Legio quarta decima Gemina (Fourteenth Twin
Legion) was a legionThe 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 ancient Roman army in the period of the late Roman Republic and the...
of the Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
, levied by OctavianGaius Julius Caesar Augustus was the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.
[These are the contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian after 45 BC...]
after 41 BC. The cognomenThe cognomen was the third 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...
Gemina
(twin
in Latin) suggests that the legion resulted from fusion of two previous ones, one of them possibly being the Fourteenth legion that fought in the Battle of AlesiaThe Battle of Alesia or Siege of Alesia took place in September, 52 BC around the Gallic oppidum of Alesia, a major town centre and hill fort of the Mandubii tribe...
. Martia Victrix
(martial victory) were cognomens added by NeroNero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and last Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great uncle Claudius to become heir to the throne...
following the victory over BoudicaBoudica , formerly known as Boadicea and known in Welsh as "Buddug") was a queen of the Brittonic Iceni tribe of what is now known as East Anglia in England, who led an uprising of the tribes against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire.Boudica's husband, Prasutagus, an Icenian king who had...
. The emblem of the legion was the CapricornCapricorn may refer to:* Capricornus, one of the constellations of the zodiac* Capricorn , the sign represented by the above constellation* Capricorn , a manga series created by Johji Manabe...
, as with many of the legions levied by Augustus.
Invasion of Britain
Stationed in Moguntiacum, Germania SuperiorGermania Superior , so called for the reason that it lay upstream of Germania Inferior, was a province of the Roman Empire. It comprised the area of western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions and south-western Germany...
, since AD 9Year 9 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.-Roman Empire:* Claudius marries Plautia Urgulanilla following the death of Livia Medullina....
, XIV Gemina Martia Victrix was one of four legions used by
Aulus PlautiusAulus Plautius was a Roman politician and general of the mid-1st century. He led the Roman conquest of Britain in 43, and became the first governor of the new province, serving from 43 to 47.-Career:...
and
ClaudiusTiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was the fourth Roman Emperor, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from 24 January AD 41 to his death in AD 54...
in the Roman invasion of Britain in 43, and took part in the defeat of Boudicca in 60 or 61. In 68 it was stationed in
Gallia NarbonensisGallia Narbonensis was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in southern France. It was also known as Gallia Transalpina , which was originally a designation for that part of Gaul lying across the Alps from Italia...
.
Rebellion on the Rhine
In 89 the governor of
Germania SuperiorGermania Superior , so called for the reason that it lay upstream of Germania Inferior, was a province of the Roman Empire. It comprised the area of western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions and south-western Germany...
,
Lucius Antonius SaturninusLucius Antonius Saturninus was Roman governor of Germania Superior during the reign of the Emperor Domitian. In the Spring of 89, motivated by a personal grudge against the Emperor, he led a rebellion known as the Revolt of Saturninus, involving the legions Legio XIV Gemina and Legio XXI Rapax,...
, rebelled against
DomitianTitus Flavius Domitianus , known as Domitian, was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 14 September 81 until his death...
, with the support of the XIVth and of the
XXI RapaxLegio vigesima prima Rapax was a Roman legion levied in 31 BC by Augustus, probably from men previously enlisted in other legions. The XXI Rapax was destroyed in 92 by the Dacians and Sarmatians...
, but the revolt was suppressed.
Pannonian defense
When the XXIst legion was lost, in 92, XIIII Gemina
was sent in PannoniaPannonia is an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
to substitute it, camping in Vindobona
(ViennaVienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 10th largest city by...
). After a war with the SarmatiansThe Sarmatians, Sarmatæ or Sauromatæ were a people of Ancient Iranian origin. Mentioned by classical authors, they migrated from Central Asia to the Ural Mountains around fifth century B.C...
and Trajan's Dacian Wars (101–106), the legion was moved to CarnuntumCarnuntum was an important Roman army camp in what is now Austria. It belonged originally to Noricum province, but after the 1st century was part of Pannonia...
, where it stayed for three centuries. Some subunits of Fourteenth fought in the wars against the
MauriMauri may refer to:*In the Māori language of New Zealand and the Rotuman language of Rotuma, Mauri means the life force which all objects contain.*In the Finnish language, Mauri is a male name....
, under
Antoninus PiusTitus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus , generally known in English as Antoninus Pius was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors and a member of the Aurelii. He did not possess the sobriquet "Pius" until after his accession to the throne...
