09-15-2014, 10:05 AM
Well thank you. Anyway, the Dunbar number is not a hard and fast one, but 200 would be within the range/deviation. If centuries are 80, would the army split one of them to make up maniple, or am I miscounting?
Now, my reading is not thorough, but my suggestion is that the maniple developed because it served two purposes: the size of the unit happened to be superior to the phalanx, and at the same time it was practical for unit cohesion and phychological/social support. Caring for your friends and not letting them down sort of thing. And I didn't say it disappeared, I said that at least the social concept, and the Roman military was pretty much its own social class, kept on. I was casually (I do a lot of that) looking through Roman fort designs and see that barrack blocks face each other, which perhaps reinforces this sense of community.
Now, my reading is not thorough, but my suggestion is that the maniple developed because it served two purposes: the size of the unit happened to be superior to the phalanx, and at the same time it was practical for unit cohesion and phychological/social support. Caring for your friends and not letting them down sort of thing. And I didn't say it disappeared, I said that at least the social concept, and the Roman military was pretty much its own social class, kept on. I was casually (I do a lot of that) looking through Roman fort designs and see that barrack blocks face each other, which perhaps reinforces this sense of community.
Richard Campbell
Legio XX - Alexandria, Virginia
RAT member #6?
Legio XX - Alexandria, Virginia
RAT member #6?
