Legio X Fretensis

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The Legio X Fretensis was a legion of the Roman army that formed 41/40 BC. BC by Octavian, later Augustus , to fight in the civil wars that accompanied the fall of the Roman Republic . The Legion existed at least until the early 5th century.

Brick stamped by Legio X Fretensis

Legion names and emblems

Coin of Domitian counterstamped with the symbols boar and dolphin

The original symbol of the fretensis was the bull , the sacred animal of Venus , but a ship was soon added, probably in honor of the naval battle of Naulochoi on the Fretum Siculum ( Strait of Messina ). After the Battle of Actium , a dolphin was also used as a legion symbol. Later the boar joined them. Under Emperor Hadrian (117-138) the god Neptunus was also represented in connection with the Legion.

As Legio X or Decimani , the legion was referred to by ancient historians such as Tacitus , Flavius ​​Josephus and Cassius Dio . Coins from the veteran colonies Colonia Augusta Aroe Patrae ( Patras ) and Ptolemais ( Akkon ) used the abbreviation LEG X , while the name was usually written on inscriptions. X , XF , XFR and LXF were other acronyms of the Legion embossed on coins.

Legio X Fretensis , the legion was already called in Augustan times (27 BC-14 AD). The name was mostly written out, especially in the west of the empire. A common abbreviation was LEG X FRET , but LEG X FR and in brick stamps LEG XF or LXF were also common. During the Antoninian dynasty (138–192) it received the honorable surname Antoniniana and is inscribed as LEG X FR ANTONINIANA . Of Victorinus (269-271) of the Legion of title was PIA FIDELIS (dutiful and loyal), loaned, which was appended to the Legion name and has survived on coins.

There is uncertainty as to whether LEG X [Fretensis] FELIX , LEG X EQV (estris) , LEG X VENER (ia) and Decumani Fortenses relate to X Fretensis.

Legion history

Civil wars of the republic

Octavian, later known as Augustus, gave the newly established Legion the number ten as a reference to Gaius Julius Caesar's famous Legio X Equestris and also adopted the bull as an emblem.

The first known operations of the Legion took place during the civil war in August 36 BC. In the sea ​​battle of Mylae and in September in the sea ​​battle at Naulochus . In both battles Octavian's general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa triumphed over the fleet of Sextus Pompeius . This earned the Legion the Cognomen Fretensis . The name refers to the fact that the battle took place near the Strait of Messina (Fretum Siculum) .

31 BC BC she probably fought against Mark Antony in the battle of Actium . The Legion's significant participation in this battle is believed to be why they also used a dolphin as one of their symbols. Actium marked the end of the Civil War and the beginning of the Principate .

Julian-Claudian dynasty

After the battle, the Legion was initially stationed in Macedonia . There she built a bridge over the River Strymon near Amphipolis . At 16 BC The Legion fought against the Sarmatians who invaded Macedonia . Veterans of the Legio X Fretensis and Legio XII Fulminata were born around 16 BC. BC to the Colonia Augusta Aroe Patrae settled the village of Patras . Probably before the year 6 BC. The Legion was moved to the east, to Syria .

Due to the impeachment of the incompetent ethnarch of Judea Herodes Archelaus - a son of Herod the Great - ordered by Emperor Augustus, a riot broke out in Judea. In 6 AD, the governor of Syria Publius Sulpicius Quirinius set up the four Syrian legions to suppress this rebellion .

The legion in Syria is only definitely documented in AD 17, when Germanicus and Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso met in Cyrrhus ( Harran ), the winter camp of the X Fretensis . The Legion, or at least a vexillation , moved with Germanicus against the Parthians and was temporarily stationed in Palmyra . After this campaign, the legion was presumably moved to Zeugma .

Claudius (41–54) had the Colonia Claudii Cæsaris at Ptolemais ( Acre ) put on in AD 45 for the veterans of the four Syrian legions ( Legio III Gallica , Legio VI Ferrata , Legio X Fretensis and XII Fulminata) .

When Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo , the governor of the province of Asia , gathered troops in the eastern provinces on behalf of Emperor Nero to clarify the Armenian question in 55 , the X Fretensis initially stayed in Syria and defended the Euphrates border against Parthian attacks. From 57 AD she took part in the campaign against the Armenian King Trdat I , who came from the Parthian ruling house . Artaxata and Tigranocerta were conquered, and Tigranes II , who grew up in Rome and was an obedient servant of the government, was installed as King of Armenia. In 62 the legions III Gallica, VI Ferrata and X Fretensis Corbulo followed to the Euphrates, presumably back to Zeugma. The X Fretensis stayed by the side of the Corbulos until the year 66 and was stationed in Antioch together with the Legio V Macedonica .

