Legio XV Primigenia

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Legio XV Primigenia

Legio decima quinta Primigenia (15th Firstborn Legion) - a name of the goddess Fortuna
Fortuna

Fortuna can mean:*Fortuna, the Roman goddess of luck Geographical*19 Fortuna, an asteroid*Fortuna, California, a town located on the north coast of California...
) was a legion of the Roman army.

It was originally levied by the emperor Caligula
Caligula

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , more commonly known by his nickname Caligula , was the third Roman Emperor, reigning from 16 March 37 until his assassination on 24 January 41....
in 39
39

Year 39 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar....
, to aid in the Germanic campaigns and was stationed in the Rhine
Rhine

File:Swiss Grand Canyon.jpgThe Rhine is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe, at , with an average discharge of more than ....
frontier until 70
70

Year 70 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar....
, when it was destroyed during the Batavian rebellion
Batavian rebellion

The Revolt of the Batavi took place in the Roman province of Germania Inferior between 69 and 70 AD. It was an uprising against Roman rule by the Batavi and other tribes in the province and in Gaul....
with the V Alaude
Legio V Alaudae

Legio quinta Alaudae sometimes known as Gallica, was levied by Julius Caesar in 52 BC from native Gauls. Their emblem was an elephant, and their cognomen Alaudae came from the high crest on their helmets, typical of the Gauls, which made them look like larks....
. The cognomen Primigenia is derived from the goddess Fortuna.

Deployment
After the first campaigns, XV Primigenia was stationed in Moguntiacum (Mainz
Mainz

Mainz is a city in Germany and the capital of the Germany States of Germany of Rhineland-Palatinate. It was a politically important seat of the Prince-elector of Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman Empire fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine River and formed part of the northernmost frontier of th...
).

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Legio decima quinta Primigenia (15th Firstborn Legion) - a name of the goddess Fortuna
Fortuna

Fortuna can mean:*Fortuna, the Roman goddess of luck Geographical*19 Fortuna, an asteroid*Fortuna, California, a town located on the north coast of California...
) was a legion of the Roman army.

It was originally levied by the emperor Caligula
Caligula

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , more commonly known by his nickname Caligula , was the third Roman Emperor, reigning from 16 March 37 until his assassination on 24 January 41....
in 39
39

Year 39 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar....
, to aid in the Germanic campaigns and was stationed in the Rhine
Rhine

File:Swiss Grand Canyon.jpgThe Rhine is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe, at , with an average discharge of more than ....
frontier until 70
70

Year 70 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar....
, when it was destroyed during the Batavian rebellion
Batavian rebellion

The Revolt of the Batavi took place in the Roman province of Germania Inferior between 69 and 70 AD. It was an uprising against Roman rule by the Batavi and other tribes in the province and in Gaul....
with the V Alaude
Legio V Alaudae

Legio quinta Alaudae sometimes known as Gallica, was levied by Julius Caesar in 52 BC from native Gauls. Their emblem was an elephant, and their cognomen Alaudae came from the high crest on their helmets, typical of the Gauls, which made them look like larks....
. The cognomen Primigenia is derived from the goddess Fortuna.

Deployment

After the first campaigns, XV Primigenia was stationed in Moguntiacum (Mainz
Mainz

Mainz is a city in Germany and the capital of the Germany States of Germany of Rhineland-Palatinate. It was a politically important seat of the Prince-elector of Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman Empire fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine River and formed part of the northernmost frontier of th...
). In 43
43

Year 43 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar....
, the redeployment of units following the Roman invasion of Britain leads the XV Primigenia to Xanten, in a camp shared with the V Alaudae. In 47
47

Year 47 was common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar....
both legions were involved in the war against the Frisia
Frisia

Frisia is a coastal region along the southeastern corner of the North Sea, i.e. the German Bight. Frisia is the traditional homeland of the Frisians, a Germanic people who speak Frisian languages, a language group closely related to the English language....
ns and in the construction of Corbulo’s canal in the Rhine.

During 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....
(68-69) XV Primigenia and the other German border legions supported the claim 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....
to the throne, first against Galba
Galba

Servius Sulpicius Galba , also called Servius Sulpicius Galba Caesar Augustus, was Roman Emperor from June 8, 68 until his death. He was the first emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors....
and afterwards against 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....
. When 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....
was finally acclaimed undisputed emperor, the legions XV Primigenia and V Alaudae returned to Castra Vetera (Xanten
Xanten

Xanten is a historic town in the North Rhine-Westphalia state of Germany, located in the district of Wesel . Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park , its mediaeval picturesque city centre with Xanten Cathedral and many museums, its large man-made lake for various watersport activities as well as high standard of living....
camp), where the Batavian rebellion
Batavian rebellion

The Revolt of the Batavi took place in the Roman province of Germania Inferior between 69 and 70 AD. It was an uprising against Roman rule by the Batavi and other tribes in the province and in Gaul....
was already in progress.
Defeat

Both legions were besieged in their winter camp in 69
69

Year 69 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar....
by a rebel army commanded by Civilis
Civilis

Civilis was a Roman Empire name that can refer to :*Gaius Julius Civilis, the leader of the Batavian rebellion against the Romans in 69*Tiberius Claudius Civilis...
. They finally surrendered in 70 due to hunger and left the camp in orderly fashion under promises of safe conduct. However, the rebels chased the legions and killed the surviving 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....
. Neither the XV Primigenia or the V Alaudae were ever reconstituted after this disaster.

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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