Legio XV Apollinaris

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The Legio XV Apollinaris ("Fifteenth Legion, consecrated to Apollon ") was a legion of the Roman army.

The Signum Legion is unknown. Possibly it was the god Apollon or the griffin , as an animal assigned to the deity.

presumed sign of the Legio XV Apollinaris, simplified representation

Legion history

precursor

A Legio XV was founded by Gaius Iulius Caesar in 53 BC. In Gallia Cisalpina and trained in Gaul by Titus Labienus . It had its first deployment in the Gallic War against the Noric Iapods , the cisalpine cities, including Aquileia and Tergeste (Trieste) attacked. In the year 50 BC Caesar handed the legion over to Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus and the Senate Party.

The Senate moved the Legion from Aquileia to Capua . When Caesar in 49 BC BC invaded Italy and the Legio XV joined him again. Caesar sent the Legion to Africa, where it was destroyed in 49/48.

republic

The Legio XV were founded around 41 BC. Set up by Octavian , later Emperor Augustus. Octavian put the legion against Sextus Pompeius , who had occupied Sicily and threatened Rome's grain supply, in the naval battle of Naulochus in 36 BC. A. Presumably the Legion took 35 to 33 BC. In Octavian's war in the Illyricum , in the course of which the Iapodes , Carni and Tauriskians were subjugated. After the battle of Actium and the end of the Roman civil wars (31 BC), the legion, which was then nicknamed Apollinaris at the latest , was taken over by Augustus into the regular army.

Julian-Claudian dynasty

Presumably Augustus set the Legion between 27 and 19 BC. In the province of Hispania Tarraconensis in the Cantabrian War against the Cantabrians , Asturians and Lusitanians . Augustus settled veterans in Ateste Este in Veneto and moved the legion to Illyricum, where it was probably stationed in Siscia ( Sisak ) or Emona ( Ljubljana ).

6 AD Tiberius led at least eight legions ( Legio VIII Augusta from Pannonia , Legio XX Valeria Victrix and Legio XV Apollinaris from Illyricum , Legio XXI Rapax from Raetia , Legio XIII Gemina , Legio XIIII Gemina and Legio XVI Gallica from Germania superior and one unknown unit) from the south against Marbod , the Marcomann king , while the Legio I Germanica , Legio V Alaudae , Legio XVII , Legio XVIII and Legio XIX Augusta marched from the north. That represented half of the total military potential of the Romans at the time. Shortly after the campaign began in the spring of 6, Tiberius broke it off again when he received news of the Pannonian uprising . However, Tiberius concluded a friendship treaty with Marbod in order to concentrate fully on the difficult task in Pannonia in which the Legio XV Apollinaris was also involved.

After the destruction of three legions in the Battle of Varus (9 AD), troops had to be transferred. The Legio XV Apollinaris may have been relocated to Emona (later Colonia Iulia , now Ljubljana ) and / or Vindobona (Vienna) in Pannonia. But the Legio XV Apollinaris was probably stationed in Emona (Ljubljana) during the Augustan-Tiberian period .

Gravestone of Centurio Titus Calidius Severus of the Legio XV in Carnuntum

After Augustus' death, unrest broke out in the summer camp of the three Pannonian legions ( Legio VIIII Hispana , Legio XV Apollinaris and Legio VIII Augusta ) in the summer of 14 AD . Drusus the Younger was able to calm the situation quickly and without major complications, whereupon the legions moved to their separate winter camps.

Ever since 14/15 n. Chr., The Legion was in Carnuntum stationed to monitor the Marcomanni beyond the Danube. An extensive camp town (canabae legionis) developed around the legionary camp. Emperor Claudius founded the " Colonia Claudia Savaria " (also Savaria ; today Szombathely ) and settled veterans of the legion there.

A part of the Legion may have been stationed in Lauriacum in the early 1st century , but this theory is controversial. Brick stamps in the small fort at Stopfenreuth and in the Cannabiaca fort prove that the Legion was building.

Around 53/54 Gaius Rutilius Gallicus was a legate of the Legio XV Apollinaris .

