Legio XVIII

Funerary inscription for Gaius Pompeius Proculus, third son of Gaius, Tribunus Militum of the 18th legion, Praefectus Fabrum, Sevir of the equestrian units, an honorary title. Augustean period, Museo Epigrafico, Terme di Diocleziano, Rome.

Epitaph of Marcus Caelius, using the "XIIX" spelling

Legio duodevigesima ("Eighteenth Legion", spelled XVIII or XIIX^[1]) was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was founded ca, 41 BC by the future emperor Augustus. The legion was, along with two others, destroyed in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest (September 9, 9). The legion's symbol and cognomen are unknown.

This legion was probably created to deal with Sextus Pompeius, the last opponent of the second triumvirate, garrisoned in Sicily and threatening Rome's grain supply. It was probably one of the eight legions Augustus promised Mark Antony for his campaign against the Parthians, but never delivered.

Following the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra in the battle of Actium (31 BC), the legion was stationed in Gaul. In the end of the 1st century BC, the XVIIIth was sent to the Germania provinces in the Rhine to take part in the enormous army led by Drusus and later Tiberius. In 5, the provinces were pacified. In 7, Publius Quinctilius Varus was assigned governor.

On September 9, Arminius, leader of the Cheruscan allies, reported a rebellion in the Rhine area. Without suspecting the information received, Varus took his three legions, the XVIII along with XVII and XIX, and headed west. On 9 September, near modern Osnabrück, the Cheruscii led by Arminius ambushed the governor's army. All three legions were destroyed in what is known as the Battle of Teutoburg Forest and their eagle standards lost.

After their destruction, the Romans never used these legion numbers (XVII, XVIII and XIX) again.

Known members of the legion

Name	Rank	Time frame	Province	Soldier located in	Veteran located in	Source
Gaius Pompeius Proculus	tribunus militum	?	?	?	Italia
Marcus Caelius	centurio	?	Raetia?	?	-

References

↑ Adkins, Lesley; Adkins, Roy A (2004). Handbook to life in ancient Rome (2 ed.). p. 270. ISBN 0-8160-5026-0. ; Boyne, William (1968). A manual of Roman coins. p. 13.

External links

livius.org account of the eighteenth legion

Roman legions

Legio I Adiutrix Legio I Armeniaca Legio I Germanica Legio I Iovia Legio I Isaura Sagittaria Legio I Italica Legio I Macriana liberatrix Legio I Maximiana Legio I Minervia Legio I Parthica Legio II Adiutrix Legio II Armeniaca Legio II Augusta Legio II Flavia Constantia Legio II Flavia Virtutis Legio II Gallica Legio II Herculia Legio II Isaura Legio II Italica Legio II Parthica Legio II Traiana Fortis Legio III Augusta Legio III Cyrenaica Legio III Diocletiana Legio III Gallica Legio III Isaura Legio III Italica Legio III Parthica Legio IV Flavia Felix Legio IV Macedonica Legio IV Scythica Legio V Alaudae Legio V Iovia Legio V Macedonica Legio VI Ferrata Legio VI Herculia Legio VI Hispana Legio VI Victrix Legio VII Claudia Legio VII Gemina Legio VIII Augusta Legio IX Hispana Legio X Equestris Legio X Fretensis Legio X Gemina Legio XI Legio XI Claudia Legio XII Fulminata Legio XIII Gemina Legio XIV Gemina Legio XV Apollinaris Legio XV Primigenia Legio XVI Flavia Firma Legio XVI Gallica Legio XVII Legio XVIII Legio XIX Legio XX Valeria Victrix Legio XXI Rapax Legio XXII Deiotariana Legio XXII Primigenia Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 5/26/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.

Legio XVIII

Known members of the legion

See also

References

External links