Roman Legion in late Antiquity

[Nathan Ross]

There are 5 tribunis cohortis without stations given in pannonia prima... a Tribunis Cohortis Batavorum in 303 probably refers to the Cohortis Primae Batavorum from Batavis in Noricum, not the Tribe/Auxilia Palatina unit.

Batavis was just over the border in Raetia, and the unit there was novae Batavorum (primae was in Britain, apparently), but otherwise yes, I thought that too! :wink:

However, the tribune in question seems to have been promoted directly from his Batavian command to Dux Pannoniae, so I would guess (tribune too being rather a 'mutable' term!) that he was more likely to have commanded a numerus of prestigious new-style auxilia than a lowly old-style auxiliary unit (his title didn't mention a cohort). But who knows...

The relevant sections of the ND do mention cohorts in relation to legions, though - Praefectus legionis primae adiutricis cohortis quintae partis superioris, Breg(e)tione, for example. Suggesting that the old limitanei legions on the frontiers were still organised on traditional lines, with cohorts.

So the question remains: were the new-style 'field legions' of the comitatensis and palatinae divided into cohorts, or did they use some other internal organisation?

many officials would have absolutely no clue how the army worked. If Flavius Aetius wrote a treatise on the Roman Army would look very different from if Valentinian III wrote one.

Very true!