Operations under Nero

Under Nero (54-68), Aulus Marius Celsus was a legate of the Legio XV Apollinaris when this was replaced by the Legio X Gemina in Carnuntum in 62/63 and relocated to Syria on the orders of Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo because of the Armenian crisis to reinforce the Roman troops there . The reason for this was the conflict with the Parthian Empire for more influence in the Armenian kingdom. The Legion invaded Armenia, whereby the Parthians could be forced to a peace treaty without further fighting. The Legion was not involved in the fighting, but secured the hinterland. Then the Legion was moved to Alexandria (for a short time). The Legion was to be used from there in Nero's campaigns to Ethiopia and the Caspian Sea. In 66 AD the Jewish War broke out . The son of the commander-in-chief Vespasian (later became emperor) over the Judean legions Titus (later also became emperor) took over the Legio XV Apollinaris in early 67 as a legate . The Legion reached Ptolemais in the spring of 67 and joined the army led by Vespasian to fight the Jewish rebels, which now consisted of the Legio V Macedonica , the Legio X Fretensis and the Legio XV Apollinaris . In the summer of 67 the army appeared before Jotapata and captured the city after a 47 day siege. After the conquest, the hidden Jewish general Joseph ben Mathitjahu ha Kohen (later named Flavius ​​Josephus ) was captured. Josephus describes the siege, attacks and attacks, tactics and weapons technology in the 7th chapter of the 3rd book of the Jewish War . The Legion also took part in the fighting over Iapha , Gischala , Tiberias , Tarichea and Gamala . The uprising was largely suppressed in Iudaea. Only Jerusalem and the fortress of Masada on the Dead Sea still offered bitter resistance.

Four imperial year and Flavian dynasty

Rearranged section of the Legio XV with centurion (r.) And standards

In 69, the year of the Four Emperors, the Judean legions were among the first to recognize Vespasian as emperor. Part of the legion marched against Rome with Gaius Licinius Mucianus , but Vitellius had already overthrown when Mucianus arrived in the capital. In the year 70 AD, Titus was promoted to commander in chief of the Roman Orient Army from the 4 legions ( Legio V Macedonica , Legio X Fretensis , Legio XII Fulminata and Legio XV Apollinaris ). Marcus Tittius Frugi was his successor as Legio XV. In the same year the siege of Jerusalem , the central fortress of the insurgents, began. The siege of Jerusalem lasted five months and caused massive famine among the city's population. Finally, an assault attack by the Romans, prepared with great technical effort, led to the capture of the city and to the burning and sacking of the Second Jerusalem Temple . During the victory celebrations for the conquest of Jerusalem (70 AD) , numerous Jewish prisoners were put on display and killed. After the destruction of Jerusalem, the Legion marched first to Caesarea Maritima and then back to Syria via Caesarea Philippi . The Legion spent the winter of 70/71 in Zeugma on the Euphrates. Then she accompanied her general Titus back to Alexandria. From there she made her way back to Carnuntum in 71, presumably again initially by land to Cappadocia . In some Syrian cities and Cappadocia , the legion was replenished with recruits. The way back over the Black Sea and Danube was done by ship. The original wood-earth warehouse in Carnuntum was replaced by a stone building by the Legion in 73 AD.

In the winter of 85/86 strong Dacian warriors of King Diupaneus penetrated from the north across the Danube into the Roman province of Moesia and met the Romans completely unexpectedly. The governor Gaius Oppius Sabinus fell in battle and the attackers were able to plunder and pillage almost unrestrained. 86/87 Cornelius Fuscus commanded an army fighting the Dacians under their king Decebalus . He suffered a crushing defeat at the beginning of the Dacian Wars , in which the V Alaudae were probably wiped out. In 88 the Roman general Lucius Tettius Iulianus invaded Dacian territory. In the battle of Tapae , the Roman army, which also included the Legio XV Apollinaris , triumphed over Decebalus. Decebalus and Domitian negotiated a peace in 89 AD, in which Decebalus formally became a Roman client and the Romans paid him for it with money and weapons.

