Legio VI Victrix

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Legio VI Victrix

Legio sexta Victrix (6th Victorious 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....
founded by Octavian in 41 BC. It was the twin legion of VI Ferrata
Legio VI Ferrata

Legio VI Ferrata , was a Roman Legion formed in 65 BC, and in existence up to at least 215 AD. It served under Julius Caesar in the Gallic Wars , and in the various Roman civil wars of the Roman Republic in the years before and after Caesar's assassination ....
and perhaps held veterans of that legion, and some soldiers kept to the traditions of the Caesarian legion.

The legion saw its first action in Perugia
Perugia

Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the Tiber river, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city symbol is the griffin, which can be seen in the form of plaques and statues on buildings around the city....
in 41 BC. It also served against the Sextus Pompeius
Sextus Pompeius

Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius, in English Sextus Pompey , was a Ancient Rome general from the late Roman Republic . He was the last focus of opposition to the Second Triumvirate....
, who occupied Sicily and made threats to discontinue sending grain to Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
. In 31 BC the legion fought in 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....
against 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....
.

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Legio sexta Victrix (6th Victorious 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....
founded by Octavian in 41 BC. It was the twin legion of VI Ferrata
Legio VI Ferrata

Legio VI Ferrata , was a Roman Legion formed in 65 BC, and in existence up to at least 215 AD. It served under Julius Caesar in the Gallic Wars , and in the various Roman civil wars of the Roman Republic in the years before and after Caesar's assassination ....
and perhaps held veterans of that legion, and some soldiers kept to the traditions of the Caesarian legion.

The legion saw its first action in Perugia
Perugia

Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the Tiber river, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city symbol is the griffin, which can be seen in the form of plaques and statues on buildings around the city....
in 41 BC. It also served against the Sextus Pompeius
Sextus Pompeius

Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius, in English Sextus Pompey , was a Ancient Rome general from the late Roman Republic . He was the last focus of opposition to the Second Triumvirate....
, who occupied Sicily and made threats to discontinue sending grain to Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
. In 31 BC the legion fought in 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....
against 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....
. The next year it was stationed in Hispania Tarraconensis
Hispania Tarraconensis

Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the Mediterranean coast of Spain along with the central plateau and the north coast, and part of northern Portugal....
, where it helped in Augustus' major war against the Cantabrians
Cantabrian Wars

The Cantabrian Wars or Astur-Cantabrian Wars occurred during the Ancient Rome conquest of the provinces of Cantabria, Asturias and Le?n. They were the final stage of the conquest of Hispania....
, which lasted from 25
25 BC

Year 25 BC was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar....
-13 BC.

The legion stayed in Spain for nearly a century and received the surname Hispaniensis. Soldiers of this unit and X Gemina
Legio X Gemina

Legio decima Gemina , was one of the four legions used by Julius Caesar in 58 BC, for his invasion of Gaul. There are still records of the X Gemina in Vienna in the beginning of the 5th century....
numbered among the first settlers of Zaragoza
Zaragoza

Zaragoza, also called Saragossa in English language, is the capital city of the Zaragoza and of the Autonomous communities of Spain and former Kingdom of Aragon of Aragon, Spain....
. 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 ....
Victrix dates back to the reign of 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....
. But Nero was unpopular in the area, and when the governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, Servius Sulpicius Galba, said he wished to overthrow Nero, the legion supported him and he was proclaimed Emperor in the VI Victrix legionary camp. Galba created VII Gemina
Legio VII Gemina

Legio septima Gemina was a Roman legion; its full name was Legio VII Gemina Felix. VII Gemina dates back to the Year of the four emperors , when the governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, Galba, levied a legion to march on Rome....
and marched on Rome, where Nero killed himself.

VI Victrix in Britain
In 119
119

Events...
, Hadrian
Hadrian

Publius Aelius Hadrianus , as emperor Imperator Caesar Divi Traiani filius Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, and Divus Hadrianus after his apotheosis, known as Hadrian in English language, was Roman Emperor of Roman Empire from AD 117 to 138, as well as a Stoicism and Epicureanism philosopher....
relocated the legion to northern Britannia
Roman Britain

Roman Britain refers to those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and 410. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia....
, to assist the already present legions in quelling the resistance there. Victrix was key in securing victory, and would eventually replace the diminished IX Hispania
Legio IX Hispana

Legio nona Hispana , sometimes known as Legio IX Hispana was a Roman legion. The legion's symbol is unknown, likely a Taurus , as other legions created by Caesar....
. In 122
122

Events...
the legion started work on Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall

Hadrian's Wall is a Rock and Sod fortification built by the Roman Empire across the width of what is now northern England. Begun in AD 122, during the rule of emperor Hadrian, it was the middle of three such fortifications built across Great Britain, the first being from the River Clyde to the River Forth under Agricola and the last the Ant...
which would sustain the peace for two decades.

Twenty
142

Events...
years later, they helped construct the Antonine Wall
Antonine Wall

The Antonine Wall also known as the Severan Wall, is a rock and sod fortification, built by the Roman Empire across what is now the central belt of Scotland and is also known as the Clyde-Forth frontier line....
, but it was largely abandoned by 164
164

Events...
.

In 185
185

Events...
, the British legions mutinied and put forward a commander of their own, named Priscus, to replace the unpopular Emperor Commodus
Commodus

Lucius Aurelius Commodus Antoninus , was a Roman Emperor who ruled from 180 to 192 . The name given here was his official name at his accession to sole rule; see 'Commodus#Changes of name' for earlier and later forms....
, but the former declined. The mutiny was suppressed by Pertinax
Pertinax

Publius Helvius Pertinax, commonly known as Pertinax , was a Roman emperor who briefly reigned from December 31 192 until his death on March 28 193....
, who would later become emperor himself after Commodus was murdered. During this period, Roman cavalry general 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....
served with Victrix (but he seems to have remained loyal).

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....
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....

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