Roman Legion - Legio I Parthica
Legio I Parthica The First Parthian Legion was a Roman imperial legion formed by Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus for the Parthian campaign.
Date of creation: 197 AD-early 5th century
Symbol: Centaur
Titles: Lat. Parthica( Parthian); Lat. Philippus (Filippov).
Alleged promissory note Legio I Parthica
Battle Path
- The Legio I Parthica was formed together with the Legio II Parthica and Legio III Parthica in 197 AD by the Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus (reigned 193-211 AD) for the Parthian Campaign (194, 197-198 AD).
- The campaign was successful, the Romans took the capital of Parthia, the city of Ctesiphon (ruins of an ancient city 32 km away). from present-day Baghdad, Iraq) and created a new Roman province called Mesopotamia. According to the historian Dio Cassius, the Legio I Parthica and Legio III Parthica remained as garrisons in the new province.
- There is speculation that the full name of Legio I Parthica was Legio I Parthica Severiana Antoniniana: Severus, who came to power after the civil war, claimed to have been adopted by the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. This fake adoption could have been marked with the name of the new legion.
- The base of the Legio I Parthica in the province of Mesopotamia was the city of Singara (modern Balat Sinjar, Iraq), where the Legio I Parthica was located for several centuries, becoming the protection of the Roman Empire in the struggle first with the Parthians, and then with the Sassanids who replaced them. The commander of the Legio I Parthica was a legate not of senators, but of horsemen, since the province of Mesopotamia was governed by prefects from the equestrian class.
- Most likely, the Legio I Parthica was actively involved in the military conflicts of Rome in the East in the III century.
- Legio I Parthica participated in the Parthian campaign (216-217 AD) of the Emperor Caracalla, as well as in the military campaign of the Emperor Alexander Severus (reigned 222-235 AD) against the Sasanian Empire, the successor of the Parthian kingdom in 231-232 AD.
- Legio I Parthica also took part in the Persian campaign of Emperor Gordianus III (reigned 238-244) in 242-244 against the Sassanid Empire.
- During the reign of Emperor Philip I the Arab (reigned 244-249 AD), Legio I Parthica received the nickname Philippus (Philippi).
- Legio I Parthica took part in further events on the eastern border of the empire, but there is no exact information about this.
- Legio I Parthica bills of exchange were sent to various parts of the Roman Empire. According to the inscriptions found, it is known that the Legio I Parthica vexillations were located in Lycia and Cyrenaica.
- In 360, the Legio I Parthica was still in Sinhar (present-day Balat Sinjar, Iraq), trying to protect Gordo from the invasion of the Sassanids. But the Persians eventually took the city, and Legio I Parthica, after suffering heavy losses in killed and captured, withdrew to Nisibis (modern city of Nusaybin, in Turkey, on the border with Syria) and Constantina (modern city of Viransehir, Turkey).
- According to the Notitia Dignitatum, at the beginning of the fifth century, the Legio I Parthica still remained in Nisibis and Constantine under the command of a prefect under the dux of Mesopotamia.
Bronze coin from Singara with a portrait of Gordianus III and his wife Tranquillina. The reverse features a centaur, symbol of the First Parthian Legion.
Related topics
List of Roman Legions, Legion, Legionnaire, Legio I Adiutrix, Legio I Germanica, Legio I Italica, Legio I Macriana Liberatrix , Legio I Minervia
Literature
1. Emil Ritterling. Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft. Legio (III Parthica). Band XII,2. — Stuttgart, 1925. — 1539 p.
2. Oliver Stoll. Römisches Heer und Gesellschaft. — Stuttgart: Steiner, 2001.
3. The Kanya River. A brief history of the various legions.
4. Dando-Collins. "The Legions of Rome. The complete history of all the legions of the Roman Empire. "M. Izd." Tsentrpoligraf”. 2017
5. K. Wolf, "Legion I Partika", in: Yann Le Boek, Les legions de Rome sous le Haut-Empire (2000, Lyon) 247-249.
