07-08-2012, 05:15 PM
Hi! My first post here after...dunno 6 years? lol Nice to be back 
I wouldn't be too sure about Gallienus "cavalry" force. First of all there are doubts concerning the greek text which mentions cavalry units. Junkelmann makes a good point in his Roman Cavalry.
Some years ago, before I had to stop studying until now, I startet to write a paper on dating problems concerning Gallienus reign, which I never managed to finish. Anyway I doubt that there was a pure cavalry force. It might be true that the bulk of his cavalry detachments was stationed at Milan. Aureolus never really appears as a pure cavalry commander however.
We don't know how his "special force" actually was formed. It was stationed in northern Italy out of several reasons. To stop germanic incursions, to block the Gallic empire and to be available quickly at the pannonian and dacian boarder as well.
There were serious incursions during the beginning of his reign in the Pannonian area. They were driven back and the Marcomanni took over some of the boarder defence for the Romans, still the threat continued to exist. The Alemanni had crossed the alps, Goths at the lower Danube and the Gallic Empire to the north.
At least after driving the Alemanni back and recovering Raetia from the Gallic Empire he was in control of the Alpine passes. It seems quite certain that he blocked them. Cavalry is of no use there, so the infantry detachments were probably spread over a wider area as long as they were not actively needed.
The whole distribution of the army and its units was quite a mess during his reign, which makes it hard to find out, which units were actually used and where.
During his earlier reign together with his father he conducted some campaigns on the Gallic Germanian boarder. There were several of the british detachments with him and it seems that some of them actually stayed in the area during the Gallic Empire.
His coinage was discussed in some earlier works. An interesting point there were some coins praising some of the "German" legions, which were by then part of the Gallic Empire. While working at the CIL i stumbled across 2 rather new inscriptions (dunno if they've been published by now and where...as I said, I had no time to do anything concerning ancient history for years). Anyway there are 2 inscriptions which from the context seem to date to his reign. They are from Pannonia and Dacia. Both from soldiers from Legio I Minervia. It seems like he had taken some detachments from the german legions to fight at the Danube, while his father went to the east. These detachments actually seem to have stayed in his field army after the Gallic Empire seceded. There are no permanent camps along the boarders I know of in which they stayed for a longer time and left much traces. So to me it seems likely that part of his field army consisted of the detachments he took from the German provinces and the Decumates. Infantry that is.
But this is just speculation of course...
I wouldn't be too sure about Gallienus "cavalry" force. First of all there are doubts concerning the greek text which mentions cavalry units. Junkelmann makes a good point in his Roman Cavalry.
Some years ago, before I had to stop studying until now, I startet to write a paper on dating problems concerning Gallienus reign, which I never managed to finish. Anyway I doubt that there was a pure cavalry force. It might be true that the bulk of his cavalry detachments was stationed at Milan. Aureolus never really appears as a pure cavalry commander however.
We don't know how his "special force" actually was formed. It was stationed in northern Italy out of several reasons. To stop germanic incursions, to block the Gallic empire and to be available quickly at the pannonian and dacian boarder as well.
There were serious incursions during the beginning of his reign in the Pannonian area. They were driven back and the Marcomanni took over some of the boarder defence for the Romans, still the threat continued to exist. The Alemanni had crossed the alps, Goths at the lower Danube and the Gallic Empire to the north.
At least after driving the Alemanni back and recovering Raetia from the Gallic Empire he was in control of the Alpine passes. It seems quite certain that he blocked them. Cavalry is of no use there, so the infantry detachments were probably spread over a wider area as long as they were not actively needed.
The whole distribution of the army and its units was quite a mess during his reign, which makes it hard to find out, which units were actually used and where.
During his earlier reign together with his father he conducted some campaigns on the Gallic Germanian boarder. There were several of the british detachments with him and it seems that some of them actually stayed in the area during the Gallic Empire.
His coinage was discussed in some earlier works. An interesting point there were some coins praising some of the "German" legions, which were by then part of the Gallic Empire. While working at the CIL i stumbled across 2 rather new inscriptions (dunno if they've been published by now and where...as I said, I had no time to do anything concerning ancient history for years). Anyway there are 2 inscriptions which from the context seem to date to his reign. They are from Pannonia and Dacia. Both from soldiers from Legio I Minervia. It seems like he had taken some detachments from the german legions to fight at the Danube, while his father went to the east. These detachments actually seem to have stayed in his field army after the Gallic Empire seceded. There are no permanent camps along the boarders I know of in which they stayed for a longer time and left much traces. So to me it seems likely that part of his field army consisted of the detachments he took from the German provinces and the Decumates. Infantry that is.
But this is just speculation of course...