Ruins of the city of Gamala , which was conquered by the X Fretensis in 68 AD
The Herodium , one of the fortresses conquered by the X Fretensis during the Jewish uprising
The remains of camp "F" of the X Fretensis from the siege of Masada

In October 66, Gaius Cestius Gallus , the governor of Syria, attacked Jerusalem with the Legio XII Fulminata and a vexillation of the Legio X Fretensis , but was forced to break off the siege and suffered great losses during his fleeing retreat. After Corbulo's replacement, the X Fretensis was significantly involved in the Jewish War in AD 66–73 under the command of Vespasian . Vespasian marched to Ptolemais, where he united his army with Titus ' Legio XV Apollinaris and numerous auxiliary troops.

Then the legions X Fretensis under their legate Marcus Ulpius Traianus , the later governor of Syria and father of the Emperor Trajan , and V Macedonica were moved to the coastal city of Caesarea Maritima in 66/67 AD . The X Fretensis took part in the siege and capture of the cities of Tarichaia and Gamala in 68 and was then moved to Scythopolis ( Bet She'an ). Winter camp was set up in Jericho .

In the summer of 68 the Fretensis destroyed the monastery of Qumran , where the Dead Sea Scrolls are believed to have originated.

Flavian dynasty

In 69, the year of the Four Emperors, the Judean legions were among the first to recognize Vespasian as emperor. Vespasian took power in Rome and his son Titus continued the war in Iudaea . Regardless of these circumstances, parts of the legion were also used in building the road from El-Lejjun to Scythopolis .

In AD 70 the insurrection was suppressed in all of Iudaea except Jerusalem and some fortresses such as Masada . In that year the X Fretensis, together with V Macedonica, XII Fulminata, and legio XV Apollinaris , began the siege of Jerusalem , the fortress of the uprising. The X Fretensis camp was on the Mount of Olives . During the siege, the Legio X gained particular fame for the efficient use of its various war machines. Their ballistae are said to have thrown stones of a talent (approximately 26  kg ) two eighths of a mile (400 m) and caused severe damage to the ramparts. The siege of Jerusalem lasted five months and the besieged population was starving. Eventually, the combined attacks by the legions resulted in the capture of the city of Jerusalem . After the capture of the city of Jerusalem, the Legio X Fretensis was garrisoned there. The other legions were withdrawn from Iudaea . At the time, the Legio X was tasked with maintaining the peace and was under the direct command of the governor of the province, who was also the legate of the legion. Only under Hadrian (117-138) was the legion to have its own legate again.

In the spring of AD 71, Titus sailed for Rome. A new governor, Sextus Lucilius Bassus , was appointed, whose job it was to carry out the "clean-up work" in Iudaea. He immediately used the fretensis against the few fortresses that still offered resistance. The X Fretensis destroyed the Herodium in AD 71 and then crossed the Jordan to take the fortress of Machaerus on the shores of the Dead Sea. Because of an illness, Bassus was unable to complete his mission. Lucius Flavius ​​Silva replaced him and turned against the last Jewish fortress, Masada , in the autumn of 72 AD . He raised the Legio X, auxiliary troops and thousands of Jewish prisoners. Eleazar ben Ja'ir was the last leader of the Jewish defenders of the Sicarii (group of Zealots ) of the fortress of Masada in AD 73 . After his calls to surrender were rejected, Silva set up eight camps and had the mountain surrounded by a wall over four kilometers long to cut off the besieged from their surroundings. He then had a siege ramp , which is still well preserved today, built on the lower west side of the fortress , which reached up to the walls of the fortress. The Legion used this ramp to bring battering rams and other siege machines to the fortress in order to bring the wall down, which they finally succeeded in doing. Shortly before the Romans took the fortress, Eleazar ben Ja'ir gave a speech in which he called for suicide. When the Romans reached the plateau, they found the bodies of the crew.

"LEGXF" an inscription from the X Fretensis in Jerusalem

After the suppression of the Jewish uprising, Jerusalem was the garrison town of the Legio X. Their main camp was on the western hill. The camp was built using parts of the walls of Herod's palace, which Titus had demolished. It was at the end of the cardo maximus of the later Roman settlement Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem). Between the years 74 and 77 there was a conflict with the Parthians, but this was ended victoriously by Marcus Ulpius Traianus (the elder), who had meanwhile been promoted to governor. In the next decades the Legion did not take part in any major military actions, but secured the region through garrisons in numerous cities, such as B. Caesarea Maritima, Ascalon , Sidon , Samaria-Sebaste , Gadara , Tyros , Dora and Flavia Neapolis . Vespasian founded veteran colonies in Emmaus Nikopolis and Caesarea Maritima.