Adoptive Emperor and Antonine Dynasty

The construction of the Pannonian legionary camp Brigetio , which was built during the reign of Emperor Trajan (98–117) or, according to the building inscription found in the camp, around 124/128 AD, was the result of the Legio, which was set up in Pannonia from 89 AD I Adiutrix , whereby, according to the brick stamps found , she was supported by vexillations (divisions) of the three other Pannonian legions on the Suebian front - the XIII Gemina , the XIIII Gemina and the XV Apollinaris . Presumably, only vexillations of the XV Apollinaris took part in Trajan's Dacer Wars (101-106) and then returned to Carnuntum. A move to Egypt in the east of the empire possibly took place as early as 107 to replace the Legio III Cyrenaica used in Arabia Petraea . No later than 114 AD, the XIIII Gemina was moved to Carnuntum to replace the Legio XV Apollinaris there . From 114 to 116 Trajan deployed the Legion in Armenia and Mesopotamia in the war against the Parthians . Trajan settled veterans in Taucheira, Libya.

Trajans successor Hadrian (117-138) stationed the Legio XV Apollinaris in Satala ( Sadak ) in small Armenia , where after Samosata to the Euphrates abkommandierte Legio XVI Flavia company replaced. There the Legio XV guarded the border to the independent Kingdom of Armenia. Parts of the Legio were permanently stationed in Trapezus ( Trabzon ) and Ancyra ( Ankara ). In 135 the XV Apollinaris under their legate Marcus Vettius Valens and a great vexillation of the XII Fulminata took part in the campaign of the Cappadocian governor Flavius ​​Arrianus against the invaded Alans .

From 162 to 166 the Legion took part in the Parthian War of Lucius Verus . A vexillation of the legions XII Fulminata and XV Apollinaris conquered the Armenian capital Artaxata . In neighboring Caenopolis , the vexillation provided the garrison for about 20 years, while the legions returned to Cappadocia . A vexillation XV Apollinaris was the first Marcomannic War (166-176) Marcus Aurelius involved and has won the rain miracles in Quad country associated. In 175 AD Avidius Cassius , governor of Syria, revolted against Marcus Aurelius. The Legio XV remained loyal to the emperor and was probably given the additional nickname Pia Fidelis (“dutiful and loyal”) after the suppression of the uprising .

Towards the end of the 2nd century Pityus ( Pizunda in Abkhazia ) also became a garrison of the Legion.

Severer and soldier emperor

Brick stamp LEG XV APOL

The Legion probably took part in the Parthian Wars (194 and 197-198) of Emperor Septimius Severus towards the end of the 2nd century , which ended with the capture of the Parthian capital, Ctesiphon . The Legion took part in Caracalla's Parthian War in 217 . Under Severus Alexander (222–235) the Legion fought against the Sassanid Empire , the new great power in the east.

Emperor Gordian III. (238–244) probably used the Legion against the Sassanids before his successor Philip Arabs (244–249) made peace with the Sassanids. In 254 the Garrison town of Pityus was attacked unsuccessfully by the Borani . Under Emperor Valerian (253-260), the Sassanids attacked the provinces of Syria , Cilicia and Cappadocia . They occupied Satala around AD 256 and sacked Trapezus , both garrison types of the Legio XV Apollinaris, in 258 . Also Pityus was 258 by the Borani conquered. Valerian's counter-attack ended with the capture of the emperor at the Battle of Edessa . Only Odaenathus (261–267) was able to stabilize the situation.

Late antiquity

In 297 the Legio I Pontica was stationed in the newly created province of Pontus Polemoniacus in Trabzon , where it probably replaced a vexillation of the Legio XV Apollinaris . Diocletian (284-305) gained control of some areas in northern Mesopotamia and in 298 concluded a peace treaty with the Sassanids.

