Legio XII Fulminata

Last updated
Map of the Roman empire in AD 125, under emperor Hadrian, showing the Legio XII Fulminata, stationed at Melitene (Malatya, Turkey), in Cappadocia province, from AD 71 until the 4th century Roman Empire 125.png
Map of the Roman empire in AD 125, under emperor Hadrian, showing the Legio XII Fulminata, stationed at Melitene (Malatya, Turkey), in Cappadocia province, from AD 71 until the 4th century

Legio XII Fulminata ("Thunderbolt Twelfth Legion"), also known as Paterna, Victrix, Antiqua, Certa Constans, and Galliena, was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was originally levied by Julius Caesar in 58 BC, and the legion accompanied him during the Gallic Wars until 49 BC. The unit was still guarding the Euphrates River crossing near Melitene at the beginning of the 5th century.

Contents

The legion's emblem was a thunderbolt (on a shield fulmen ). [1] In later centuries it came to be called commonly, but incorrectly, the Legio Fulminatrix, the Thundering Legion.

History

Under the Republic

The Twelfth legion, as it is perhaps better known, fought in the Battle against the Nervians, and probably also in the Siege of Alesia. The Twelfth fought at the Battle of Pharsalus (48 BC), when Caesar defeated Pompey. After Caesar won the civil war, the legion was named Victrix, and enlisted in 43 BC by Lepidus and Mark Antony. Mark Antony led the Twelfth, renamed XII Antiqua during his campaign against the Parthian Empire.

During the latest part of Augustus' principality, XII Fulminata served in Syria, camping at Raphana.

Under the Empire

Against the Parthians

From his eastern Parthian Empire in present-day Iran and Iraq, King Vologeses I in 58 AD invaded Armenia, a client kingdom of Rome. Emperor Nero ordered Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, the new Legate of Cappadocia, to manage the matter. Corbulo ordered Legion IV Scythica from Moesia, and along with the III Gallica and VI Ferrata defeated the Parthians, restoring Tigranes VI to the Armenian throne. In 62 AD, the XII Fulminata joined the IV Scythica, now commanded by the new Legate of Cappadocia, Lucius Caesennius Paetus. Both legions were defeated by the Parthians and Armenians at the battle of Rhandeia; after surrendering, the legions were shamed and removed from this theater of war.

First Jewish–Roman War

In 66, after a Zealot revolt had destroyed the Roman garrison in Jerusalem, the XII Fulminata, with vexillationes of IV Scythica and VI Ferrata, were sent to restore Roman authority. However, after a defeat where the legion lost its aquila , Gaius Cestius Gallus, legate of Syria, ordered the survivors to return to Syria. [2] On its way back, XII Fulminata was ambushed and defeated by Eleazar ben Simon in the Battle of Beth Horon. However, XII Fulminata fought well in the last part of the war, and supported its commander T. Flavius Vespasian in his successful bid for the imperial throne. At the end of the war, XII Fulminata and XVI Flavia Firma were sent to guard the Euphrates border, camping at Melitene. [3]

Defending the Eastern frontier

Roman rock inscription in Gobustan, Baku, Azerbaijan, left by Legio XII Fulminata; the easternmost Roman inscription ever found Qobustan inscription.jpg
Roman rock inscription in Gobustan, Baku, Azerbaijan, left by Legio XII Fulminata; the easternmost Roman inscription ever found

In 75 AD, the XII Fulminata was in the Caucasus, where Emperor Vespasian had sent the legion to support the allied kingdoms of Iberia and Albania. An inscription presumably from this period has been found in modern-day Azerbaijan which reads:

IMP DOMITIANO CAESARE AVG GERMANIC, LVCIVS IVLIVS MAXIMVS CENTVRIO LEG XII FVL (To Imp(erator) Domitianus Caesar Aug(ustus) Germanicus, (by) Lucius Julius Maximus, Centurion of Leg(ion) XII Ful(minata).) [4] [5]

Some historians argue that the settlement of Ramana near Baku was possibly founded by the Roman troops of Lucius Julius Maximus from Legio XII Fulminata in circa 84-96 AD and derives its name from the Latin Romana. [6] [7] Facts that strengthen this hypothesis include: a military-topographical map of the Caucasus published in 1903 by Russian administrators, which refers to the town as "Romana"; various Roman artifacts found in Absheron region; and records that old(er) inhabitants referred to their town as Romani.

