Inscriptions containing army numbers

[Nathan Ross]

For the health of this thread, I think it is also acceptable for placing papyrus records.

Good idea!

That's an interesting document - I found an English study of it, 'A New Military Strength Report on Papyrus' Thomas & Davies, JRS 67 (1977), which has a translation. Here's the relevant section:

   

So 457 was the total number after losses, comprising 6 centurions, 4 decurions, 100 cavalry, 13 dromedarii and (by calculation) 334 infantry.

The 30 losses comprise 2 centurions, 11 cavalry, 1 dromedarius and (by calculation) 16 infantry. There are also 126 temporarily absent 'in the chora' (the Egyptian countryside, apparently), but the breakdown is lost. It's not clear whether the temporary losses are included in the total number of remaining men or not.

Thomas & Davies suggest that the two missing centurions have already been replaced, meaning that the unit would fit Hyginus's description of a cohors quingenaria equitata, with 6 centuries and 4 turmae. Otherwise we would have 8 centuries.

If the temporary absentees are already included in the total, there would be 350 infantry and 111 cavalry and 14 dromedarii, with 6 or 8 centurions and 4 decurions, for a total strength of 487 men. If the absentees are not included the total would be 613 - this figure being quite close to the usual estimate of 480+120+officers.

The more of the 'strength reports' I see, the more I wonder whether the standard auxiliary century was actually around 60 men...

Thomas & Davies mention two other comparable pridiana - another from Egypt (RMR 64 / BGU 696), and one from Moesia (RMR 63 / P.Lond 2851). It might be worth trying to track them down too, maybe?

Meanwhiles, here's the well-known (if confusing) Vindolanda Tablet 154: "...the figure of 752 is tolerably close to a notional strength of 800. There can be, however, no possible doubt that the Tungrian cohort had only 6 centurions."