[split] Distances between files and ranks

[Renatus]

Well maybe you need to rethink about how you interpret the organisation of a legion and try and determine if there is another way. Just concentrating on the period of the principate isn’t enough. In 462 BC, Dionysius mentions four cohorts each of 600 men were stationed before Rome.

It's not simply a matter of 'concentrating' on the Principate. The Principate exists and you can't ignore it. What you suggest might have applied at some time during the Republic but, once the cohortal system comes in, you have to consider whether what applied beforehand still applies. Dionysius' cohorts of 600 men each looks like six 100-man centuries, which does not look far off the system in the Principate, apart from the number of men in a century. And what is the significance of the number 'four'? Is Dionysius suggesting that this is one coherent unit or are they simply four detached units?

I might add that this part of the discussion originated from Arrian's description of the expedition against the Alans and that falls squarely within the Principate.