The legion was probably in Armenia during Trajan's campaign of 114 AD, that ended with the annexation of the Kingdom of Armenia.

In 134, the threat of the Alans was subdued by the governor of Cappadocia, Arrian, who defeated the invaders with the aid of XII Fulminata and XV Apollinaris.

The "Miracle of Rain", from the Column of Marcus Aurelius in Rome. Miracolo della Pioggia.JPG
The "Miracle of Rain", from the Column of Marcus Aurelius in Rome.

The Twelfth probably fought in the Parthian campaign of Emperor Lucius Verus, in 162–166, if a mixed unit of XII and XV controlled for some time the newly conquered Armenian capital Artaxata. Emperor Marcus Aurelius commanded the XII Fulminata in his campaign against the Quadi, a people inhabiting an area in modern-day Slovakia, and an episode of a miraculous rain and lightning saving a Twelfth subunit from defeat is reported by the sources. [8] At this time, most of the Twelfth was composed chiefly of Christians. [9] There was a belief that this had led to the emperor issuing a decree forbidding the persecution of the Christians, but this seems to have been based on a forgery. [10]

In 175, the legion was in Melitene, when Avidius Cassius revolted; the Twelfth, having been loyal to the Emperor, obtained the cognomen Certa Constans, "surely constant".

After the death of Emperor Pertinax, 193, XII Fulminata supported the governor of Syria, Pescennius Niger, who was in the end defeated by Emperor Septimius Severus. When the Eastern frontier of the Empire was moved from the Euphrates to the Tigris, the Twelfth stayed in the reserve, possibly as a punishment for its support of Severus' rival.

The region around Melitene was one of the first in which Christian faith spread. Polyeuctes is a martyr under Valerian who was a soldier of the Twelfth.

The Sassanid Empire was a major threat to the Roman power in the East. King Shapur I conquered the base of the XV Apollinaris, Satala (256), and sacked Trapezus (258). Emperor Valerian moved against Shapur, but was defeated and captured. The defeat caused the partial collapse of the Empire, with the secessionistic Gallic Empire in the West and Palmyrene Empire in the East. It is known that the XII Fulminata was under the command of Odaenathus, ruler of the Palmyrene Empire, but also that Emperor Gallienus awarded the legion with the cognomen Galliena.

After these episodes, the records of the Fulminata are scarce. The Palmyrene Empire was reconquered by Aurelian; Emperor Diocletian defeated the Sassanids and moved the frontier to Northern Mesopotamia. The Twelfth, which probably took part to these campaigns, is recorded guarding the frontier of the Euphrates in Melitene, at the beginning of the 5th century ( Notitia Dignitatum ).

