03-08-2014, 12:41 AM
Quote: there is far stronger evidence that, whilst the senior centurion commanded the cohort, one of the 5 junior Tribunes was placed in charge of a pair of cohorts when on detachment.
Going back a little to this thread, I'd still say that there is no evidence from the principiate period (for which we have far more epigraphic and literary detail) that legionary cohorts were commanded by anybody!
In the later empire, both 'tribune' and 'cohort' seem to shift in meaning (along with 'legion' and most other things...), and we have tribunes commanding legions, numeri of auxilia and old-style cohorts...
To answer your question, Mark, I'm fairly happy with the idea of a flexible arrangement, yes. Although I suspect, in this discussion at least, I may be alone in that view! I believe there is a difference between a 'paper strength' and a 'theoretical strength', both of which are different from actual strength - in theory a milliary cohort should have 1000 men, on paper it may have had 800, in fact recorded strengths for these units vary wildly. And so on.
But perhaps this is largely because I have never enjoyed mathematics.
mile:
Nathan Ross
