11-29-2011, 03:08 AM
Quote:If Silvanius took all the Auxilia Palatina units with him that would have meant stripping the provinces defences at a very dangerous time in Gaul, and would have sent very large warning signs to Constantius II!Hmm, but I thought Silvanus at this point (the ref is in Book XVI, but chronologically the incident must fall in XV) had originally been sent to Gaul with an army specifically to repel invaders - so he would have had a lot of troops available to him. Actually he was the Magister Peditum, not Equitum. But it's a rather confusing episode anyway, since Ammianus doesn't make it clear when Silvanus led these 8000 men - his point is that Julian decided to emulate him at some later date.
But anyway, this is probably a bit of a digression here! :wink:
Nathan Ross