Attested members

NameRankTime frameProvinceSource
Calavius Sabinus legatus legionis 62Armenia Tacitus, Annales , XV.7
Publius Tullius Varro legatus legionisbetween 120 and 125 Cappadocia CIL XI, 3364
Quintus Caecilius Marcellus Dentilianus [11] legatus legionisc. 141-c. 144Cappadocia CIL VIII, 14291
Marcus Domitius Valerianus [12] legatus legionis ? 227-? 229
Sextus Julius Possessorus primus pilus last quarter 1st centuryCappadocia CIL II, 1180
Gaius Caristanius Fronto Casesianus Julius tribunus angusticlavius before 40 Syria AE 1914, 260 = ILS 9503; AE 2001, 1918
Tiberius Claudius Helvius Secundus [13] tribunus angusticlaviusbefore 98Cappadocia AE 1925, 44
Tiberius Claudius Speratus [14] tribunus angusticlaviusbefore 115Cappadocia
Gaius Aelius P.f. Domitianus Gaurotribunus angusticlaviusbetween 175 and 180 AE 1888, 125 = ILS 2748
Gaius Julius Pudenstribunus angusticlaviusafter 175 CIL III, 6758 = ILS 2760
Quintus Marcius Dioga [15] tribunus angusticlaviuslast quarter 2nd century CIL XIV, 4468 = ILS 9501; AE 1946, 95
Lucius Neratius Marcellus tribunus laticlavius before 73Syria CIL IX, 2456 = ILS 1032
Gaius Minicius Fundanus [16] tribunus laticlaviusbefore 95Cappadocia ILJug-03, 1627
Gaius Caristanius Julianus tribunus laticlaviusbefore 100Cappadocia AE 1932, 87
Quintus Voconius Saxa Fidus tribunus laticlaviusbetween 115 and 118CappadociaIGRR III.763 = ILS 8828
Gaius Julius Scapula [17] tribunus laticlavius140sCappadociaIG II/III 2.4212
Aulus Julius Pompilius Piso tribunus laticlaviusc. 160 CIL VIII, 2745
Lucius Allus Volusianus [18] tribunus laticlaviusafter 175 AE 1972, 179
Marcus Aelius Aurelius Theo tribunus laticlaviusfirst half 3rd century CIL XI, 376 = ILS 1192

In Rick Riordan's book The Son of Neptune , the Twelfth Legion went to America after the fall of Rome, following the Roman gods, and set up Camp Jupiter in California as a base for Roman demigods.

In Mikhail Bulgakov's book The Master and Margarita , Pontius Pilate mentions the Legion during his meeting with Caiaphas. He threatens using the Legion in bloody pacification of possible future Jewish rebellion, along with auxiliary Arab cavalry.

The fiction book Rome: The Eagle of the Twelfth by M.C. Scott is based on the legion during the Jewish rebellion.

See also

Notes

  1. H.M.D. Parker, The Roman Legions (1957), p. 269
  2. Parker, Roman Legions, p. 138
  3. Parker, Roman Legions, pp. 138f
  4. Raoul, McLaughlin (2016). The Roman Empire and the Silk Routes: the Ancient World Economy and the Empires of Parthia, Central Asia and Han China. Havertown: Pen and Sword. ISBN   9781473889828. OCLC   961065049.
  5. These markings constitute the most easterly evidence of Roman soldiers' movements. James, Marriott (20 August 2013). The oil road: journeys from the Caspian Sea to the city of London. Minio-Paluello, Mika (Updated paperback ed.). London. ISBN   9781781681282. OCLC   852808221.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. Ашурбейли Сара. История города Баку: период средневековья. Баку, Азернешр, 1992; page 31
  7. "History of the City of Baku. Part I." Window to Baku website (last accessed 20 March 2021)
  8. The episode reported by Cassius Dio refers of the presence of an Egyptian mage, Harnuphis, who evoked Mercury, obtaining the rain shower. The Christian writer Tertullian, on the other hand, claims that the miracle of the rain was the result of the prayers of the soldiers, who were Christians. See Cassius Dio, Roman History, lxxii.8–10 Archived 2014-02-27 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Lives of the Saints edited by Rev. Hugo H. Hoever p. 25
  10. Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Thundering Legion"  . Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  11. Géza Alföldy, Konsulat und Senatorenstand unter der Antoninen (Bonn: Rudolf Habelt Verlag, 1977), p. 301
  12. Paul M. M. Leunissen, Konsuln und Konsulare in der Zeit von Commodus bis Severus Alexander (Amsterdam: J.C. Gieben, 1989), p. 342
  13. Evgeni I. Paunov & Margaret M. Roxan, "The Earliest Extant Diploma of Thrace, A.D. 114 (= RMD I 14)", Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 119 (1997), p. 276
  14. John H. Kent, Corinth: vol. VIII part 3: The Inscriptions (1926-1950) (Princeton: American School at Athens, 1966), pp. 63f
  15. Michel Christol, "Un fidèle de Caracalla: Q. Marcius Dioga", Cahiers du Centre Gustave Glotz, 2 (1991), pp. 165-188
  16. Bernard Rémy, Les carrières sénatoriales dans les provinces romaines d'Anatolie au Haut-Empire (31 av. J.-C. - 284 ap. J.-C.) (Istanbul: Institut Français d'Études Anatoliennes-Georges Dumézil, 1989), pp. 264f
  17. Rémy, Les carrières sénatoriales, p. 269
  18. Rémy, Les carrières sénatoriales, p. 271
  19. Homilies xix in Patrologia Graeca, XXXI, 507 sqq.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">60s</span> Seventh decade of the first century AD

