Legio XIII Gemina
Legio XIII, known as
Legio XIII Gemina ("twin legion") after
31 BC, is one of the more historically noteworthy
Roman legions, as it was one of
Julius Caesar's armies used in
Gaul, and also for his
civil war. It was the legion he famously
crossed the Rubicon with on
January 10,
49 BC. The legion was in
Vienna in the 5th century. The symbol of the legion was the lion.
Under the late Republic
Legio XIII was levied by
Julius Caesar in
57 BC, before marching against the
Belgae, in one of his early interventions in intra-Gallic conflicts.
During the
Gallic wars (
58-
51 BC), Legio XIII was present at the
Battle against the Nervians, the
siege of Gergovia, and while not specifically mentioned in the sources, it is not unreasonable to assume that Legio XIII was also present for the
Battle of Alesia.
After the end of the Gallic wars, the
Roman senate refused Caesar his second consulship, ordered him to give up his commands, and demanded he return to
Rome to face prosecution. Forced to choose either the end of his political career, or civil war, Caesar brought
Legio XIII across the
Rubicon river and into Italy. The legion remained faithful to Caesar during the resulting civil war between Caesar and the conservative
Optimates faction of the senate, whose legions were commanded by
Pompey. Legio XIII was active throughout the entire war, fighting at
Dyrrhachium (
48 BC) and
Pharsalus (
48 BC). After the decisive victory over Pompey at Pharsalus, the legion was to be disbanded, and the
legionaries "pentioned off" with the traditional land grants. However, the legion was recalled for the
Battle of Thapsus (
46 BC) and the final
Battle of Munda (
45 BC). After Munda, Caesar disbanded the legion, retired his veterans, and gave them farmlands in Italy.
Under the Empire
Augustus reconstituted the legion once again in
41 BC to deal with rebellion of
Sextus Pompeius (son of
Pompey) in
Sicily.
Legio XIII was reinforced with veteran
legionaries from other legions, and acquired the
cognomen Gemina ("twin"), after the war against
Mark Antony and the
Battle of Actium. Augustus then sent the legion to
Burnum (modern
Knin), in
Illyricum, a
Roman province in the Adriatic Sea.
In
16 BC, the legion was transferred to
Emona (now
Ljubljana) in
Pannonia, where they dealt with local rebellions.
After the disaster of the
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in
9, the legion was sent as reinforcements to
Augusta Vindelica (
Augsburg),
Germania Superior, to prevent further attacks from the Germanic tribes.
Emperor
Claudius sent them back to Pannonia around 45; the legion camped at
Poetovio (modern
Ptuj, Slovenia).
In the
year of the four emperors (
69), XIII
Gemina supported first
Otho and then
Vitellius, two of the defeated emperors, fighting in the two
Battles of Bedriacum.
|
Position of Roman legions in 80. XIII Gemina was in Poetovio (mark 12). |
In
89,
Domitian transferred the legion from their camp in
Vienna to
Dacia (in
Apulum, modern
Alba Iulia, Romania), to garrison the province. The legion was relocated when the Dacia province was evacuated, and restationed in
Dacia Aureliana.
In the
5th century, according to
Notitia Dignitatum, a
legio tertiadecima gemina was in
Babylon in Egypt, a strategic fortress on the Nile at the traditional border between
Lower Egypt and
Middle Egypt, under the command of the
Comes limitis Aegypti.
* A fictionalized account some of the actions of Legio XIII
Gemina during the struggle between
Julius Caesar and the
Optimates faction under
Pompey can be seen in the joint
HBO/
BBC/
RAI television production
Rome.
*
Roman legion*
List of Roman legions*
livius.org account*
LEG XIII GEM, Austrian re-enactment group
*
Legio XIIII Gemina Martia Victrix (Roman Military Research Society)
