The positioning of the Roman Imperial legions - Jerome H. Farnum

Thepositioning of the legions of the Imperial Roman army provides a window intoboth the thinking and the course of events during the period from 30 B.C. to300 A.D.
When one can identify thelocations and date the redeployments of the legions, it is possible to recreatethe planning that caused the army to be so placed. Redeployments, of necessity,shows a major shift of events or a significant refocussing of the strategicthinking of the then ruling emperor at that particular moment.
This book starts from the assumption that alegion's headquarters remained at a base until that legion was permanentlyposted to another base.
A legion mighttemporarily serve in another province, even for more than a year, perhaps withits eagle present, but know that it would return to its permanent base.
At any moment in time, a legion might havedetachments serving in a variety of locations. Some of these detachments, or vexillations, might be separated from theparent legion for long periods of time at great distances from its permanentheadquarters.
A great number of scholarshave addressed the subject of legion locations, usually one legion or oneprovince at a time. This book attempts to formulate a seamless web of legion locations,deducing from the evidence where the legions must have been during theperiod.
It is a synthesis of what hasbeen written before, and is written with the expectation that in the future newarcheological evidence will further refine the information it contains.