The 60s decade ran from January 1, AD 60, to December 31, AD 69.

The 160s decade ran from January 1, 160, to December 31, 169.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legio III Gallica</span> Roman legion

Legio III Gallica was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. The cognomen Gallica suggests that its earliest recruits came from veterans of the Gallic legions of Gaius Julius Caesar, a supposition supported by its emblem, a bull, a symbol associated with Caesar. The legion was based for most of its existence at Raphanea, Roman Syria, and was still active in Egypt in the early 4th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo</span> Roman general (c. AD 7 - 67)

Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo was a popular Roman general, brother-in-law of the emperor Caligula and father-in-law of Domitian. The emperor Nero, highly fearful of Corbulo's reputation, ordered him to commit suicide, which the general carried out faithfully, exclaiming "Axios", meaning "I am worthy", and fell on his own sword.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legio IV Scythica</span> Roman legion

Legio IV Scythica, also written as Legio IIII Scythica, was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in c. 42 BCE by the Roman general Mark Antony, for his campaign against the Parthian Empire, hence its other cognomen, Parthica. The legion was still active in the Roman province of Syria in the early 5th century.

<i>Aquila</i> (Roman) Roman military standard

An aquila was a prominent symbol used in ancient Rome, especially as the standard of a Roman legion. A legionary known as an aquilifer, the "eagle-bearer", carried this standard. Each legion carried one eagle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Arar</span> A Battle that took place during the Gallic War

The Battle of the Arar was fought between the migrating tribes of the Helvetii and six Roman legions — The Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth legions, Eleventh and Twelfth Legions — under the command of Gaius Julius Caesar in 58 BC. It was the first major battle of the Gallic Wars and ended in a tactical victory for the outnumbered Roman army.

Legio X <i>Fretensis</i> Roman legion

Legio X Fretensis was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was founded by the young Gaius Octavius in 41/40 BC to fight during the period of civil war that started the dissolution of the Roman Republic. X Fretensis is then recorded to have existed at least until the 410s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Syria</span> Roman province located in modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon

Roman Syria was an early Roman province annexed to the Roman Republic in 64 BC by Pompey in the Third Mithridatic War following the defeat of King of Armenia Tigranes the Great, who had become the protector of the Hellenistic kingdom of Syria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legio V Macedonica</span> Roman legion

Legio V Macedonica was a Roman legion. It was probably originally levied in 43 BC by consul Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus and Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. It was based in the Balkan provinces of Macedonia, Moesia and Dacia. In the Notitia Dignitatum records from beginning of the fifth century, the legion was still stationed in Dacia, with detachments stationed in the east and Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legio XI Claudia</span> Roman legion

Legio XI Claudia was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. The legion was levied by Julius Caesar for his campaign against the Nervii. XI Claudia dates back to the two legions recruited by Julius Caesar to invade Gallia in 58 BC, and it existed at least until the early 5th century, guarding lower Danube in Durostorum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiridates I of Armenia</span> 1st-century king of Armenia

