diocletian's reign and that when he started his reforms, completed by Constantine, the legion strength may have been 6000 strong, on paper at least.
I would not dismiss out of hand the Legions no longer having maniples etc during the time Ammianus served with the Roman army, he does mention maniples, centuries, cohorts etc a number of times in his history as this famous passage notes-
'After such a series of successes Constantius, now raised above any fear, by the unanimous voice of the soldiers was hailed a second time as Sarmaticus, after the name of the conquered people; and now, on the point of departure, he called together all the cohorts, centuries, and maniples, and standing on a tribunal, surrounded by standards, eagles and a throng of many officers of high rank, he addressed the army with these words, being greeted (as usual) with the acclaim of all...' Amm XVII, 13, 24-25
I would not dismiss out of hand the Legions no longer having maniples etc during the time Ammianus served with the Roman army, he does mention maniples, centuries, cohorts etc a number of times in his history as this famous passage notes-
'After such a series of successes Constantius, now raised above any fear, by the unanimous voice of the soldiers was hailed a second time as Sarmaticus, after the name of the conquered people; and now, on the point of departure, he called together all the cohorts, centuries, and maniples, and standing on a tribunal, surrounded by standards, eagles and a throng of many officers of high rank, he addressed the army with these words, being greeted (as usual) with the acclaim of all...' Amm XVII, 13, 24-25
Adrian Coombs-Hoar
