Roman Legion - Legio XXII Deiotarian

Багерман А.Я., Евсеенков А.С.

Legio XXII Deiotariana (Twenty-Second Deiotarian Legion) was a Roman legion formed in 47 BC from the remnants of two military units created in the Roman style by King Deiotarus of Asia Minor. Deiotarus was the king of Galatia (a historical region in Anatolia, Turkey) and ruled in the mid-1st century BC.

Dates of Existence: 47 BC - 119/123 AD

Logo: Unknown. A Celtic emblem might have been used.

Nickname: Deiotarian (in honor of the King of Galatia)

Military History

Legio XXII Deiotariana was created in 47 BC from the remnants of two military units formed in the Roman style by King Deiotarus of Asia Minor. In honor of him, Legio XXII Deiotariana received the cognomen Deiotariana.

In August 47 BC, the newly formed Legio XXII Deiotariana fought in the Battle of Zela against Pharnaces II, son of King Mithridates. The Romans were victorious.

• During the civil war between Mark Antony and Octavian Augustus, Legio XXII Deiotariana fought on the side of Mark Antony.

• In the civil war between Mark Antony and Octavian Augustus ' Legio XXII Deiotarian fought on the side of Mark Antony.

• With the incorporation of Galatia into the Roman Empire as a province in 25 BC, Legio XXII Deiotariana officially received its name and number. This name was given by the first Roman governor of Galatia, Marcus Lollius. The legion received the number XXII because Octavian's army already had 21 active legions.

• According to R. Cagnat, the legion received its number and official status in the Roman army only after the Roman defeat in the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD. Until then, it served auxiliary functions, and its cognomen Deiotariana was only officially adopted during the reign of Emperor Trajan (ruled 98-117 AD).

• In 25 BC, Emperor Octavian Augustus transferred Legio XXII Deiotariana to Alexandria, Egypt, where the legion remained for over a century. The first inscription of Legio XXII Deiotariana in Egypt dates back to 8 BC. Since the legion guarded an important province that provided grain to Rome, it was commanded not by a senator, but by an equestrian with the rank of prefect.

Map of the Roman Empire indicating the province of Galatia where Legio XXII Deiotariana was formed.

• Legio XXII Deiotariana, along with Legio III Cyrenaica, was stationed in Alexandria. They guarded Egypt and were sometimes used to quell unrest among the local multiethnic population.

• It is assumed that a detachment of Legio XXII Deiotariana participated in the Roman military campaign in Arabia Felix (modern Yemen) in 26-25 BC. During this time, the rulers of the Nubian kingdom of Meroë attacked Upper Egypt, and in 24 BC, the Romans launched a punitive expedition against the Nubians, advancing up the Nile and reaching the ancient capital of Nubia (Napata, ancient ruins in Sudan). Although the presence of Legio XXII Deiotariana is not documented, the legionaries of Legio XXII Deiotariana were likely involved in this campaign.

I- n addition to military tasks, the legionaries of Legio XXII Deiotariana also handled civil matters throughout Egypt: they built a building in Akfahas, south of Memphis; quarried gray granite in the Mons Claudianus quarries, and left inscriptions on the Colossi of Memnon in southern Egypt. They suppressed anti-Semitic riots in Alexandria in 38 AD.

• In 39 AD, a detachment of Legio XXII Deiotariana was sent to Germany for a planned campaign by Emperor Caligula.

• In 63 AD, a detachment of Legio XXII Deiotariana participated in the Parthian campaign of Domitius Corbulo.

• Legio XXII Deiotariana, along with Legio III Cyrenaica, took part in "cleansing" Egypt of the rebellious Jews during the First Jewish War (66-73 AD).

• In 69 AD, Legio XXII Deiotariana, together with Legio III Cyrenaica, supported General Vespasian's claim to the imperial purple.

• In 115 AD, a rebellion of Jewish diaspora communities erupted in Egypt and neighboring Cyrenaica, but the forces of Legio XXII Deiotariana and Legio III Cyrenaica were insufficient to quickly suppress it. Therefore, at the end of 116 AD, Quintus Marcius Turbo arrived with reinforcements, who was able to brutally crush the rebellion by the summer of 117 AD.

• The last dated evidence of Legio XXII Deiotariana's presence in Egypt is from 119 AD. By the time of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (ruled 161-180 AD), there is no further information about Legio XXII Deiotariana, and its fate is unknown.

There are several theories regarding the disappearance or disbandment of Legio XXII Deiotariana:

• Theory #1: Legio XXII Deiotariana was disbanded for refusing to suppress a rebellion in Alexandria in 121-122 AD. This theory is supported by Johannes Kramer in his work Vulgärlateinische Alltagsdokumente auf Papyri, Ostraka, Täfelchen und Inschriften (Archiv für Papyrusforschung und verwandte Gebiete), Berlin: de Gruyter, 2007.

• Theory #2: Legio XXII Deiotariana was transferred to Palestine in 123 AD due to the Parthian threat, where it was supposedly poisoned by the Pharisees.

• Theory #3: Legio XXII Deiotariana was transferred from Alexandria to Palestine in 127 AD to suppress the Bar-Kokhba revolt (132-136 AD), but was destroyed by the rebellious Jews.

• Theory #4: According to the author of Legions of Rome: The Complete History of Every Imperial Roman Legion, Dando-Collins, Legio XXII Deiotariana was destroyed in Armenia by the Parthians in 161 AD. Dando-Collins also suggests that the symbol of Legio XXII Deiotariana was an eagle.

Related topics

List of Roman Legions, Legio III Cyrenaica, Legion, Legionnaire, Mark Antony, Legio XXI Rapax, Octavian Augustus

Literature

1. S. Daris, "Legio XXII Deiotariana", in: Yann Le Bohec, Les legions de Rome sous le Haut-Empire (2000, Lyon) 365-367

2. J. Kramer, " Die Wiener Liste von Soldaten der III. und XXII. Legion (P. Vindob. L2) " в: Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 97 (1993) 147-158

3. Emil Ritterling. Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft. Legio (XXII Deiotariana). Band XII,2. — Stuttgart, 1925. — 1791—1797 p.

4. Stephen Mitchell. Anatolia. Land, Men, and Gods in Asia Minor. Bd. 1. — Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.

5. Lawrence J. F. Keppie. Legions and veterans: Roman army papers 1971-2000 (Mavors. Roman Army Researches Band 12). — Stuttgart: Steiner, 2000.

6. Steven T. Katz. The Cambridge History of Judaism Volume 4: The Late Roman-Rabbinic Period. — Cambridge University Press, 2006.

7. Kanya River. A brief history of the various legions.

8. Dando-Collins. "The Legions of Rome. The complete history of all the legions of the Roman Empire. "M. Izd." Tsentrpoligraf”. 2017