Late Roman Army Grade/Rank List under Anastasius

[Nathan Ross]

I have been following the ND, which lists titles such as Equites, Numerus, Vexillation etc. Why would they have distinct titles when the terms are synonymous?... You speak with authority that a vexillation is a numerus. What proof can you provide?

You will notice in the ND the phrase qui numeri ex praedictis per infrascriptas provincias habeantur is followed by a list of military units (numeri), including legions.

The list includes the subheading item Vexillationes, which is followed by a number of Equites unit (e.g.Equites Promoti Seniores, Equites Cornuti Seniores, etc). The equites serve in vexillationes, which are numeri, just as the other units of various types are numeri.

Two inscriptions to the same military unit refer to it by these different titles: vexil(latione) eq(uitum) Stablesianorum (CIL 05, 04376) and n(umeri) eq(uitum) Stabl(e)s(ianorum) (AE 1974, 00342). A number of other units called vexillationes and Equites in the ND are called numeri equitum on inscriptions (e.g. CIL 05, 08760: numero equitum bracchiatorum.)

The information is too fragmented.

The information is very far from 'fragmented' - it is our interpretation of the information which is difficult.

the unit cannot - at least to my opinion and reseach - be a template for other units. For this, the regiment is too individual.

Certainly it appears to be quite individual - and maybe unusual for its period. But with the almost complete lack of detailed information on unit numbers and sizes for the preceding two hundred years, I still believe we can potentially learn a great deal from this document. I confess that my interest is more in the army of the 4th-early 5th century, and as such the evidence for survivals of previous practice, and potential innovations, contained in the Perge inscription is far more interesting that whatever it might tell us about the situation c.AD500!

The apparent size of an ordinarius command at c.100 men, coupled with the relatively low status of the ordinarius himself - compared to the centurion of the principiate - and the incorporation of various other grades (augustales and flaviales) into the subunits is particularly illuminating, and points to some significant differences with earlier army organisation, despite the obvious similarities.