Roman Legion - Legio V Alaudae
Багерман А.Я.
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Legio V Alaudae The Fifth Legion of Larks was a Roman legion formed by Gaius Julius Caesar during the Republic.
Dates of existence: circa 52 BC. It lasted until 70 or 87 AD.
Symbol: Elephant. Despite the fact that the legion is called "larks", its symbol was an elephant. This is due to the award for military merit that the legion showed in 49 BC during Caesar's African campaign, where it successfully fought the war elephants of the Numidian king Juba I.
Battle Path
- The Legion was created Gaius Julius Caesar , not of Roman citizens, but of Gauls in 52 BC.
- Until 51 or 50 BC, when the Senate did not recognize the creation of this legion, Caesar maintained it at his own expense.
- The Legion began its military career with participation in the Gallic War (58-50 BC), in which it took part in the battle of the siege of Alesia (modern city of Allier-Saint-Rhin, France) in October 52 BC.
- In the post-Gallic War, the Civil War (49-45 BC) between Caesar and Pompey, the legion went out on Caesar's side. In it, he took part in the Battle of Thapsa (present-day Ras Dimas, Tunisia) in April 46 BC.
- The Legion also took part in the last battle of the Civil War, the Battle of Munda (a valley in southern Spain) in March 45 BC.
- Legio V Alaudae then engages in the first clash of forces Mark Anthony and Octavian Augustus in the so-called Mutinous War of 44-43 BC on the side of Mark Antony.
- In 42 BC, on the side of the second triumvirate , the legion takes part in the Battle of Philippi (now located near the city of Philippi in Northern Macedonia).
- After the triumph of the triumvirs over Caesar's assassins and the division of the provinces between Octavian and Antony, the legion departs with Antony to the East and encamp in Beirut. From there, he later took part in Mark Antony's unsuccessful campaign against Parthia in 40-33 BC.
- He then fights in the ranks of Antony's forces at Cape Actium in 31 BC, and after Antony's defeat is transferred by Octavian to Spain in Merida (modern city of Merida, in Spain). Here, since 25 BC, he took part in the Cantabrian wars (the war for the final annexation of Spain to Rome).
- In 9 BC, the legion was transferred to the newly formed province of Belgica (a Roman province created in 16 BC on the territory of the Gallic tribe of the Belgae), where it encamped in the city of Xanten (now the city of the same name in Germany). While here, Legio V Alaudae repeatedly defended the province from the invasion of Germanic tribes. In one of these border battles, most likely in the valley of the river Mass in 16 AD, the legion also lost its eagle, but for some unknown reason it was not disbanded, but allowed its legionnaires and officers to serve in their own legion.
- In 28 AD, he accompanied Emperor Caligula on his trip to the Rhine and in the same year took part in a military campaign against the Frisians (an ancient Germanic tribe).
- In In the Year of the Four Emperors (68-69), the Legion first sided with Galba, and then supported Vitellius. On the side of Vitellius, the legion took part in the Battle of Bedriaca (the modern village of Calvatone, Italy) in April 69 and in the Battle of Cremona in June 69. After that, Legio V Alaudae was on the losing side, as a result of which the legion was returned by Emperor Vespasian again to Xanten.
- After these events, scientists distinguish two versions of the death of this legion: The first says that the legion was destroyed during the Batavian revolt in 70 AD. The second says that the legion existed until the reign of Emperor Domitian (81-96) and was destroyed by the Dacians in 86-87 during the unsuccessful campaign of Cornelius Fuchs, which cost him and his family. to the troops of defeat and life. In any case, all scholars agree that the Legion ceased to exist during the Flavian dynasty in Rome.
Roman legionary badge. First half of the 1st century AD
Denarius of Mark Antony, minted in honor of the Legion of Larks in the 30s BC. e. Private collection
Denarius of Mark Antony, minted in honor of the Legion of Larks in the 30s BC. e. Private collection
Related topics
List of Roman Legions, Legion, Legionnaire, Gaius Julius Caesar, Gnaeus Pompey the Great, Mark Antony, Octavian Augustus, Legio V Macedonica
Literature
1. Dandelot-Collins. Legions of Rome.
2. R. Kanya. A brief history of the various legions.
3. Bishop M.C. Legio V Alaudae and the crested lark // Journal of Roman military equipment studies 1990, vol.1, S. 161–164.
4. Strobel K. Die Legio V Alaudae in Moesien // Historia 1988, Bd.37, S. 504–508.
5. Franke T. Legio V Alaudae / Les légions de Rome sous le Haut-Empire. Yann Le Bohec (Ed.). Lyon, 2000, p. 39–48.