Roman Legion - Legio II Traiana Fortis
Legio II Traiana Fortis (Second Unyielding Trajan's Legion) - a Roman legion formed by Emperor Trajan to participate in the Dacian military campaign.
Legion name: Legio II Traiana Fortis (Second Unyielding Trajan's Legion)
Date of existence: 105 AD. The legion existed until the 5th century.
Symbol: An image of the ancient Greek hero, demigod Hercules (in Roman mythology, Hercules).
Nickname: Traiana Fortis (Trajan's Unyielding). Later - Antoniniana and Severiana.
Battle Path
- The legion was created by Emperor Trajan in 105 AD to participate in the 2nd Dacian campaign (modern-day Romania) as reinforcement for the already engaged forces. Along with Legio II Traiana Fortis, Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix was also created with the same purpose. There is a version that Legio II Traiana Fortis was created in 108 AD (historian R. Kanya supports this view). The cognomen Fortis could have been given to the legion at its formation or for some military merit.
- The legion participated in Trajan's 2nd campaign in Dacia (105-106 AD), and afterward, it was relocated. It is not precisely known where, but there is a suggestion that it could have been transferred to the East, where it, together with Legio III Cyrenaica,, formed the garrison of the new province of Arabia Petraea, annexed to the Roman Empire in 106 AD.
- There are two other versions of where the legion might have been stationed until 114 AD when Emperor Trajan directed it to Syria. According to one version, it might have been in the province of Judea (modern-day Israel), while the other suggests it was left to guard the Danube frontier.
- In 114 AD, the legion was transferred to Syria to participate in Trajan's campaign against Parthia from 115-117 AD. Afterward, the legion was transferred to Judea to support Legio X Fretensis in maintaining order in the troubled province of Judea. Under Emperor Hadrian, a vexillation of Legio II Traiana Fortis, along with vexillations from Legio X Fretensis, Legio III Cyrenaica, and Legio VI Feratta, built an aqueduct in the colony of Prima Flavia Augusta Caesariensis near the capital of the province of Judea, the city of Caesarea Maritima (a city on the Mediterranean coast, in the territory of Israel).
- Around 120 AD, the legion participated in constructing a road from the city of Caparcotna (Israel) to the city of Ptolemais (modern-day Acre, Israel). In 123 AD, to prevent a possible military conflict with Parthia, Legio II Traiana Fortis was transferred to the Euphrates frontier, but the matter was resolved peacefully. In 125 AD, Legio II Traiana Fortis was relocated to the suburb of Alexandria, Egypt, the city of Nicopolis. From there, a vexillation of Legio II Traiana Fortis, together with Legio XXII Deiotariana, was sent to suppress the Bar Kokhba revolt in Judea from 132-136 AD.
- The second part of the legion remained in Alexandria to maintain order, as a large Jewish community lived there. After suppressing the Bar Kokhba revolt, during which Legio XXII Deiotariana was destroyed, the vexillation of Legio II Traiana Fortis, which had lost many legionaries, returned to its previous location in the city of Nicopolis, a suburb of Alexandria, Egypt. Legionaries of Legio II Traiana Fortis often served not only in Alexandria but also as the garrison of provincial towns in Upper Egypt.
- The legion likely participated in the Roman-Parthian War (161-166 AD) under Emperor Lucius Verus. It may have also taken part in the Marcomannic Wars (166-180 AD, Rome's war against a coalition of Germanic and Sarmatian tribes) under Emperor Marcus Aurelius. In 175 AD, the legionaries of Legio II Traiana Fortis supported the rebellion of Avidius Cassius (a Roman usurper who briefly ruled in Egypt and Syria under Marcus Aurelius in 175 AD), but the uprising was quickly suppressed.
- In the events of the Year of the Five Emperors (193 AD), Legio II Traiana Fortis supported Pescennius Niger, the governor of Syria who sought to become emperor. However, later in 194 AD, the legion switched allegiance to Septimius Severus, who won this conflict and became the new Roman emperor.
- Under Emperor Caracalla, Legio II Traiana Fortis participated in the military campaign against the Alemanni (a Germanic tribal confederation) in 213-214 AD. During the reign of Emperor Elagabalus (218-222 AD, the exact date is unknown), Legio II Traiana Fortis received the nickname "Antoniniana." Under Emperor Alexander Severus, Legio II Traiana Fortis participated in his Persian campaign (230s AD) in Mesopotamia to protect it from Iran (then ruled by the Sassanid dynasty), and later, part of the legion rebelled against Alexander Severus. Still, the loyal part and newly recruited units suppressed the uprising, and the legion received the nickname "Severiana."
- During the age of the soldier emperors (235-285 AD – "Crisis of the third Century"), Legio II Traiana Fortis, along with its separate units, participated in military actions in the West – in Gaul but later returned to Egypt. Under Emperor Diocletian (284-305 AD), parts of Legio II Traiana Fortis participated in his military campaigns to expand Egypt's borders in 296-299 AD. A new province, Iovia Aegyptus (western Nile Delta), was formed. Legio II Traiana Fortis, along with the forces of the 3rd Diocletian Legion, defended Egypt and the new province from the Moors.
- There is a version that a vexillation of Legio II Traiana Fortis sent to Galilee became the foundation for forming the Theban Legion (a legion composed entirely of Christians who were martyred under Emperor Maximian in 286 AD, also known in history as the Aguan martyrs). Around 300 AD, two vexillations of the legion were stationed in the Upper Egyptian province of Thebais (a historical region in Upper Egypt, with its capital in Thebes). Around 320 AD, one vexillation of the legion was stationed in the province of Herculia Aegyptus.
- The last mention of Legio II Traiana Fortis dates to the early 5th century. According to Notitia Dignitatum (a Roman document from the late 4th to early 5th century), part of the legion was stationed in Parembole on the southern border of Egypt, under the command of the count of the Egyptian border in the field army.
Inscription from Alexandria (Egypt), mentioning the II Trajan Legion. British Museum, London. Late 2nd century AD.
Alexandria, Tombstone of the legionary Longinus from the II Trajan Legion. Paris, Louvre. France. 222-235 AD.
Tombstone of Aurelius Firminus from the II Trajan Legion. Barcelona, Museum of Archaeology of Catalonia (Spain). Around 250 AD.
Legionary Aurelius Sabius with darts-lances, II Trajan Legion, 3rd century AD.Related topics
List of Roman Legions, Legion, Legionnaire, Marcus Ulpius Nerva Trajan,Legio X Fretensis, Legio III Cyrenaica, Legio XXII Deiotariana, Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix, Hadrian, Year of the Five Emperors, Notification Dignitatum
Literature
1. Danilo-Collins. "Roman Legions. The Complete History of the Roman Legions."
2. R. Kanya. "A Brief History of Various Legions."
3. Emil Ritterling. Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft. Legio (II Traiana). Volume XII,2. — Stuttgart, 1925. — 1484–1493 p.
4. S. Daris, "Legio II Traiana Fortis," in: Yann Le Bohec, "The Roman Legion and the Upper Empire" (2000 Lyon) 359-363.
5. B. Isaac and I. Roll, "Legio II Traiana in Judea," in Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 33 (1979) 149-156.
6. J. Rea, "Legio II Traiana in Judaea," in Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 38 (1980) 220-221.
7. B. Isaac and I. Roll, "Legio II Traiana in Judea. A Reply," in Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 47 (1982) 131-132.
