Roman Legion - Legio XIX

Багерман А.Я.

Legio XIX (Nineteenth Legion) was a Roman legion, presumably formed by Octavian Augustus in 41 or 40 BCE to fight the son of Pompey the Great, Sextus Pompey, who had seized the island of Sicily and from there threatened the grain supply lines to Rome, and consequently, the authority of Octavian.

Date of creation: Presumably 41/40 BCE - 9 CE

Legion Symbol: Unknown

Legion of Honor Awards: Presumably had the nickname "Germanic" or "Gallic."

Battle Path

• The exact date of the formation of Legio XIX is unknown, but according to the prevailing version, it was formed by Octavian Augustus. It is presumed that veterans from the legions of Cassius and Brutus, as well as recruits from Pisa, a region in Northern Italy, were transferred into the newly formed Legio XIX of Octavian, as a colony of veterans from Legio XIX was discovered there in 30 BCE.

• Archaeological evidence of Legio XIX's presence in Dottenbichl (near Oberammergau, Bavaria) includes an iron fragment of a catapult bearing the legion's mark. Most likely, Legio XIX participated in the Alpine campaigns, as indicated by an inscription on the wheel rim found in Dangstetten on the Upper Rhine. The legion's commander was Publius Quinctilius Varus (a Roman politician and general who became the first propraetor of the new province of Germania in 7 CE and lost three legions in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9 CE).

• In the late 1960s, three carts were discovered in Dangstetten, where the legion was presumably stationed from 15 to 8 BCE. The Alpine campaigns (35–14 BCE) were a series of military campaigns by Emperor Octavian Augustus to conquer the Alpine region, Raetia, and Noricum. Raetia was the westernmost of the Danubian provinces of the Roman Empire, part of the Italic diocese. Noricum was a kingdom of the Taurisci tribe (4th–1st centuries BCE), and later a Roman province between the upper Drava and the Danube (from the late 1st century BCE to 420 CE).

• While in Germania, Legio XIX participated in Tiberius's campaigns. Initially, it was based at the Altar of Ubius (modern Cologne, Germany) and Novaesium (modern Neuss, western Germany), then transferred to Oberaden and Haltern (modern Haltern am See, Germany).

• In Haltern, excavations conducted in 1971 revealed the western gates of the former main camp of the legion, and a lead ingot weighing 64 kilograms with the inscription "LXIX" was found in a pit on the Via Principalis.

• In 6 CE, Legio XIX, as part of a large army of 13 legions, took part in Tiberius's military campaign against the king of the Marcomanni, Maroboduus, but the campaign was interrupted by the Great Illyrian Revolt. The Great Illyrian Revolt was an uprising of Illyrian and Pannonian tribes against the authority of the Roman Empire, lasting from 6 to 9 CE.

• In 9 CE, Legio XIX, along with Legio XVII and Legio XVIII, participated in the unsuccessful military campaign of the governor of Germania, Publius Quinctilius Varus, which ended with the destruction of all three legions and the governor in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest.

• In memory of the fate of the 19th, 17th, and 18th legions, their numbers were never reassigned to other legions of the Roman Empire. The eagle lost in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest by the 19th legion was recovered by the Romans in 15 CE during Lucius Stertinius's campaign against the Bructeri tribe. The Bructeri were an ancient Germanic tribe living between the Lippe River and the upper basin of the Ems River, in the modern German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Several individuals who served in the 19th legion are known to history:

1. Military Tribune Gnaeus Lerius Flaccus from the Umbrian city of Fulginii (modern Foligno, Italy).

2. Centurion Sextus Abulennius from the Umbrian city of Urbino Metavrius (modern Urbino, Italy).

3. Legionary Marcus Vircius from the Etruscan city of Luna.

4. Legionary Lucius Artorius from Ravenna.

6. Sextus Anquirinnius, whose tombstone was erected in Porta Pisana (modern Livorno, Italy).

Related topics

List of Roman Legions, Legion, Legionnaire, Octavian Augustus, Legio XVII, Legio XVIII, Octavian Augustus

Literature

1. Kanya River. A brief history of the various legions. Legio. 2001.

2. Emil Ritterling. Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft. Legio (XVII, XVIII, XIX). Band XII,2. — Stuttgart, 1925. — 1767 p.

3. Matthew Bunson. Encyclopedia of the Roman empire. — Sonlight Christian, 2002.

4. Klaus-Peter Johne. Die Römer an der Elbe. Das Stromgebiet der Elbe im geographischen Weltbild und im politischen Bewußtsein der griechisch-römischen Antike. — Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 2006.