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Late Roman Army Grade/Rank List under Anastasius
My impression still remains the same. It appears to be telling us of the legion at full strength, its strength with one third removed (10 signiferi command 10 centuries), and the numbers given seem to relate to the men of the one third of the legion that are removed or act as garrison troops. The two tribunes indicate this is what is going on. Then there is the cavalry aspect to be included.

 
The number of Augustales (120) and Flaviales (200) comes to 320 men, which from my own research has my attention. Having studied the Roman army from the Servian constitution to the sack of Rome, I have found some interesting patterns that have become tools for further investigation. No one has done an intensive study on how the legions make cavalry lanes, and the rules that apply. Basically, it is plain geometry. The frontage of a cavalry lanes created by the legion must be equal to the frontage of a cavalry squadron with squadron intervals, and knowing the frontage allocated to each horse, I can determine the size of a cavalry squadron by the frontage of a cavalry lane. As everything is formulised with the Roman military, it becomes predictable, and it is no different with the Late Roman army, and when the size of the squadron as determined by the cavalry lanes matches the primary source data, it is all systems go.
 
However, putting that aside, it still does not properly answer what is the size of a numerus or cuneus is. How do we know? If a person works out the size of an arithmoi as given by Soz., does that really prove an arithmoi is a numerus? No it doesn’t. And how large is an ala? How large is a cavalry vexillation? In the end I have to admit that I don’t really know, and have made the following based on organisational patterns of the past, which produce the following:
 
Ala                     24 squadrons
Numerus            16 squadrons
Equites              12 squadrons
Cuneus                8 squadrons
Vexillation           6 squadrons
 
The cavalry numbers are based on the Pythagorean cosmos, which uses the ratio 3/2 (the perfect fifth) and 4/3 (the perfect fourth). The cavalry in the Pythagorean system are part of the five elements that make up the cosmos, with the cavalry representing the element Heaven. The ala of 24 squadrons and the numerus of 16 squadrons represent the ratio 3/2. The numerus (16 squadrons) and the Equites produce the ratio 4/3, and the Equites and the Cuneus produce the ratio 3/2, while the cuneus and the vexillation produce the ration 4/3.

In the end, like all pay records, the Perge document does not produces answers to many a question. Pay roll records, I believe are incomplete or like the Perge document, has missing fragments, which make them deceptive and to be applied with caution. Working with pay records is akin to the five blind men trying to describe an elephant. Just look at how divergent are the interpretations of myself and Nathan concerning the Perge document. We are miles apart on nearly every aspect. So for those who believed the Perge document was to be the instrument of great understanding into the Late Roman legion, for me it has too many pitfalls and short comings.
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RE: Late Roman Army Grade/Rank List under Anastasius - by Steven James - 06-20-2017, 06:07 AM

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