Tiridates I was King of Armenia beginning in 53 AD and the founder of the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia. The dates of his birth and death are unknown. His early reign was marked by a brief interruption towards the end of the year 54 and a much longer one from 58 to 63. In an agreement to resolve the Roman–Parthian conflict in and over Armenia, Tiridates I was crowned king of Armenia by the Roman emperor Nero in 66; in the future, the king of Armenia was to be a Parthian prince, but his appointment required approval from the Romans. Even though this made Armenia a client kingdom, various contemporary Roman sources thought that Nero had de facto ceded Armenia to the Parthian Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaius Julius Quadratus Bassus</span> Roman senator, general and governor (70 – 117)

Gaius Julius Quadratus Bassus (70–117) was a Roman senator and general. He rose from provincial aristocratic origins to occupy the highest offices of Rome. He served as a legionary commander and as imperial governor of Judea, Cappadocia, Galatia, Syria and Dacia. He is known to have been active under Trajan in the Dacian and Parthian Wars. Bassus was suffect consul in the nundinium of May to August 105 with Gnaeus Afranius Dexter as his colleague.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Armenia</span> Roman province (114 – 118)

Roman Armenia refers to the rule of parts of Greater Armenia by the Roman Empire from the 1st century AD to the end of Late Antiquity. While Armenia Minor had become a client state until it was incorporated into the Roman Empire proper during the 1st century AD, Greater Armenia remained an independent kingdom under the Arsacid dynasty. Throughout this period, Armenia remained a bone of contention between Rome and the Parthian Empire, as well as the Sasanian Empire that succeeded the latter, and the casus belli for several of the Roman–Persian Wars. Only in 114 would Emperor Trajan conquer and incorporate it as a short-lived Roman province.

The Roman–Parthian Wars were a series of conflicts between the Parthian Empire and the Roman Republic and Roman Empire. It was the first series of conflicts in what would be 682 years of Roman–Persian Wars.

The Roman–Parthian War of 58–63 or the War of the Armenian Succession was fought between the Roman Empire and the Parthian Empire over control of Armenia, a vital buffer state between the two realms. Armenia had been a Roman client state since the days of Emperor Augustus, but in 52/53, the Parthians succeeded in installing their own candidate, Tiridates, on the Armenian throne.

Lucius Junius Caesennius Paetus was a Roman senator, and member of the gens Caesennia and Junia, who held several offices in the emperor's service. He was consul ordinarius for the year 61 as the colleague of Publius Petronius Turpilianus. Judith Ginsburg notes this made him the first novus homo to reach the ordinary consulship since Quintus Veranius 12 years before.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cappadocia (Roman province)</span> Roman province located in modern-day Turkey

Cappadocia was a province of the Roman Empire in Anatolia, with its capital at Caesarea. It was established in 17 AD by the Emperor Tiberius, following the death of Cappadocia's last king, Archelaus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman influence in Caucasian Albania</span> Influence of the culture of the Roman Empire in the Caucasus

The Roman Empire influenced parts of Caucasian Albania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcus Sedatius Severianus</span> Roman senator, consul and general (105–161/162)

Marcus Sedatius Severianus was a Roman senator, suffect consul, and general during the 2nd century AD, originally from Gaul. Severianus was a provincial governor and later a provincial consul. The peak of his career was as suffect consul for the nundinium of July–September 153 as the colleague of Publius Septimius Aper. He was governor of Cappadocia at the start of the Roman war with Parthia, during which he was convinced by the untrustworthy oracle to invade Armenia in 161. Sedatius committed suicide while under siege in the Armenian city of Elegeia, on the upper Euphrates. The legion he led was wiped out shortly after. He was replaced as governor of Cappadocia by Marcus Statius Priscus.

References