, and the legion participated to the Parthian campaign of Emperor
Lucius VerusLucius Aurelius Verus , born as Lucius Ceionius Commodus, known simply as Lucius Verus, was Roman co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius , from 161 until his death.-Early life and career:...
. During his war against the
MarcomanniThe Marcomanni were a Germanic tribe, probably related to the Buri, Suebi or Suevi.- Origin :Scholars believe their name derives from one of two possible sources: old Germanic forms of "march" and "men"; or the name of a Roman legate, Marcus Fabius Romanus, who deserted Drusus' legions during...
, Emperor
Marcus AureliusMarcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus was Roman emperor from 161 to his death in 180. He ruled with Lucius Verus as co-emperor from 161 until Lucius' death in 169...
based his headquarters in Carnuntum.
In support of Septimius Severus
In 193, after the death of
PertinaxPublius Helvius Pertinax, commonly known as Pertinax , was a Roman emperor who briefly reigned from December 31 192 until his death on March 28 193. He was emperor for only 86 days. He is known as the first emperor of the tumultuous Year of the Five Emperors...
, the commander of the Fourteenth,
Septimius SeverusLucius Septimius Severus was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 14 April, 193 until his death in 211. Severus was the first emperor of the troubled Severan dynasty, the last imperial dynasty of the Roman principate before the Crisis of the Third Century...
, was acclaimed emperor by the Pannonian legions, and above all by his own. XIIII Gemina fought for its emperor in his march to
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
to attack usurper
Didius JulianusMarcus Didius Severus Julianus was briefly Roman Emperor from 28 March 193 to 1 June 193. He ascended the throne after buying it from the Praetorian Guard, who had assassinated his predecessor Pertinax. This led to the Roman Civil War of 193–197...
(193), contributed to the defeat of the usurper
Pescennius NigerGaius Pescennius Niger was a Roman usurper from 193 to 194 during the Year of the Five Emperors. Niger was born of an old Italian equestrian family....
(194), and probably fought in the Parthian campaign that ended with the sack of the capital of the empire,
CtesiphonCtesiphon, the imperial capital of the Arsacids and of the Sassanids, was one of the great cities of ancient Mesopotamia.The ruins of the city are located on the east bank of the Tigris, across the river from the Hellenistic city of Seleucia. Today, the remains of both cities lie in Iraq,...
(198).
In support of imperial candidates
In the turmoil following the defeat of
ValerianPublius Licinius Valerianus , commonly known in English as Valerian or Valerian I, was the Roman Emperor from 253 to 260.-Origins and rise to power:...
, the XIIII Gemina
supported usurper RegalianusP. C Regalianus was a Roman usurper against Gallienus.The main source of information is the unreliable Historia Augusta. Other sources are Eutropius, who calls him Trebellianus, and Aurelius Victor and the Epitome, which call him Regillianus. About his origin, the Tyranni Triginta says he was a...
against Emperor GallienusPublius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus ruled the Roman Empire as co-emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260, and then as the sole Roman Emperor from 260 to 268. He took control of the empire at a time when it was undergoing great crisis...
(260), then Gallienus against PostumusMarcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus was a Roman emperor of Batavian origin. He usurped power from Gallienus in 260 and formed the so called Gallic Empire...
of the Gallic empireThe Gallic Empire is the modern name for a breakaway realm that existed from 260 to 274. It originated during the Roman Empire's Crisis of the Third Century....
(earning the title VI Pia VI Fidelis
—"six times faithful, six times loyal"), and, after Gallienus' death, Gallic Emperor VictorinusMarcus Piavonius Victorinus was emperor of the secessionist Gallic Empire from 268 to 270 or 271, following the brief reign of Marius.Victorinus, born to a family of great wealth, was a soldier under Postumus, the first of the so-called Gallic emperors...
(269–271).
5th century
At the beginning of the 5th century, XIII Gemina
was still assigned at Carnuntum. It probably dissolved with the collapse of the Danube frontier in 430s. The Notitia DignitatumThe Notitia Dignitatum is a unique document of the Roman imperial chanceries. One of the very few surviving documents of Roman government, it details the administrative organisation of the eastern and western empires, listing several thousand offices from the imperial court down to the provincial...
lists a Quartodecimani
comitatensis unit under the Magister MilitumMagister militum was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine. Used alone, the term referred to the senior military officer of the Empire...
per Thracias
; it is possible that this unit is XIV Gemina.
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