Legio III Gallica

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Legio III Gallica

Legio tertia Gallica (3rd Gallic legion) was a Roman legion
Roman legion

The Roman Legion is a term that can apply both as a translation of legio to the entire Roman army and also, more narrowly , to the heavy infantry that was the basic military unit of the Roman army in the period of the late Roman Republic and the Roman Empire....
levied by Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar

'Gaius Julius Caesar' , July 13, 100 BC ? March 15, 44 BC,) was a Roman Republic military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
around 49 BC, for his civil war against the conservative republicans led by Pompey
Pompey

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, commonly known as Pompey /'p?mpi/, Pompey the Great or Pompey the Triumvir , was a distinguished military and political leader of the late Roman Republic....
. The cognomen
Cognomen

The cognomen was originally a middle name of a citizen of Ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. The cognomen started as a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary ....
Gallica suggests that recruits were originally from the Gallic Roman provinces.

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Legio tertia Gallica (3rd Gallic legion) was a Roman legion
Roman legion

The Roman Legion is a term that can apply both as a translation of legio to the entire Roman army and also, more narrowly , to the heavy infantry that was the basic military unit of the Roman army in the period of the late Roman Republic and the Roman Empire....
levied by Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar

'Gaius Julius Caesar' , July 13, 100 BC ? March 15, 44 BC,) was a Roman Republic military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
around 49 BC, for his civil war against the conservative republicans led by Pompey
Pompey

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, commonly known as Pompey /'p?mpi/, Pompey the Great or Pompey the Triumvir , was a distinguished military and political leader of the late Roman Republic....
. The cognomen
Cognomen

The cognomen was originally a middle name of a citizen of Ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. The cognomen started as a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary ....
Gallica suggests that recruits were originally from the Gallic Roman provinces. The legion was still active in Egypt in the early 4th century. The legion's symbol was a bull
Taurus (astrology)

Taurus is the second astrological sign in the Zodiac, originating from the Taurus . In western astrology, this sign is no longer aligned with the constellation as a result of the Precession ....
.

The legion took part in all Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar

'Gaius Julius Caesar' , July 13, 100 BC ? March 15, 44 BC,) was a Roman Republic military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
's campaigns against his enemies, including the battles of Pharsalus
Battle of Pharsalus

The Battle of Pharsalus was a decisive battle of Caesar's civil war. On August 9, 48 BC, the battle was fought at Pharsalus in central Greece between forces of the Populares faction and forces of the Optimates faction....
and Munda
Battle of Munda

The Battle of Munda took place on March 17, 45 BC in the plains of Munda, modern southern Spain. This was the last battle of Julius Caesar's Caesar's civil war against the conservative republicans....
. Following Caesar's death, III Gallica was integrated in the army of Mark Antony
Mark Antony

Marcus Antonius , known in English as Marc Antony, was a Roman Republic politician and General. He was an important supporter and the best friend of Julius Caesar as a military commander and administrator, being Caesar's second cousin, once removed, by his mother Julia Antonia....
, a member of the second triumvirate
Second Triumvirate

The Second Triumvirate is the name historians give to the official political alliance of Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus , Marcus Aemilius Lepidus , and Mark Antony, formed on 26 November 43 BC with the enactment of the Lex Titia, the adoption of which marked the end of the Roman Republic....
, for his campaigns against the Parthians. They were included in the army levied by Fulvia
Fulvia

Fulvia was a Ancient Rome woman who lived in the 1st century BC. According to Plutarch, Fulvia had no interest in spinning nor managing a household nor ruling a husband with no ambition for public life; Fulvia wanted to govern or to command and be a commander-in-chief....
and Lucius Antonius
Lucius Antonius

Lucius Antonius may refer to:*Lucius Antonius , the brother of Mark Antony*Lucius Antonius , the grandson of Mark Antony...
(Antony's wife and brother) to oppose Octavian, but ended by surrendering in Perugia, in the winter of 41 BC. After the battle of Actium
Battle of Actium

The Battle of Actium was the final engagement in the Final War of the Roman Republic. It was fought between the forces of Augustus and the combined forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII....
and Antony's suicide
Suicide

Suicide is the intentional taking of one's own life. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"....
, the III Gallica was sent again to the East, where they garrisoned the province of Syria
Syria (Roman province)

Syria was a Roman province, annexed in 64 BC by Pompey, as a consequence of his military presence after pursuing victory in the Third Mithridatic War....
.

