Roman Legion - Legio II Herculia

Legio II Herculia (Second Legion of Hercules) is a late Roman legion created at the end of the 3rd century by order of the Emperor Diocletian and named after his co-ruler Herculius.

Legion name: Legio II Herculia (Second Legion of Hercules)

Period of service: III-V centuries

Emblem: unknown

Honorific title: Herculia ("Hercules")

Service history

• The Legio II Herculia was created at the end of the third century by order of the Emperor Diocletian and received its nickname in honor of his co-ruler Maximian Herculius.

• Together with the First Jupiter Legion, it defended the Danube border.

• For a long time, the legion's camp was located in Troezmis.

• In 296-298, the legion's vexillation took part in the Persian campaign of Galerius.

• VII and X cohorts of the Legion in 298-299 were in Mauretania Caesarea, where they helped the Emperor Maximian suppress the revolts of local tribes. The legionaries of the cohorts built a monument to Mithras in Sitiphis.

• In 300, under the leadership of the preposit Valerius Maximianus, the legion's vexillation was sent to the Tauric Chersonesus to defend against attacks by local tribes, in particular the Sarmatians and Goths. Here, until 350, they provided the defense of the borders of the Bosporan Kingdom. - The Notitia Dignitatum (early 5th century) reports numerous divisions of this legion: in Aksiupola, Inplateipegia, Troezmis, and Barbarika. The main units guarded the borders of the Danube and were subordinate to the Dux of Scythia.

Related topics

List of Roman Legions, Legion, Legionary, Notitia Dignitatum, Diocletian

Literature and sources

• Emil Ritterling: Legio (II Herculia). In: Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft (RE). Band XII,2, Stuttgart 1925, Sp. 1467 f.