Zodiac and Late Roman Army Organisation

[Robert Vermaat]

Hi Adrian,

I know using the Notitia for army compositions before 420AD is problematic, but even so the Gallic army only has 15 auxilia palatina units attached to it.

make that before 394. And then some, it's still a generation before the ND, so the situation could have been different. It was, in the sense that just about everything we find described in the ND of the border defences from Strasbourg to the North did not exist at the time. Julian was sent to just about re-conquer Gaul, and the limitanei defences were afterwards rebuilt by him and others (notably Valentinian). So for all intents and purposes, the number of Palatini units in Gaul will have been different: I am prepared to say that perhaps none existed, and that most if not all were concentrated in Italy. But even if a number were present with the magister militum in Gaul, they were part of the field army and we can't even guess where they all went when the Franks broke through.

Even taking into account destroyed units, disbanded units and units relocated to the East, 16 units of auxilia would appear to be almost all those stationed in Gaul, stripping the defences of troops at a time where Gaul was said to be overrun with barbarians, hence Constantius II sending Julian to deal with them.

As above, i think this was already the case in hand, Julian and his forces being actually the only Roman army present in Gaul at the time, barring those places already refortified. But the situation would have been very different from the situation in 394 or 420 (especially then, because the crisis of 410 would have upset the balance immensely - different discussion). The ND represents a situation of balance and refurbished defences.

I would find it easier to agree to say half the number of auxilia being with Silvanius rather than every single auxilia unit stationed in Gaul.

Silvanius could have received his auxilia palatina units from other places, we don't know most of them.

I fully accept the 8000 auxilliaries could well be Frankish or other Germanic mercenaries as we know Silvanius had Franks with him when he was killed.

Indeed, why not?