III Gallica was used in Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo
Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo

Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo was a Ancient Rome general....
's campaign against the Parthians over the control of Armenia (63). Corbulo's successes triggered emperor Nero
Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty....
's paranoia
Paranoia

Paranoia is a thought process characterized by excessive anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs concerning a perceived threat towards oneself....
of persecution and eventually the general was forced to commit suicide. After this, III Gallica is transferred to Moesia
Moesia

Moesia was an ancient region and Roman province situated in the areas of modern Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania along the south bank of the Danube River....
province, in the Danube
Danube

The Danube is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.The river originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg River rivers which join at the eponymously named German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows eastwards for a distance...
border.

In the year of the four emperors
Year of the Four Emperors

The Year of the Four Emperors was a year in the history of the Roman Empire, AD 69, in which four emperors ruled in a remarkable succession. These four emperors were Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian....
69, the legion, and the rest of the Danubian army, aligned first with Otho
Otho

For other uses, see Otho .Marcus Salvius Otho , also called Marcus Salvius Otho Caesar Augustus, was Roman Emperors from 15 January to 16 April 69, the second emperor of the Year of the four emperors....
, then with Vespasian
Vespasian

Titus Flavius Vespasianus, commonly known as Vespasian , was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 69 A.D. until his death in 79 A.D. Vespasian was the founder of the short lived Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 69 A.D....
. They were instrumental in the final defeat of Vitellius
Vitellius

Aulus Vitellius Germanicus, born Aulus Vitellius and commonly known as Vitellius , was a Roman Emperors who reigned from 16 April 69 to 22 December of the same year....
in the second Battle of Bedriacum
Battle of Bedriacum

The Battle of Bedriacum refers to two battles fought during the Year of the four emperors near the village of Bedriacum , about 35 kilometers from the town of Cremona in northern Italy....
and in the accession of the Flavians to the throne of Rome. This legion during its service in Syria had developed the custom of saluting the rising sun, and when dawn broke at Bedriacum they turned east to do so. The Vitellian forces thought that they were saluting reinforcements from the east and lost heart. In these years, one of the military tribune
Military tribune

A Military tribune is both a military officer of the Roman Legion and an official of the Roman State.In the Roman Republican period, there were six appointed to each legion....
s of the III Gallica is Pliny the Younger
Pliny the Younger

Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo , better known as Pliny the Younger, was a lawyer, author, and natural philosopher of Ancient Rome....
.

After this civil war, the legion was again sent to Syria, were they fought against the Judea rebellions
Jewish-Roman wars

The Jewish-Roman wars were a series of revolts by the Jews of Iudaea Province against the Roman Empire. Some sources use the term to refer only to the First Jewish-Roman War and Bar Kokhba revolt ....
of the 2nd century. They also took part on Lucius Verus
Lucius Verus

Lucius Aurelius Verus , born as Lucius Ceionius Commodus, known simply as Lucius Verus, was Roman Emperors with Marcus Aurelius , from 161 until his death....
' (161-166) and Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus

Lucius Septimius Severus was a Roman Empire general, and Roman Emperor from April 14 193 to 211. He was born in what is now the Libyan part of Rome's historic Africa Province, making him the first emperor to be born in the Roman province of Africa Province....
(197–198) campaigns against the Parthian empire, none with noteworthy success.