In the early 5th century, the Legio Quintadecima Apollinaris was stationed in Satala and was under the Dux Armeniae . After that, the Legion was no longer mentioned.

literature

  • Emil Ritterling : Legio (XV Apollinaris). In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XII, 2, Stuttgart 1925, Sp. 1747-1758.
  • Marjeta Šašel Kos: The Fifteenth Legion at Emona - Some Thoughts , In: Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 109, Habelt, Bonn 1995, pp. 227–244. PDF (861 kB)
  • The deployment of the Legio XV Apollinaris in Palestine (62/63 - 71 AD) in: Franz Humer (Hrsg.): Legion eagle and druid staff. From the legionary camp to the Danube metropolis. 2 volumes. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government - Department of Culture and Science, St. Pölten 2006, ISBN 3-85460-229-4 (catalog of the Lower Austrian State Museum NF 462), (text and catalog volume, Archaeological Museum Carnuntinum, Bad Deutsch-Altenburg, March 21 2006–11 November 2007), p. 123.

Web links

Commons : Legio XV Apollinaris  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Péter Kovács : Marcus Aurelius' Rain Miracle and the Marcomannic Wars (= Mnemosyne Supplements. 308). Brill, Leiden 2009, ISBN 978-90-04-16639-4 , p. 7.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Jona Lendering: Legio XV Apollinaris . In: Livius.org (English).
  3. ↑ a b c d Marjeta Šašel Kos: The Fifteenth Legion at Emona - Some Thoughts , In: Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 109, Habelt, Bonn 1995, p. 229.
  4. ↑ a b c d legioxv.org: The historical Legio XV Apollinaris
  5. ↑ a b c Claude Lepelley (Ed.): Rome and the Empire in the High Imperial Era, Vol. 2: The Regions of the Empire , de Gruyter, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-598-77449-4 , p. 262.
  6. ↑ Marjeta Šašel Kos: The Fifteenth Legion at Emona - Some Thoughts , In: Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 109, Habelt, Bonn 1995, p. 228.
  7. ↑ Tacitus : Annales 1, 16-30.
  8. ^ András Mócsy : Pannonia and Upper Moesia. A history of the middle Danube provinces of the Roman empire , Routledge, 1974, ISBN 0-7100-7714-9 , p. 43.
  9. ^ András Mócsy: Pannonia and Upper Moesia. A history of the middle Danube provinces of the Roman empire , Routledge, 1974, ISBN 0-7100-7714-9 , p. 77.
  10. ^ Hans Petrovitsch: Legio II Italica. Research in Lauriacum 13 , Linz 2006, ISBN 3-902299-04-5 , pp. 309-318.
  11. ^ AE 1920, 55
  12. ^ Tacitus: Annales , 15, 25, 3.
  13. ^ Brian W. Jones: Titus in Judaea, AD 67 . In: Latomus 48, No. 1, 1989, pp. 127-134.
  14. ↑ Barbara Levick , Kenneth Wellesley: The year of the four emperors , 3rd edition, (series: Roman Imperial Biographies), Routledge, London 2000, ISBN 0-203-46899-6 , p. 123.
  15. ↑ Lawrence JF Keppie: Legions and veterans: Roman army papers 1971-2000 (Mavors. Roman Army Researches Volume 12), Steiner, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 978-3-515-07744-6 , p. 281.
  16. ^ Benjamin H. Isaac: The Near East under Roman Rule, series: Mnemosyne, bibliotheca classica Batava: Supplementum, Volume 177 , Brill, 1997, ISBN 90-04-10736-3 , p. 43.
  17. ↑ Flavius ​​Josephus , Jewish War 5-6
  18. ↑ Franz Humer 2006, p. 123
  19. ^ A b Brian W. V: Titus in the East, AD 70-71 . In: Rheinisches Museum für Philologie 128, No. 3/4, 1985, pp. 346–352.
