Legio XIV Gemina

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Legio XIV Gemina

Legio decima quarta Gemina (14th Twin Legion) was a 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....
of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, levied by Octavian after 41 BC. 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 ....
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 Alesia
Battle of Alesia

The 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 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....
following the victory over Boudica
Boudica

Boudica was a queen of the 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....
.

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Legio decima quarta Gemina (14th Twin Legion) was a 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....
of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, levied by Octavian after 41 BC. 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 ....
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 Alesia
Battle of Alesia

The 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 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....
following the victory over Boudica
Boudica

Boudica was a queen of the 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....
. The emblem of the legion was the Capricorn
Capricorn

Capricorn 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.

Campaigns

Invasion of Britain

Stationed in Moguntiacum, Germania Superior
Germania Superior

Germania Superior , so called for the reason that it lay upstream of Germania Inferior, was a Roman province of the Roman Empire. It comprised the area of western Switzerland, the French Jura mountains and Alsace regions and south-western Germany....
, since AD 9
9

Year 9 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar....
, XIV Gemina Martia Victrix was one of four legions used by Aulus Plautius
Aulus Plautius

Aulus Plautius was a Roman empire politician and general of the mid-1st century. He led the Roman conquest of Britain in 43, and became the first List of Roman governors of Britain of the new province, serving from 43 to 47....
and Claudius
Claudius

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I was the fourth Roman Emperor, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from January 24, 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 Narbonensis
Gallia Narbonensis

Gallia Narbonensis was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in southern France. Narbonese Gaul "lay between the Alps, the Mediterranean Sea, and the C?vennes Mountains....
.

Rebellion on the Rhine
In 89 the governor of Germania Superior
Germania Superior

Germania Superior , so called for the reason that it lay upstream of Germania Inferior, was a Roman province of the Roman Empire. It comprised the area of western Switzerland, the French Jura mountains and Alsace regions and south-western Germany....
, Lucius Antonius Saturninus
Lucius Antonius Saturninus

Lucius 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, camped in Moguntiacum ....
, rebelled against Domitian
Domitian

Titus Flavius Domitianus , commonly known as Domitian, was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 14 September 81 until his death. Domitian was the last emperor of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 69 and 96, encompassing the reigns of Domitian's father Vespasian , his elder brother Titus , and that of Domitian himself...
, with the support of the XIVth and of the XXI Rapax
Legio XXI Rapax

Legio 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 Pannonia
Pannonia

Pannonia 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 (Vienna
Vienna

Vienna is the Capital of 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...
). After a war with the Sarmatians
Sarmatians

The Sarmatians, Sarmat? or Sauromat? were a people of Ancient Iranian peoples origin. Mentioned by Classics 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 Carnuntum
Carnuntum

Carnuntum was an important Roman Empire 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 Mauri
Mauri

Mauri may refer to:*In the Maori language of New Zealand and the Rotuman language of Rotuma, Mauri means the life force which all objects contain....
, under Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius

Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus , generally known in English as Antoninus Pius was Roman Emperors from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors and a member of the Aurelii....
, and the legion participated to the Parthian campaign of Emperor 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....
. During his war against the Marcomanni
Marcomanni

The Marcomanni were a Germanic tribe, probably related to the Buri , Suebi or Suevi....
, Emperor Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus was Roman Emperor from 161 to his death in 180. He was the last of the "Five Good Emperors", and is also considered one of the most important stoicism philosophy....
based his headquarters in Carnuntum.

In support of Septimius Severus
In 193, after the death of 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....
, the commander of the Fourteenth, 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....
, was acclaimed emperor by the Pannonian legions, and above all by his own. XIIII Gemina fought for its emperor in his march 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 ....
to attack usurper Didius Julianus
Didius Julianus

Marcus 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....
(193), contributed to the defeat of the usurper Pescennius Niger
Pescennius Niger

Gaius Pescennius Niger was a Roman usurper from 193 to 194. Niger was born of an old Italian equestrian family.File:Denarius-Pescennius Niger-RIC 0015var.jpg...
(194), and probably fought in the Parthian campaign that ended with the sack of the capital of the empire, Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon

Ctesiphon was one of the great cities of the Persian Empire, located on the east bank of the Tigris.Ctesiphon was an imperial capital of the Arsacids and of their successors, the Sassanids....
(198).

In support of imperial candidates
In the turmoil following the defeat of Valerian
Valerian (emperor)

Publius Licinius Valerianus , commonly known in English language as Valerian or Valerian I, was the Roman Emperor from 253 to 260....
, the XIIII Gemina supported usurper Regalianus
Regalianus

P. 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....
against Emperor Gallienus
Gallienus

Publius 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....
(260), then Gallienus against Postumus
Postumus

Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus was a Roman emperor of Batavi origin. He usurped power from Gallienus in 260 and formed the so called Gallic Empire....
of the Gallic empire
Gallic Empire

The Gallic Empire is the modern name for the independent realm that existed from 260 to 273, 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 Victorinus
Victorinus

Marcus Piavonius Victorinus was emperor of the secessionist Gallic Empire from 268 to 270 or 271, following the brief reign of Marcus Aurelius Marius....
(269–271).

5th century
At the beginning of the 5th century, XIIIV Gemina was still assigned at Carnuntum. It probably dissolved with the collapse of the Danube frontier in 430s. The Notitia Dignitatum
Notitia Dignitatum

The Notitia Dignitatum is a unique document of the Ancient Rome imperial chanceries. One of the very few surviving documents of Roman government, it details the administrative organisation of the eastern and western Roman empires, listing several thousand offices from the imperial court down to the provincial level....
lists a Quartodecimani comitatensis unit under the Magister Militum
Magister militum

Magister militum was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine I . Used alone, the term referred to the senior military officer of the Empire....
per Thracias; it is possible that this unit is XIV Gemina.

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

, Wisconsin based (USA) re-enactment society, living history group. Click to join, sponsor, or invite to your school or event.
, a British reenactment group