Roman Legion - Legio XIX

Багерман А.Я.

Legio XIX (Nineteenth Legion) - a Roman legion supposedly formed Octavian Augustus in 41 or 40 BC to fight Pompey the Great's son, Sextus Pompey, who had taken over the island of Sicily and from there threatened the grain supply lines to Rome, and hence Octavian's power.

Founded: presumably 41/40 BC - 9 AD.

Legion Symbol: unknown.

Honorific titles: presumably he had the nickname "Germanic" or"Gallic".

Service history

• There is no exact data on the year of creation of Legio XIX, but according to the current version, it was formed By Octavian Augustus. Presumably, veterans from the legions of Cassius and Brutus, as well as natives of Pisa, a region of Northern Italy, were transferred to the formed Legio XIX Octavian, since a colony of Legio XIX veterans was discovered there in 30 BC.

• Archaeologically proven presence of Legio XIX in Dottenbichl (near Oberammergau, Bavaria), where an iron fragment of a catapult with the legion's brand was found. Most likely, Legio XIX took part in Alpine campaigns. This is evidenced by the inscription on the wheel rim found in Dangstetten on the Upper Rhine. The legate of the legion was Pubblius Quintilius Varus (a Roman politician and general who became the first propraetor of the new province of Germania in 7 AD and killed three legions in the Battle of Teutoburg in 9 AD).

• In the late 1960s, three wagons were discovered in Dangstetten, where the legion was apparently stationed between 15 and 8 BC. The Alpine campaigns of 35-14 BC — a series of military campaigns by Emperor Octavian Augustus to conquer the Alpine region, Raetia and Noricum. Raetia is the westernmost of the Danubian provinces of the Roman Empire, which was part of the Diocese of Italy. Noricum — the kingdom of the Taurisci tribe (IV-I centuries BC), and then a Roman province between the upper reaches of the Drava and the Danube (from the end of the I century BC to 420 AD).

• While in Germany, Legio XIX took part in the campaigns of Tiberius.

• It was initially based in Altare Ubiev (the modern city of Cologne in Germany) and Novesia (the modern city of Neuss in western Germany), before being transferred to Oberaden and Haltern (the modern city of Haltern am See, Germany).

• In Haltern, excavations carried out in 1971 revealed the western gate of the former legion's main camp, and in a pit on Via Principalis, a 64-kilogram lead ingot with the inscription LXIX was found.

• In 6 AD, Legio XIX, as part of a large army of 13 legions, took part in the military campaign of Tiberius against the Marcomanni king Maroboduus, but the campaign was prevented by the great Illyrian uprising. The Great Illyrian Revolt is an uprising of Illyrian and Pannonian tribes against the rule of the Roman Empire. It lasted from 6 to 9 AD.

• In 9 AD, Legio XIX, along with Legio XVII and Legio XVIII, took part in the unsuccessful military campaign of the German governor Publius Quintilius Varus, which ended with the death of all three legions and the governor in the Battle of Teutoburg.

• In memory of the fate of the 19th,17th and 18th Legions, their numbers were no longer assigned to other legions of the Roman Empire. Lost in the Battle of Teutoburg, the eagle of the 19th Legion was recovered by the Romans in 15 AD during the military campaign of Lucius Stertinus against the Bructeri tribe. The Bructeri were an ancient Germanic tribe that lived between the Lippe River and the upper part of the Ems River basin, in what is now the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Several men who served in the 19th Legion are known to history:

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

2. Centurion Sextus Abulenius comes from the Umbrian city of Urbino Matauria (modern city of Urbino, in Italy).

3. Legionary Marcus Virtius of the Etrurian city of Luna

4. Legionary Lucius Artorius of Ravenna

5. Sextus Ankvirinnius, whose tombstone was placed in the Port of Pisane (modern city of Livorno, Italy).

Related topics

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

Literature and sources

1. René Cagnat. 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.