11-01-2016, 02:41 PM
Quote:The units of palatine auxilia listed in the ND are described as numeri on the Concordia tombstones (and in other inscriptions);
All Auxilia Palatina units in the Notitia are labelled Numeri, barring one which Jones/Duncan-Jones/Ueda-Sarson all theorize is a unit upgraded from the British Limes.
Quote:the Perge inscription describes a legion as a numerus... Literary sources call all sorts of units numeri.
Literary sources largely make the distinction between the Legion (Chilia) and Numerus (Arithmos), I think even the Strategikon does but that's in the middle of further military transition.
I think that there was a specific unit of a fixed number of men called a Numerus or Arithmos, but the term also retained its original irregular meaning. At least amongst authors who weren't military experts, maybe.
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