"The relative importance that Vegetius gives to each cohor..." Topic

Hello everyone,

In the "antiqua legio" of Vegetius (2.4-14) probably reflectthe legio of the principate 27 BC- AD117 and his description (2.6) of cohortes deployed for battle, he gives us some indications of their relative importance …

In the first line the "cohors prima" was placed on the right, the position of honor, "cohors III" in the center, "cohor V" on the left, while between them were "cohortes II and IIII". right was "cohors VI", which he says should consist of the finest of the young men.

In the center was "cohors VIII" with selected soldiers and "cohors X" on the left also with good soldiers, "cohortes VII and VIII" coming beetween.

It would be in this pair of cohortes that we would expect to find the newest recruits to the legio.

My question is , this relative importance and the specifications Vegetius gives to each cohor are valid for legions of the time of Julius Ceasar?

Stay safe,

Pascal

Possibly, but it would be the equivalent of someone today describing the formation of a battle in the Wars of the Roses.
I would suggest it was more theoretical than practical.

According to Vegetius, it seems that the cohorts, through the personnel who made them up, were "specialized" ?

It seems unlikely

In 2.1 he draws a distinction between the cavalry that used to support the flanks and the legionary cavalry, but in 2.6 he refers only to the legionary cavalry. So there is a disconnect between the legions of the early Empire and those described by Vegetius.

His language at the start and end of 2.6 indicates that it is the theoretical strength – what a legion ought to be.

The stated purpose of the work is to help the reader learn from the historical writers that Vegetius has read to improve the Roman military. It should be seen as advice to Veegtius' contemporaries on what do now, having learnt from the lessons of the past.

So it is useful as source material for the late 4th/early 5th century Roman army, but it is of limited reliability for earlier periods.

Yes it was too beautiful so much it could have been possible, because after all, there had to be differences in the quality of the human material between the cohorts, causing specificities or specializations in combat.