Legio II Flavia Constantia
The Legio II Flavia Constantia was a legion of the late ancient Roman army, which was set up around 296/297 and existed until the 5th century. The name of the legion refers to the Caesar and later co-emperor Flavius Valerius Constantius (293-306). The Legion's emblem has not survived.
Legion history
The Legio II Flavia Constantia and its sister legion Legio I Maximiana were set up by Diocletian in 296 or 297 to secure the newly established province of Thebais (Upper Egypt) when the province of Aegyptus was divided .
According to recent research, the Legio II Flavia Constantia was involved in the construction of the legion camp in Thebes / Luxor and had its first camp there together with the Legio I Maximiana . The Legio II Flavia Constantia was later moved to Cusae (Greek: Kusai, today Al-Qusiyya ), where it had its main camp until the 5th century.
The situation in Upper Egypt remained unsettled, so that in 297/298 Diocletian himself led a campaign that brought him to Elephantine . Presumably, vexillations of Legio II Traiana fortis and Legio III Diocletiana were brought in from the province of Aegyptus Iovia (western Nile delta ) for reinforcement . The soldiers of the Legio II Flavia Constantia were classified as Limitanei (border legion), as probably in the course of the reforms of Emperor Theodosius I (379-395), the Legio II Flavia Constantia Thebaeorum as Comitatenses (field army) was split off. Events on the Danube provided the occasion: After the Treaty of 382, Goths were accepted into the Roman army as Foederati and some were sent to Egypt, while Roman units, the so-called Aiguptioi (Egyptians), were relocated to the Danube.
Around the year 400 the Legio II Flavia Constantia Thebaeorum was under the command of the Magister militum per Orientum as comitatenses and was stationed under the Dux Thebaidos in Cusae. It still existed in the 6th century and was possibly only destroyed in connection with the Persian invasion of Egypt in 619.
Myth of the Thebaic Legion
The Legions II Flavia Constantia and I Maximiana would be considered as possible "candidates" for a historical core for the Thebaic Legion (Legio Thebaica) , which played an important role in Christian reports of martyrs in the early Middle Ages , but the Legion is not historically comprehensible and in the area refer to the 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) ).
- Emil Ritterling : Legio (II Flavia Constantia). In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XII, 2, Stuttgart 1925, column 1467.
Web links
- Jona Lendering: Legio II Flavia Constantia . In: Livius.org (English)
- Article at imperiumromanum.com
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Emil Ritterling : Legio (II Flavia Constantia). In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XII, 2, Stuttgart 1925, column 1467.
- ↑ Michael Alexander Speidel: The Thebaic Legion and the late Roman Army , pp. 40–41; see: Building inscription from Diocletian times: AE 1987, 975 .
- ↑ Michael Alexander Speidel: The Thebaic Legion and the late Roman army. P. 42.
- ^ Zosimos , Historia nea ("New History") IV, 30-31
- ↑ Notitia Dignitatum Or. VII.
- ↑ Notitia Dignitatum Or. XXXI.
- ↑ Michael Alexander Speidel: The Thebaic Legion and the late Roman army. Pp. 38-46.