Roman Legion - Legio I Germanica

Багерман А.Я.

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Legio I Germanica was created Gaius Julius Caesar in 48 BC for fighting his opponent Gnaeus Pompey the Great in the civil war that began between them for power over Rome.

Date of creation: 48 BC The Legion lasted until it was disbanded in 70 AD.

Logo: it is unknown, but there is an assumption that since the legion was created by Gaius Julius Caesar, then most likely the emblem could be a bull or a taurus.

Nickname: Germanic indicates his involvement in the Germanic Wars of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire.

Battle Path

• It is believed that the Legio I Germanica was created by Caesar in 48 BC to fight his opponent Gnaeus Pompey the Great in the civil war that began between them for power over Rome.

• The Legion took an active part in the civil War between Caesar and Pompey, as well as in the power struggle that began soon after between theOctavian Augustus and the assassins of Caesar, and later with Mark Antony. The Legion fought on Octavian's side.

• The Legion took part in the Battle of Dyrrachia in 48 BC, then from 41 to 36 BC, the legion took part in the fight against Sextus Pompey. He later took part in the Battle of Cape Actium in 31 BC.

• After the Battle of Actium, the legion was transferred to Hispania Tarraconensis (Terraconian Spain) in 30 BC, where it took part in Augustus ' campaigns against the Cantabrians, which lasted from 25 to 13 BC.Terraconian Spain is one of the three Roman provinces on the Iberian Peninsula that made up Roman Spain. It existed from the end of the 1st century BC to the end of the 3rd century AD. The Legion fought alongside the Legio III Augusta, Legio IIII Macedonica, Legio V Alaudae, Legio VI Victrix, Legio IX Hispana, Legio X Gemina and Legio XX Valeria Victrix legions. Together with soldiers from Legio III Augusta founded the city of Colonia Julia Gemella Acci in Tarracona Spain.

• After the Cantabrian war, Legio I Germanica veterans were settled in the Italian city of Luceria (present-day Lucera, Italy), as well as in the Spanish city of Barzino (present-day Barcelona, Spain) and the Moorish city of Cartenna (present-day Tenes, Algeria).

• Around 16 BC, the legion was transferred to the German border, where it took part in Tiberius ' military campaign against Vindelica, a Celtic kingdom in the upper Danube.

• Most likely, in this company, the legion distinguished itself in the battle of Lake Constance, for which it received the honorary nickname “German". There is a version that the vexilationia legion also took part in the foundation of a military camp in Mogonziak (modern Mainz, Germany) in 16 BC.

• In 12-9 BC, the First German Legion took part in the military campaigns of Drusus the Elder, the stepson of Emperor Octavian Augustus, to Germany, as indicated by an inscription found in the area of Nijmegen (modern city of Nijmegen or Nimwegen, Netherlands).

• In the summer of 6 AD, Tiberius included legionnaires of the Legio I Germanica in a large Roman army of 13 legions to conduct a military operation against the Marcomani king Marobod, but the company did not take place due to the uprisings that broke out in Pannonia and Illyria, called the Great Illyrian Uprising (6-9 AD).

• After the defeat of Legio XVII, Legio XVIII , and Legio XIX in the Battle of Teutoburg in AD 9, Legio I Germanica, along with several other legions, was moved to the Rhine border to occupy the fortresses of Lower Germany and thus prevent a possible invasion of the German tribes into the Roman Empire – Gaul. Then Legio I Germanica was commanded by legate Lucius Nonius Asprenas.

• After that, the Legio I Germanica was located from 9 to 16 AD in the city of Altarum Ubii (modern Cologne, Germany), the capital of Lower Germany.

• In 14 AD, the Legio I Germanica, after the death of the Emperor Augustus, took part in the mutiny of the German legions. The rebellion was suppressed, and the legion veterans were settled in Rhaetia. After that, in 15 AD, the legion's vexillations took part in military campaigns of the Romans, against two ancient Germanic tribes - the Hutts and the Brucetes. Raetia is the westernmost of the Danubian provinces of the Roman Empire.

• In 16 AD, the entire legion was already involved in Germanicus ' new campaign to Germany, where he took part in the Battle of Idistaviso, which the Romans won.

• In 21 AD, vexillations from 4 German legions, including the Legio I Germanica, under the leadership of the tribune Torquatus Novellius Atticus, took part in suppressing the revolt of the Gallic tribes of the Andecavians and Turons, who rebelled against high Roman taxes under the leadership of a nobleman named Julius Sacrovir and Julius Florus.

• Very little is known about the Legion's military path and involvement between 21 and 67 AD. The Legion's vexillations, along with vexillations from other Germanic legions, were placed near the Colonnia of Agripina (present-day Cologne, Germany) in the 30s AD.

• Between 28 and 35 AD, the entire legion was transferred to Bonn (present-day Bonn, Germany).

• In 67, the governor of Lugdunian Gaul, Gaius Julius Vindex, and the governor of Tarraconian Spain, Servius Sulpicius Galba, rebelled against the Emperor Nero (reigned in 54-68 AD).

• The troops of Lower Germany, which included the Legio I Germanica, defeated Vindex, but Galba's troops were lucky. Galba defeated several armies and marched on Rome, which led to the suicide of Emperor Nero in 68, and Servius Sulpicius Galba became the new emperor.

• The new emperor did not particularly reward the troops of Lower Germany, which included the Legio I Germanica. In response, the Legio I Germanica, and after it all the other Lower German legions, proclaimed the governor of Lower Germany, Aulus Vitellius, as their emperor.

• The Legio I Germanica forces were divided into two parts: one part was led by the legate of the legion Fabius Valens to Italy to fight for Vittelius, who eventually won and became emperor, but was already preparing for war with the new contender for power, General Vespasian of the eastern troops of the empire. Another part of the legion, under the command of Gerennius Gallus, remained in Lower Germany and took part in the suppression of the revolt of the Batavians (an ancient German tribe allied with Rome) in 69 AD, who took offense at the Emperor Galba for dismissing several of his bodyguards from their tribe and rebelled. As a result, by March 70 AD, the Batavians were able to defeat all the remnants of the forces of the Lower German army, including the Legio I Germanica. Some of the soldiers of the Legio I Germanica went over to the side of Civilis (the leader of the Batavian revolt), and some to the army of the new governor of Lower Germany, Quintus Petillius Cerialus, sent by the victorious Vitellius, the new emperor Vespasian, to suppress the Batavian revolt. In the final phase of suppressing the Batavian revolt, the legionnaires of Legio I Germanica performed very poorly, and as a result, Legio I Germanica, by order of Emperor Vespasian, was disbanded in 70 AD, and the remaining parts of it were added to Legio VII Gemina.

Related topics

List of Roman Legions, Legion, Legionnaire, Gaius Julius Caesar, Gnaeus Pompey the Great, Octavian Augustus, Legio III Augusta, Legio IIII Macedonica, Legio V Alaudae, Legio VI Victrix, Legio IX Hispana, Legio X Gemina, Legio XX Valeria Victrix

Literature

1. Emil Ritterling. Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft. Legio (I). Band XII,2. — Stuttgart, 1925. — 1376—1380 p.

2. Lawrence Keppie. The making of the Roman Army. From Republic to Empire. — Norman OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998.

3. Lesley Adkins. Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. — Sonlight Christian, 2004.

4. Jerome H. Farnum. The Positioning of the Roman Imperial Legions. — Oxford: BAR International Series 1458, 2005.

5. Kanya River. A brief history of the various legions. Legio. 2001.

6. Jona Lendering. Legio I Germanica (English). Livius.org. 2002.

7. Legio I Germanica. imperiumromanum.com.