09-19-2012, 04:23 AM
(Just a quick note as I'm trying to keep a low profile on this thread from now on!)
There's an interesting note in Caesar's Gallic War (1.29) of the accurate numbers of the five migrating Helvetic tribes he fought in 58BC: 368,000, of which 92,000 (i.e. one in four) could bear arms. This is supposedly based on a Greek document found in the enemy camp.
Dio says (at least in the standard English translation) that his high figure represents Boudica's 'army' of 'men'. But it could be the number of the whole host, including families etc.
If we apply the same arithmetic to Dio's figure, then, we arrive at 57,500 warriors. A not implausible number, perhaps...
Quote:the figure is almost certainly greatly exaggerated.
There's an interesting note in Caesar's Gallic War (1.29) of the accurate numbers of the five migrating Helvetic tribes he fought in 58BC: 368,000, of which 92,000 (i.e. one in four) could bear arms. This is supposedly based on a Greek document found in the enemy camp.
Dio says (at least in the standard English translation) that his high figure represents Boudica's 'army' of 'men'. But it could be the number of the whole host, including families etc.
If we apply the same arithmetic to Dio's figure, then, we arrive at 57,500 warriors. A not implausible number, perhaps...
Nathan Ross