III Gallica played a central role in the early reign of Elagabalus
Elagabalus

Elagabalus , also known as Heliogabalus or Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, was a Roman Emperor of the Severan dynasty who reigned from 218 to 222....
. In 218, during Macrinus
Macrinus

Marcus Opellius Macrinus was Roman Empire Roman Emperors for fourteen months in 217 and 218. Macrinus was the first emperor to become so without membership in the senatorial class and the first emperor of Mauretania descent....
reign, Julia Maesa
Julia Maesa

Julia Maesa was a Ancient Rome citizenShahid, Irfan . Rome and The Arabs: A Prolegomenon to the Study of Byzantium and the Arabs and daughter of Julius Bassianus, priest of the sun god Heliogabalus , the patron god of Emesa in the Roman province of Syria , and grandmother of both the Roman emperors Elagabalus and Alexander...
went to Raphana
Raphana

Raphana, in present-day north of Jordan, was a city of the Decapolis. It is thought to lie north of Umm Qais in the Abilene .The city was the base camp of the Roman legions Legio III Gallica and of Legio XII Fulminata....
, Syria
Syria (Roman province)

Syria was a Roman province, annexed in 64 BC by Pompey, as a consequence of his military presence after pursuing victory in the Third Mithridatic War....
, where the legion was based under the command of P. Valerius Comazon Eutychianus. She largely donated to the legion, which, in turn, proclaimed emperor Julia Maesa's grandson, the fourteen years old Elagabalus, on the dawn of 16 May. On June 8, 218 near Antioch
Antioch

Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the nearer East and was a cradle of gentile hi...
, Gannys
Gannys

Gannys was a Roman general who commanded the troops of Elagabalus against Emperor Macrinus in the Battle of Antioch .According to Edward Gibbon in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire :...
, Elagabalus' tutor, defeated
Battle of Antioch (218)

The Battle of Antioch took place between two Roman armies of the Roman Emperor Macrinus and his contender Elagabalus, whose troops were commanded by general Gannys....
Macrinus and his son, with the help of the III Gallica and the other legions of the East. Valerius Comazon entered in Elagabalus court, becoming prefect
Praetorian prefect

Praetorian prefect was the constant title of a high office in the Roman Empire state that changed fundamentally in nature.The praetorian prefect was commander of the Praetorian Guard until Constantine I abolished the guard in 314....
of the Praetorian Guard
Praetorian Guard

The Praetorian Guard was a special force of guards used by Roman empire List of Roman Emperorss. Before being appropriated for the use of the Emperors' personal guards, the title was used for the guards of Roman generals, at least since the rise to prominence of the Scipio family around 275 BC....
and consul
Consul

Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Roman Empire. The title was also used in other city states, and revived in modern states, notably French Republic before the Napoleon I of Franceic counter-revolution....
in 220

In 219, the legion, exhausted by Elagabalus excesses, supported its commander, senator Verus
Verus (senator)

Verus was a Roman usurper.Verus was a centurion, who had successfully raised to the rank of Roman Senator. He was the commander of the Legio III Gallica, a legion located in Syria , which supported Elagabalus bid for power ....
, who proclaimed himself emperor. Elagabalus had Verus executed, and dispersed the legion. The legionaries
Legionary

The Ancient Rome legionary was a professional soldier of the Military history of ancient Rome after the Marian reforms of 107 BC. Legionaries had to be Roman citizenship under the age of 45....
were transferred namely to III Augusta, stationed in the Africa provinces. However, the following emperor, Alexander Severus
Alexander Severus

Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander, commonly called Alexander Severus, was the last Roman Emperors of the Severan dynasty, having succeeded, as heir apparent, his despised cousin, the eighteen year old Elagabalus who had been murdered along with his mother by his own guards—and as a mark of contempt, had their remains cast into...
, reconstituted the legion and redeployed them back in Syria.

III Gallica records then become obscure. Little is known about the legion's whereabouts, but, in 323, they were still in Syria.

One noteworthy member of III Gallica was centurion Lucius Artorius Castus
Lucius Artorius Castus

Lucius Artorius Castus was a military commander of ancient Rome, suggested by some to be the historical basis for King Arthur....
.

See also

List of Roman legions
List of Roman legions

This is a list of Roman legions, including key facts about each legion,primarily focusing on Principate legions, for which there exists substantial literary, epigraphic and archaeological evidence....

External links