Legio I Parthica

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From Emperor Gordian III. Bronze coin minted in Singara. The reverse shows a centaur , the symbol of the Legio I Parthica

The Legio I Parthica , like the II and III Parthica , was a legion of the Roman army that was raised in 197 by the Emperor Septimius Severus for a campaign against the Parthians . Their presence in the Middle East is documented until the early 5th century. The legion symbol was the centaur .

Legion history

The campaign was very successful and ended with the conquest of the Parthian capital, Ctesiphon . The I Parthica seems to have particularly proven itself in this war, because it was already awarded the title Severiana Antoniniana by Septimius Severus . This was one of the earliest examples of legions being honored with the emperor's name. The I Parthica and III Parthica stayed in the region to prevent subsequent rebellions and attacks from the Parthian Empire. Their legionary camp was probably Singara (now Sinjar in northern Iraq ) in Mesopotamia . The newly established province was administered as an exception to the rule by equestrian men, not senators .

In 206 a vexillation of the Legio XXII Primigenia under the direction of Clodius Caerellius, Centurio of the Legio I Parthica , built this altar for Iupiter Dolichenus in Obernburg am Main .

The Legio I Parthica took part in the Caracallas Parthian campaign (216/217). The Sassanids invaded the Roman province of Mesopotamia in 230 or 231 and besieged Nisibis . The Roman counter-offensive was brought forward in three columns by Severus Alexander in 232 . Apparently both sides suffered very heavy casualties and thereby lost the ability to continue to be offensive. As a result, this came down to a Roman victory, as the Persian attack was repulsed and no territorial losses had to be accepted.

The third century was marked by further battles against the Sassanids, but the role played by the I Parthica has not been passed down with certainty. The legion was given the nickname Philippiana by Emperor Philip Arabs (244–249) .

Around 346 a great battle took place near the Singara garrison, which the Roman Emperor Constantius II had almost won when the undisciplined behavior of his troops cost him victory. The exact date of the battle, which represented the climax of Constantius' first Persian War and in which a Persian prince was killed, was disputed for a long time due to divergent sources in research; but it will have taken place in 344 rather than 348.

In 360 the legion was defeated by the Persians and Singara was conquered. The Legio I Parthica had to move their main camp to Nisibis-Constantina. In the early 5th century, the Legio Prima Parthica Nisibena was stationed in Constantina under the command of the Dux Mesopotamiae . In the Persian Wars of the 6th century their trace is then lost.

Legionnaires from the I Parthica were usually deployed in other regions too, including Germania superior , Lycia , Cilicia and Cyrenaica .

literature

Web links

Commons : Legio I Parthica  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Oliver Stoll : Roman Army and Society. Collected contributions 1991 - 1999 , Steiner, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-515-07817-7 , p. 67
  2. ^ A b Emil Ritterling : Legio (I Parthica). In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XII, 2, Stuttgart 1925, Sp. 1435 f.
  3. ↑ a b Nesselhauf - Lieb, in: Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission 40, 1959, 120-228 No. 151  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ( Roman Museum Obernburg )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.ubi-erat-lupa.org  
  4. ↑ a b c Jonah Lendering: Legio I Parthica . In: Livius.org (English)
  5. ↑ CIL 3, 99 .
  6. ↑ Basically: Mosig-Walburg, Zur Schlacht bei Singara ; on the identity of the Persian prince see Dies., On speculations about the Sasanid 'heir to the throne Narsê' and his role in the Sasanian-Roman disputes in the second quarter of the 4th century AD In: Iranica Antiqua 35 (2000), p. 111-157. In general on the battles between Romans and Persians in the reign of Constantius II. Dodgeon and Lieu, The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars , pp. 164ff.
  7. ↑ Notitia Dignitatum Or. XXXVI