04-26-2018, 03:53 PM
(This post was last modified: 04-27-2018, 12:24 AM by Nathan Ross.)
I've just tracked down one of the references from Coello's Late Roman Unit Sizes.
On p.100 he writes: "An Egyptian papyrus, apparently dating from 18/19 March AD 399 records payments of annonae to a detachment of legio V Macedonica at Memphis. 835 rations of wine (each of one sextatius or 0.54 litres 10.9 pints]) and meat (0.45 kilogrammes [one pound] each) were to be paid apparently for two days, giving a detachment size of about 340-400 men. (This calculation is incidentally dependent on assuming that a fraction of soldiers received multiple annonae.)"
Coello gives no reference for this in his footnotes, but the papyrus appears to be HGV SB 20 14675 / ChLA 45 1328:
AD 399 Mar 19
Est vino mil(itum) leg(ionis) Maced(onicae) sub c(ura) Gaioli trib(uni) d(iurnarum) an(nonarum) octingentas triginta cinque, ex d(ie) quintum decimo Kal(endas) April(es) [i]n d(iem) qu[art]um decimo Kal(endas) easd(em), duo cene. Post cons(ulatum) [dom(ini) n(ostri)] H[on]orii p(erpetui) Aug(usti) qua[ter] et Eytychiani v(iri) c(larissimi), p(er) Sergio actuario, ind. XII. [ -ca.?- ] γ(ίνεται) ὁ̣(μοῦ) ξ(έσται) ωλε.
Est carne mil(itum) leg(ionis) Maced(onicae) sub c(ura) Gaioli trib(uni) d(iurnarum) an(nonarum) octingentas trigint[a] ci[nqu]e, ex d(ie) qu[int]um decimo K[al](endas) [Apri]l(es) in d(iem) quart[u]m decimo Kal(endas) easd(em), [d]uo cene. Pos[t] c[ons(ulatum)] d[o]m(ini) n(ostri) Honorii [p(erpetui) Aug(usti) quater et E[yt]ychiani v(iri) c(larissima), p(er) Sergio a[ctuario, ind. XII]. [ -ca.?- ] γ(ίνεται) ὁ(μοῦ) λ(ίτραι) ωλ̣ε̣.
835 annonae over two days would give 417.5 per day, so obviously some soldiers must have received 1.5 annonae. Ordinarii alone may have had 8 annonae each at Perge levels, and Augustales 6.
But might a figure of 340-400 men be about right, and if so how did Coello work it out?
A figure of only 300-400 men for a 'frontier legion' of c.AD400 would rather alter our estimates for the Notitia Dignitatum...
On p.100 he writes: "An Egyptian papyrus, apparently dating from 18/19 March AD 399 records payments of annonae to a detachment of legio V Macedonica at Memphis. 835 rations of wine (each of one sextatius or 0.54 litres 10.9 pints]) and meat (0.45 kilogrammes [one pound] each) were to be paid apparently for two days, giving a detachment size of about 340-400 men. (This calculation is incidentally dependent on assuming that a fraction of soldiers received multiple annonae.)"
Coello gives no reference for this in his footnotes, but the papyrus appears to be HGV SB 20 14675 / ChLA 45 1328:
AD 399 Mar 19
Est vino mil(itum) leg(ionis) Maced(onicae) sub c(ura) Gaioli trib(uni) d(iurnarum) an(nonarum) octingentas triginta cinque, ex d(ie) quintum decimo Kal(endas) April(es) [i]n d(iem) qu[art]um decimo Kal(endas) easd(em), duo cene. Post cons(ulatum) [dom(ini) n(ostri)] H[on]orii p(erpetui) Aug(usti) qua[ter] et Eytychiani v(iri) c(larissimi), p(er) Sergio actuario, ind. XII. [ -ca.?- ] γ(ίνεται) ὁ̣(μοῦ) ξ(έσται) ωλε.
Est carne mil(itum) leg(ionis) Maced(onicae) sub c(ura) Gaioli trib(uni) d(iurnarum) an(nonarum) octingentas trigint[a] ci[nqu]e, ex d(ie) qu[int]um decimo K[al](endas) [Apri]l(es) in d(iem) quart[u]m decimo Kal(endas) easd(em), [d]uo cene. Pos[t] c[ons(ulatum)] d[o]m(ini) n(ostri) Honorii [p(erpetui) Aug(usti) quater et E[yt]ychiani v(iri) c(larissima), p(er) Sergio a[ctuario, ind. XII]. [ -ca.?- ] γ(ίνεται) ὁ(μοῦ) λ(ίτραι) ωλ̣ε̣.
835 annonae over two days would give 417.5 per day, so obviously some soldiers must have received 1.5 annonae. Ordinarii alone may have had 8 annonae each at Perge levels, and Augustales 6.
But might a figure of 340-400 men be about right, and if so how did Coello work it out?
A figure of only 300-400 men for a 'frontier legion' of c.AD400 would rather alter our estimates for the Notitia Dignitatum...
Nathan Ross