02-13-2014, 06:17 PM
A long article on Aurelius Gaius is to be found in T. Drew-Bear, 'Les Voyages d’Aurélius Gaius, Soldat de Dioclétien', in La Géographie Administrative et Politique d’Alexandre à Mahomet. Actes du Colloque de Strasbourg, 14-16 juin 1979, (Strasbourg, no date), 96-141. It is, as you will have gathered, in French. I set out below an extract from an article that I wrote some years ago concerning (inter alia) the ranks of centurions in Vegetius' First Cohort, which I hope you may find of interest:
From the late third or early fourth century AD comes the career of Aurelius Gaius who held successively the ranks of optio triarius, optio ordinatus and p[rinceps ?] optio. Of these, optio triarius is the first and, presumably, the most junior. This is diametrically opposite to the position under the Republic, when the triarii were the oldest and most senior soldiers, but corresponds exactly to that appearing in Vegetius, where the triarius prior seems, from the number of men under his command, to be the most junior of the centurions in the First Cohort. Perhaps, therefore, the triarius prior should be sought some time in the third century.
From the late third or early fourth century AD comes the career of Aurelius Gaius who held successively the ranks of optio triarius, optio ordinatus and p[rinceps ?] optio. Of these, optio triarius is the first and, presumably, the most junior. This is diametrically opposite to the position under the Republic, when the triarii were the oldest and most senior soldiers, but corresponds exactly to that appearing in Vegetius, where the triarius prior seems, from the number of men under his command, to be the most junior of the centurions in the First Cohort. Perhaps, therefore, the triarius prior should be sought some time in the third century.
Michael King Macdona
And do as adversaries do in law, -
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
(The Taming of the Shrew: Act 1, Scene 2)
And do as adversaries do in law, -
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
(The Taming of the Shrew: Act 1, Scene 2)
