Legio III Diocletiana

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Shield painting of the Legio Tertia Diocletiana Thebaeorum in the early 5th century.

The Legio III Diocletiana was a legion of the late ancient Roman army that was raised by Diocletian in Egypt around 296 and existed at least until the early 5th century.

Legion history

When it was set up, the Legion had a nominal strength of 5,000 to 6,000 men. The legion emblem has not been handed down. The legion was named after the emperor and it got its number by counting the Legio II Traiana fortis already stationed in Nicopolis (near Alexandria ) . Both legions had the task of protecting the provincial capital Alexandria and the Nile Delta.

In the years 297/298 riots broke out in the newly established province of Thebais (southern Egypt) and Diocletian, who led the campaign himself, also set up Legio III Diocletiana . Around the year 300 vexillations of the Legion were stationed in Apollonopolis Magna ( Edfu ), Tentyra (Dendera), Syene (Aswan), Ptolemais Hermeiou (el-Manscha) and Panopolis (el-Achmim) in the Thebais .

In the course of the 4th century, parts of the legion were relocated to Thebes and Ombos (Naqada) in southern Egypt and the region was fortified by the construction of forts.

The only member of the Legion known by name is the deserter Theodoros, who lived around 340 AD.

Emperor Theodosius I (378–395) incorporated contingents of the Visigoths who had become Foederati (allies) in the III Diocletiana . In return, he released a vexillation as Legio III Diocletiana Thebaeorum from the Limitanei (border troops) and moved them as Comitatenses (field army) to Macedonia .

In the early 5th century the Legio tertia Diocletiana [Thebaidos] was stationed in Andropolis and subordinated to the Comes limitis Aegypti . Other sub-units of the Legion were subordinate to the Dux Thebaidos in Ombos (Naqada), Praesentia and Thebes . The Comitatensische Legio Tertia Diocletiana Thebaeorum was under the Magister militum per Thracias .

Myth of the Thebaic Legion

The Legio Tertia Diocletiana Thebaeorum is considered by some historians as a possible "candidate" for a historical core of the Thebaic Legion (Legio Thebaica), which played an important role in Christian martyr reports of the early Middle Ages . In another opinion, the Legion is out of the question for objective reasons. The Thebaic Legion is also not historically comprehensible and should be referred to in the area of ​​legend.

literature

  • Michael Alexander Speidel : The Thebaic Legion and the late Roman army. In: Otto Wermelinger, Philippe Bruggisser, Beat Näf , Jean M. Roessli (eds.): Mauritius and the Thebaic Legion. = Saint Maurice et la Légion Thébaine. Actes du colloque, 17. – 20. Sept. 2003. Academic Press Friborg, Friborg / Saint-Maurice / Martigny 2005, ISBN 3-7278-1527-2 , pp. 37-46, ( online (PDF; 142 kB) ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Notitia Dignitatum Or. VIII
  2. ^ Brian Campbell: The army. In: The Cambridge Ancient History . Volume 12: Alan K. Bowman, Averil Cameron , Peter Garnsey (Eds.): The Crisis of Empire, AD 193-337. 2nd Edition. University of Cambridge Press, Cambridge et al. 2005, ISBN 0-521-30199-8 , p. 124.
  3. ^ A b Jona Lendering: Legio III Diocletiana . In: Livius.org (English).
  4. ↑ Michael Alexander Speidel: The Thebaic Legion and the late Roman army. In: Otto Wermelinger, Philippe Bruggisser, Beat Näf , Jean M. Roessli (eds.): Mauritius and the Thebaic Legion. = Saint Maurice et la Légion Thébaine. Actes du colloque, 17–20 Sept. 2003. Academic Press Friborg, Friborg / Saint-Maurice / Martigny 2005, ISBN 3-7278-1527-2 , pp. 37–46, here pp. 41–42, ( online (PDF ; 142 kB) ( Memento of the original from January 8, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. ). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mavors.org
  5. ↑ Klaas A. Worp: P.CAIR. INV. 10462: a new Asklepiades papyrus? In: Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy . 123, 1998, pp. 158–160, here 159, ( online (PDF; 947 kB) ).
  6. ^ Leonard Woolley , David Randall-MacIver: Karanog. The Romano-Nubian Cementery (= Eckley B. Coxe Junior Expedition to Nubia. 3). Volume 1. University Museum, Philadelphia PA 1910, p. 18.
  7. ↑ Notitia Dignitatum Or. XXVIII.
  8. ↑ Notitia Dignitatum Or. XXXI.
  9. ↑ Ingo Runde: Xanten in the early and high Middle Ages. Tradition of sagas - history of the monastery - becoming a town (= Rheinisches Archiv 147). Böhlau, Cologne et al. 2003, ISBN 3-412-15402-4 , pp. 173-174.
  10. ↑ Michael Alexander Speidel: The Thebaic Legion and the late Roman army. Pp. 38-46.