Legio III Herculia

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Shield painting of the Tertia Herculea in the early 5th century

The Legio III Herculia ("the 3rd Legion consecrated to Hercules") was a legion of the late ancient Roman army, which was probably set up by Diocletian (284-305) at the beginning of his rule and existed until the 5th century. The epithet of the Legion refers to its co-emperor Maximian , who had placed his rule under the protection of Hercules .

It is possible that the Legion originally belonged to the Limitanei (frontier army) and was used to defend the Raetia province . In the course of the 4th century she was included in the Comitatenses (field army). In the early 5th century, the Tertia Herculea was still under the command of Magister Peditum and belonged to the army of Comes Illyrici , who was also responsible for protecting Raetia, together with the Raetian legion, Legio III Italica .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Notitia Dignitatum Occ. V.
  2. ↑ a b Jonah Lendering: Legio III Herculia . In: Livius.org (English)
  3. ↑ Friedrich Lotter: Displacements of peoples in the Eastern Alps-Central Danube area between antiquity and the Middle Ages (= Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde . Supplementary volumes 39). de Gruyter, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-11-017855-9 , p. 39.
  4. ↑ Notitia Dignitatum Occ. VII.
  5. ↑ Friedrich Lotter: Displacements of peoples in the Eastern Alps-Central Danube area between antiquity and the Middle Ages (= Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde . Supplementary volumes 39). de Gruyter, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-11-017855-9 , p. 14.