Legio XIV Gemina

Legio XIV Gemina ("The Twinned Fourteenth Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army, levied by Julius Caesar in 57 BC. Wasson, Donald L. (2021). World History Encyclopedia : Legions of Pannonia, Legio XIV Gemina Martia Victrix, 28 October 2021 The cognomen Gemina (Twinned) was added when the legion was combined with another understrengthed legion after the Battle of Actium. The cognomen Martia Victrix (martial and victorious) was added following their service in the Pannonian War and the defeat of Boudicca in AD 61. The emblem of the legion was the Capricorn, as with many of the legions levied by Caesar.L. J. F. Keppie, Legions and Veterans: Roman Army Papers 1971–2000, page 128.

History Under Caesar Legio XIV was first raised by Caesar in Cisalpine Gaul during his raids into, and conquest of, Gaul. Their enlistment term was for 16 years, as per the other Republican legions (though Augustus raised that to 20). In the first years, the legion frequently was left behind to guard the camp during battles and raids. Following its early destruction at Atuatuca (near today's Tongeren, Belgium) by the Eburones during Ambiorix's revolt it was immediately reconstituted. For years after the Massacre at Atuatuca they were viewed as an unlucky legion, but its honor had been restored due to the efforts of their Aquilifer, Lucius Petrosidius.

Under Germanicus This legion fought under General Germanicus Julius Caesar against the Germanic leader Arminius. A decade before this campaign, Arminius succeeded in wiping out three entire legions in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, one of the greatest disasters in Roman military history. The legion secured a victory for Germanicus, and earned him a triumph from his adopted father and biological uncle, Emperor Tiberius.

Invasion of Britain Stationed in Moguntiacum, Germania Superior from AD 9, Legio XIV Gemina Martia Victrix was one of four legions used by Aulus Plautius and Claudius in the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43. It built its legionary fortress at Mancetter on Watling Street and by AD 58 it had moved its base to Wroxeter.G. Webster, Rome Against Caractacus, p. 49

It took part in the defeat of Boudicca in 60 or 61. At the Battle of Watling Street the 14th defeated Boudicca's force of 230,000, according to Tacitus and Dio, with their meager force of 10,000 Legionaries and Auxiliaries. This act secured them as Nero's "most effective" legion, and he kept them garrisoned in Britain during the next few years to keep the uneasy tribes in check.

In 67 AD the legion was sent to the Balkans in preparation for a campaign against the Parthians that Nero planned but which never materialised.Livius.org, Legio XIIII Gemina

Rebellion on the Rhine In AD 89 the governor of Germania Superior, Lucius Antonius Saturninus, rebelled against Domitian, with the support of the XIVth and of the XXI Rapax, but the revolt was suppressed.

When Legio XXI was lost in AD 92, XIV Gemina was sent to Pannonia to replace it, setting up camp in Vindobona (Vienna). After a war with the Sarmatians and Trajan's Dacian Wars (101–106 AD), the legion was moved to Carnuntum, where it stayed for three centuries. Some vexillations or subunits of the Fourteenth fought in the wars against the Mauri, under Antoninus Pius, and the legion participated in the Parthian campaign of Emperor Lucius Verus. During his war against the Marcomanni, Emperor Marcus Aurelius based his headquarters in Carnuntum.

In support of Septimius Severus On 9 April AD 193, following the death of Pertinax, Legio XIV Gemina acclaimed the governor of Pannonia Superior Septimius Severus emperor, along with the other legions along the Danube frontier. The Fourteenth afterwards marched to Rome and deposed Didius Julianus (193).Anthony Birley, Septimius Severus, the African Emperor, revised edition (Yale: University Press, 1988), p. 78 Afterwards the legion contributed to the defeat of the usurper Pescennius Niger (194), and probably fought in the Parthian campaign that ended with the sack of the capital of the empire, Ctesiphon (198).

In support of imperial candidates

In the turmoil following the defeat of Valerian, the XIV Gemina supported usurper Regalianus against Emperor Gallienus (260), then Gallienus against Postumus of the Gallic Empire (earning the title VI Pia VI Fidelis—"six times faithful, six times loyal"), and, after Gallienus' death, Gallic Emperor Victorinus (269–271).

5th century At the beginning of the 5th century, XIV Gemina was still assigned at Carnuntum. It probably dissolved with the collapse of the Danube frontier in the 430s. The Notitia Dignitatum lists a Quartodecimani comitatensis unit under the Magister Militum per Thracias; it is possible that this unit is XIV Gemina.

Attested members Name Rank Time frame Province Source Titus Flavius Rufus centurio (veteranus) ? Italia, Moesia, Dacia , Fabius PriscusAnthony Birley, The Fasti of Roman Britain (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981), p. 232 legatus c. 70 Britannica Tacitus, Histories IV.79.3 Sextus Julius Severus legatus between 110 and 119 Pannonia Publius Cluvius Maximus PaullinusGéza Alföldy, Konsulat und Senatorenstand unter der Antoninen (Bonn: Rudolf Habelt Verlag, 1977), p. 301 legatus c. 138-c. 141 Pannonia Marcus Nonius Macrinus legatus c. 147-c. 150 Pannonia Marcus Statius Priscus legatus c. 153-c. 156 Pannonia Gaius Vettius Sabinianus legatus c. 170/171 Pannonia Lucius Ragonius Quintianus legatus c. 177-c. 180 Pannonia Titus Flavius Secundus PhilippianusPaul M. M. Leunissen, Konsuln und Konsulare in der Zeit von Commodus bis Severus Alexander (Amsterdam: J.C. Gieben, 1989), p. 343 legatus c. 193/194 Pannonia Gnaeus Petronius Probatus Junius JustusLeunissen, Konsuln und Konsulare, p. 344 legatus between 222 and 235 Pannonia Marcus Cornelius Nigrinus Curiatius Maternus tribunus angusticlavius 60s Britannica Lucius Cornelius Pusio Annius Messalla tribunus laticlavius c. 59 Britannica Titus Flaminius miles c. 55-69 Britannica Marcus Petronius miles c. 55-69 Britannica Sextus Julius Severus tribunus laticlavius between 105 and 110 Pannonia Lucius Minicius Natalis Quadronius VerusBirley, Fasti of Roman Britain, p. 245 tribunus laticlavius c. 116 Pannonia ,

Legio XIV Gemina

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