Zodiac and Late Roman Army Organisation

[Sean Manning]

Robert, could I have some examples of sources from 400 to 600 CE which talk about an ideal organization, not the strength of particular units at particular times? That was what I was talking about when I said that I thought there were less sources on organization from this period than the middle republic or high empire. Your article mentions a papyrus and several incidental mentions in histories, but those all seem to fall into the second category.

Two main conclusions can be drawn of Late Roman units (Nicasie):
a) in practice, the actual number of troops fielded will have been lower than the paper strengths.
b) it seems possible that Late Roman units did not have fixed establishment strengths at all, but varied between a certain minimum and maximum according to need.

Nicasie's point 2 would fit with what Maurice describes (Strategikon 1.4, 12.b.8 ... edited so that 12.b.8 doesn't render as 8) ).