  20. ↑ John Graham Wilmot Henderson : A Roman life. Rutilius Gallicus on paper & in stone. University of Exeter Press, Exeter 1998, ISBN 978-085989565-1 , p. 8.
  21. ^ Brian W. Jones: The Emperor Domitian , Routledge, 1992, ISBN 0-415-04229-1 , p. 138.
  22. ↑ Miriam Griffin : The Flavians . In: Alan K. Bowman, Peter Garnsey, Dominic Rathbone (Eds.): The Cambridge Ancient History . Vol. 11: The High Empire, AD 70-192 . University Press, Cambridge 2000, ISBN 0-521-26335-2 , p. 73
  23. ^ András Mócsy: Pannonia and Upper Moesia. A history of the middle Danube provinces of the Roman empire , Routledge, 1974, ISBN 0-7100-7714-9 , p. 84.
  24. ↑ Emese Számadó, Lászlo Borhy: Brigetio castra legionis. In: Zsolt Visy (ed.): The Roman army in Pannonia. Teleki Lázló Foundation 2003, ISBN 963-86388-2-6 , pp. 75-77; here p. 76; Tilmann Bechert : Roman camp gates and their building inscriptions. A contribution to the development and dating of imperial camp floor plans from Claudius to Severus Alexander. In: Bonner Jahrbücher 171, 1971, pp. 201–287; here: p. 235; Zsolt Mráv: Hadrian's bridge building inscription from Poetovio. In: Communicationes archaeologicae Hungariae 2002, pp. 15–57; here: p. 34.
  25. ^ László Barkóczi, András Mócsy: The Roman Inscriptions of Hungary (RIU). 2. Delivery. Salla, Mogentiana, Mursella, Brigetio . Adolf M. Hakkert, Amsterdam 1976, ISBN 9630506807 , p. 89.
  26. ^ András Mócsy: Pannonia and Upper Moesia. A history of the middle Danube provinces of the Roman empire , Routledge, 1974, ISBN 0-7100-7714-9 , p. 92.
  27. ^ Paul Erdkamp (Ed.): A companion to the Roman army , Wiley-Blackwell, 2007, ISBN 978-1-4051-2153-8 , p. 250.
  28. ↑ Ioan Piso: On the northern border of the Roman Empire (Heidelberger Althistorische Contributions und Epigraphische Studien (HABES) Volume 41), Steiner, 2005, ISBN 978-3-515-08729-2 , p. 161.
  29. ^ DR Shackleton Bailey (Ed.): Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, Volume 84 , Harvard University Press, 1981, ISBN 978-0674379312 , p. 302.
  30. ↑ Julian Bennett : Trajan. Optimus Princeps , Routledge, 1997, ISBN 978-041516524-2 , pp. 195-196.
  31. ^ E. Mary Smallwood: The Jews under Roman rule. From Pompey to Diocletian. A study in political relations 2nd ed., Brill, Leiden 2001, ISBN 978-0391041554 , p. 411.
  32. ^ Peter Edwell: Between Rome and Persia, p. 22; Paul Erdkamp (Ed.): A companion to the Roman army , Wiley-Blackwell, 2007, ISBN 978-1-4051-2153-8 , p. 247.
  33. ↑ Wendell Vernon Clausen (Ed.): Harvard Studies in Classical Philology , 86, Harvard University Press, ISBN 9780674379336 , p. 201.
  34. ↑ Ioan Piso: On the Northern Frontier of the Roman Empire (Heidelberger Althistorische Contributions und Epigraphische Studien (HABES) Volume 41), Steiner, 2005, ISBN 978-3-515-08729-2 , p. 351.
  35. ^ Paul Erdkamp (ed.): A companion to the Roman army , Wiley-Blackwell, 2007, ISBN 978-1-4051-2153-8 , p. 246.
  36. ^ A b Paul Erdkamp (Ed.): A companion to the Roman army , Wiley-Blackwell, 2007, ISBN 978-1-4051-2153-8 , p. 254.
  37. ↑ CIL 3, 6746 ; Emil Ritterling : Legio (I Pontica). In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XII, 2, Stuttgart 1925, column 1437.
  38. ^ Jona Lendering: Legio I Pontica . In: Livius.org (English).
  39. ↑ Notitia Dignitatum Or. XXXVIII.
  40. ^ Paul Erdkamp (ed.): A companion to the Roman army , Wiley-Blackwell, 2007, ISBN 978-1-4051-2153-8 , p. 256.