Adoptive Emperor and Antonine Dynasty

Inscription of the Legio X Fretensis on the aqueduct of Caesarea

After participating in Trajan's Parthian campaign (114-117), the fretensis was reinforced by the Legio II Traiana fortis in Iudaea . The X Fretensis received a legate again and was no longer directly subordinate to the governor. Around 125 the Legio VI Ferrata replaced the Legio II Traiana fortis in El-Lejjun. Under Emperor Hadrian , vexillations of the X Fretensis , II Traiana , III Cyrenaica and the Legio VI Ferrata were busy building the aqueduct of the Colonia Prima Flavia Augusta Caesariensis near Caesaraea Maritima. The X Fretensis was also involved in the construction of an aqueduct to Jerusalem .

When Hadrian had a Temple of Jupiter built in Jerusalem, the Bar Kochba uprising (132–135 AD) broke out. Simon Bar Kochba occupied Jerusalem and inflicted considerable losses on the Romans. The Legio X Fretensis was forced to evacuate Jerusalem. According to Werner Eck , the Legion lost at least half of its soldiers, presumably because they were stationed in smaller camps in the country. Therefore, around 132/133 several thousand soldiers from the Misenum fleet were transferred to the Legion to make up for the losses. The war ended when the Roman army - the Fretensis, troops from the Danube under the command of Sextus Iulius Severus, and many other units - recaptured Jerusalem and successfully besieged the last Jewish fortress, Betar .

It is disputed whether the Legion took part in Lucius Verus' Parthian War from 162 to 166 or stayed in the still troubled Iudaea. A vexillatio ( detachment ) of Fretensis fought in the Second Marcomanni War (177-180) Marcus Aurelius and was possibly in Dacia Porolissensis used (northeastern Romania).

Severer and soldier emperor

In 193 AD the Legion supported Pescennius Niger in the fight against Septimius Severus and was probably involved in the local clashes between Jews and Samaritans. The participation of a vexillation in Severus' expedition to Britain (208–211) is uncertain. The Legion was still in Jerusalem at the time of Caracalla or Elagabalus .

As part of the military reform of Gallienus (253-268), the Legion seems to have been divided into a border troop ( Limitanei ) that remained in the east and a mobile comitatenses troop relocated to Gaul or Britain . The Comitatenses joined the Imperium Galliarum , whose counter-emperor Victorinus (269–271) had gold coins minted in honor of LEG X FRETENSIS PF . After the end of the Gallic Empire, the mobile part of the Legion is no longer mentioned. Presumably he was dissolved or incorporated into other units of the field army.

Late antiquity

The legion was probably moved to "Aila" ( Eilat ) during the reforms of Emperor Diocletian (284–305) .

According to Ammianus Marcellinus , the Legion Decumani Fortenses was involved in the defense of the city of Amida against the Sassanid king Shapur II in 359 and suffered heavy losses during the storming. The identity of the Decumani Fortenses with the Decimani Fretensis is assumed by some historians, at least considered possible by others.

The Notitia Dignitatum reports that the Legio decima Fretensis was subordinate to the Dux Palaestinae under the command of a Praefectus in Aila in the early 5th century .

Inscriptions

Partial units ( vexillationes ) of the fretensis are documented on several inscriptions in Judea. A Latin inscription from the end of the 2nd century, located in the Church of the Resurrection in Abu Gosh 15 km west of Jerusalem , documents the presence of a vexillatio of the X Fretensis:

VEXILLATIO LEG X FRE

Some fragments the "LXF" the character L EGIO X F carry retensis are shown in Jerusalem on David's Tower. A Roman law required that all pottery should bear the maker's mark. A large number of pottery bearing the markings of the Legio X Fretensis have been found during excavations in Jerusalem.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Edward Dabrowa: Legio X Fretensis , pp. 11-12.
  2. ^ A b c Lesley Adkins: Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome , Sonlight Christian, 2004, ISBN 0-8160-5026-0 , p. 60; see: Emil Ritterling: Legio (X Fretensis). In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XII, 2, Stuttgart 1925, Sp. 1671-1678.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Emil Ritterling : Legio (X Fretensis). In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XII, 2, Stuttgart 1925, Sp. 1671-1678.
  4. ↑ z. B. CIL 10, 797 and CIL 10, 3887
  5. ↑ Coins of the Legio X Fretensis at www.romancoins.info
  6. ↑ CIL 6, 3636, CIL 10, 3890
  7. ↑ z. B. CIL 3, 6638 CIL 3, 6641 CIL 3, 6697
  8. ↑ z. B. CIL 3, 3472 CIL 3, 6641
  9. ↑ CIL 3, 190
  10. ↑ CIL 3, 508
  11. ↑ CIL 5, 4191
  12. ↑ a b Ammianus XVIII 9.3
  13. ^ Tacitus : Annales II 57
  14. ↑ Colonia Claudii Cæsaris. Archived from the original on August 22, 2006 ; accessed on March 13, 2018 .
  15. ^ Tacitus : Annales XV 6-9.
  16. ↑ a b Flavius ​​Josephus , Jüdischer Krieg 3, 2, 4.
  17. ↑ Flavius ​​Josephus , Jüdischer Krieg 2, 19, 1-9.
  18. ↑ Flavius ​​Josephus , Jewish War 3, 4, 2.
  19. ↑ Flavius ​​Josephus , Jüdischer Krieg 3, 10, 1ff.
  20. ↑ Othmar Keel , Max Küchler , Christoph Uehlinger: Places and landscapes of the Bible. A Handbook and Study Guide to the Holy Land Volume 2: The South . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen, 1982, ISBN 3-525-50167-6 , pp. 461 and 471.
  21. ↑ 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.
  22. ↑ Eckart Olshausen , Holger Sonnabend (Ed.): Stuttgart Colloquium on the Historical Geography of Antiquity 7, 1999. On water and on land. Traffic routes in the ancient world , series: Geographica Historica (Volume 17), Steiner, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 978-3-515-08053-8 , p. 267.
  23. ↑ Flavius ​​Josephus , Jewish War 5-6.
  24. ↑ CIL 3, 12117 : leg (atus) Aug (usti) leg (ionis) X Fret (ensis) et leg (atus) pr (o) pr (aetore) [pr] ovinciae Iudaeae . See also CIL 10, 6321 .
  25. ↑ Flavius ​​Josephus , Jewish War 6, 6.
  26. ↑ Flavius ​​Josephus , Jüdischer Krieg 6, 8-9.
  27. ^ Pace, H. Geva: The Camp of the Tenth Legion in Jerusalem: An Archaeological Reconsideration , Israel Exploration Journal 34, 1984, pp. 247-249.
  28. ↑ Werner Eck : Traian . In Manfred Clauss (Ed.): The Roman Emperors , 3rd edition, CH Beck, Munich 2005, ISBN 978-3-406-47288-6 , p. 112.
  29. ↑ a b c Edward Dabrowa: Legio X Fretensis , p. 15.
  30. ^ Edward Dabrowa: Legio X Fretensis , pp. 19-21.
  31. ^ Werner Eck : Rome's water management in the east. (PDF; 3.2 MB) In: Kasseler Universitätsreden 17th kassel university press, 2008, pp. 25-26 , archived from the original on January 31, 2012 ; accessed on March 13, 2018 .
  32. ↑ Werner Eck: Rule, Resistance, Obedience: Rome and Judaism in Iudaea / Palaestine. , Pp. 31–52, here p. 45 ( digitized version ).
  33. ^ Edward Dabrowa: Legio X Fretensis , p. 17.
  34. ↑ Eusebius of Caesarea , Onomasticon .
  35. ^ Karl Leo Noethlichs : The Jews in the Christian Roman Empire (4th to 6th centuries) , Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 2001, ISBN 978-3-05-003431-7 , p. 55.
  36. ↑ Sub dispositione viri spectabilis ducis Palaestinae:…… praefectus legionis decimae Fretensis, Ailae , Notitia dignitatum in partibus orientis , XXXIV 30 .
  37. ^ AE 1902, 230 , an identical inscription also AE 1926, 136 .
  38. ^ Benjamin Arubas, Haim Goldfus: The Kilnworks of the Tenth Legion Fretensis , in JH Humphrey (Ed.): The Roman and Byzantine Near East: Some Recent Archeological Research ( Journal of Roman Archeology Supplementary Series Number 14). Ann Arbor 1995, pp. 95-107; Haim Goldfus, Benny Arubas: The Legio X Fretensis Kilnworks at the Jerusalem International Convention Center. In: Ancient Jerusalem Revealed: Archaeological Discoveries, 1998-2018. Jerusalem 2019, pp. 184-194 ( digitized version ).

literature

Web links

Commons : Legio X Fretensis  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: The Jewish War in German  - Sources and full texts (German)