11-23-2020, 05:34 PM
(11-22-2020, 08:09 PM)Mark Hygate Wrote: having at least some sort of reserve closer, does make a lot of sense.
Possibly, yes. Although we should bear in mind the point in the OP about the paranoia of emperors (justified, usually!) - would they really want to leave half their army behind under the command of a powerful subordinate?
And thinking about the apparent splitting up of paired units also mentioned in the OP, it seems possible that the two praesental armies were alway intended to work together, with the two magistri acting as equal subordinates to the emperor (or his Praetorian Prefect). This would be a different situation to the west, where a single all-powerful magister could effectively concentrate all military and political power in his own hands.
Nathan Ross
