Roman Legion - Legio IX Hispana
Legio IX Hispana was the Ninth Spanish Legion, known from the wars of the late Republic and its service in Britain. Its precise foundation date and eventual fate remain disputed.
Securely dated British evidence: the building inscription from York, RIB 665, AD 107–108. It records work undertaken by the legion under Trajan, not the date of its destruction.
Emblem: a bull.
Title: Hispana — Spanish.
Service history
- The exact date of the legion's creation is unknown, but writer Stephen Dando-Collins, in his book Legions of Rome, believes that the legion was created in the middle of the first century BC Gnaeus Pompey the Great in Spain, and then transferred to Italy in 65 BC to protect Northern Italy from raids by Illyrian tribes. During its history, the legion has fought its way from Spain to Britain, where it is believed to have died in its last battle.
- Later Pompey transferred it to Gaius Julius Caesar for the Gallic Wars (58-50 BC) in Gaul, where the legion fought extensively in 58 BC.
- In the Civil War between Caesar and Pompey (49-45 BC), the legion supported Caesar. During the Civil War, the legion took part in the battles of Illera (49 BC), Dyrrachia (48 BC), and Pharsalus (48 BC).
- In 46 BC, Caesar awarded the legionaries the land of Istria and Picirne, after which he disbanded the legion.
- After Caesar's assassination, in 41 BC, his successor Octavian Augustus recreates the legion and takes an active part in the war between Caesar's supporters and his assassins.
- In 25 BC, Emperor Augustus sends a legion against the Spanish tribes. Here, the legion earned its nickname "Spanish".
- After Spain, where the legion spent 12 years until 13 AD, it is transferred to the River Rhine, but there is no information about the participation of Legio IX Hispana in any campaigns in this area.
- In AD 9, the Legion was stationed in Pannonia, encamped near Savia (modern-day Sisak, Croatia).
- Further Legio IX Hispana is found among the legions that took part in the conquest of Britain in 43 AD during the reign of Emperor Claudius. In the course of the British campaign, the Legion becomes a permanent camp in Britain, becoming the first legion to be permanently stationed in the new province.
- From 52 to 57. The legion is commanded by legate Caesius Nasicus, who was supposedly the younger brother of the legion's next legate, Quintus Petilius Cerialis (31-83).
- Cerialis commanded the legion during the Boudica rebellion in Britain and was sent with his legion to suppress it in 61 AD, as the main Roman forces in Britain at that time were engaged in the military campaign of the Roman governor on the island of Anglesey. In the battle for the first capital of the province of Britannia (the city of Camuldon), parts of the IX Legion are defeated and retreat, ceding the city to the rebels, who destroy it. The Legion retreated to the continent, where it replenished its ranks due to the losses suffered, and was again returned to Britain.
- In 65, Legio IX Hispana was encamped in Lincoln (a city in the east of England), then transferred to Eborac (the modern city of York in England).
- In the year 70, the legion again took an active part in the war with the British tribes in Britain, where it was encamped.
- In 78, Legio IX Hispana participates in a military campaign against the Brigantine leader Venucius, who is defeated along with Legio XX Valeria Victrix.
- Legio IX Hispana is then sent to fight the German Chatti, and by 108, he is transferred back to Britain to a camp near York, where he builds a fortress. The legion is still mentioned under the Emperor Hadrian in 117, after which information about the legion ends.
The last mention of the Ninth Spanish Legion in Britain is a 108th-year inscription on a stone in York,England,museum in York.
The Silchester Eagle, a bronze figure from Calleva Atrebatum / Silchester, found in 1866. 1st-2nd century CE; Reading Museum, REDMG:1995.4.1. It was often linked with a legionary aquila in the 19th-20th centuries, but current museum and scholarly interpretation sees it as part of a statue of Jupiter or an emperor.
Legionary stamp on a clay tile from the Caerleon area. First century AD.Versions of the Legion's disappearance and demise
The legion’s destruction in northern Britain, its loss in Judaea during the Bar Kokhba revolt and its destruction in an eastern war are proposed explanations, not established events. RIB 665 confirms building work by the legion at York in AD 107–108; it says nothing about its subsequent fate.
The lack of later references does not by itself identify the year or location of a final battle. The legion should not be stated to have certainly perished in AD 117 or ceased to exist precisely in AD 120–122.
Tombstone of Lucius Ducius Rufinus,Signifer of the IX Legion. A museum in Yorkshire. Early 2nd century ADRelated topics
List of Roman Legions, Legion, Legionary, Legio VIII Bis Augusta, Legio X Fretensis, Gnaeus Pompey the Great, Gaius Julius Caesar, Octavian Augustus
Literature and sources
- Cagnat, R. "Legion".
- Roman Glory. Ancient military art.
- Dando-Collins " Roman Legions. The Complete History of the Roman Legions”"
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