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Legio quinta decima Primigenia (Fortune's Fifteenth Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. Primigena ("firstborn") was one of the nicknames accorded to the Roman goddess Fortuna. Primigenia is an adjective, meaning "of Primigena".
It was originally levied by the emperor Caligula in 39 AD, to aid in the Germanic campaigns and was stationed in the Rhine frontier until 70, when it was destroyed during the Batavian rebellion.
After its initial campaigns (along the Rhine), XV Primigenia was stationed in Moguntiacum (Mainz). In 43, the redeployment of units following the Roman invasion of Britain leads the XV Primigenia to Xanten, in a camp shared with the V Alaude. In 47 both legions were involved in the war against the Frisians and in the construction of Corbulo's canal in the Rhine.
During the Year of the Four Emperors (68–69), XV Primigenia and the other German border legions supported the claim of Vitellius to the throne, first against Galba and afterwards against Otho. When Vespasian was finally acclaimed undisputed emperor, the legions XV Primigenia and V Alaudae returned to Castra Vetera (Xanten camp), where the Batavian rebellion was already in progress.
Both legions were besieged in their winter camp in 69 by a rebel army commanded by Civilis. They finally surrendered in 70 due to hunger and left the camp in orderly fashion under promises of safe conduct. However, the rebels chased the legions and killed the surviving legionaries.
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AD 70 (LXX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Vespasian and Titus. The denomination AD 70 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Gaius Julius Civilis was the leader of the Batavian rebellion against the Romans in 69 AD. His nomen shows that he was made a Roman citizen by either Augustus or Caligula.
Legio quarta Macedonica, was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in 48 BC by Gaius Julius Caesar with Italian legionaries. The legion was disbanded in AD 70 by Emperor Vespasian. The legion symbols were a bull and a capricorn.
Legio quinta alaudae, sometimes also known as Gallica, was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in 52 BC by the general Gaius Julius Caesar. It was levied in Transalpine Gaul to fight the armies of Vercingetorix, and was the first Roman legion to comprise non-citizens. The legion was destroyed in AD 86 at the First Battle of Tapae in Domitian's Dacian War.
Legio prima adiutrix, was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in AD 68, possibly by Galba when he rebelled against emperor Nero. The last record mentioning the Adiutrix is in 344, when it was stationed at Brigetio, in the Roman province of Pannonia. The emblem of the legion was a capricorn, used along with the winged horse Pegasus, on the helmets the symbol used by I Adiutrix legionaries was a dolphin.
Legio I Germanica, the 1st Germanic Legion, was a legion of the Imperial Roman army, possibly founded in 48 BC by Julius Caesar to fight for him in the civil war against Pompey. The title germanic is a reference to its service in Germany, rather than the place of origin of its soldiers. After the Revolt of the Batavi, the remaining men of the Germanica were added to Galba's seventh legion, which became VII Gemina. The emblem of Legio I is unknown, but it was probably Taurus, like all the other legions levied by Caesar.
Legio vigesima prima rapax was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was founded in 31 BC by the emperor Augustus, probably from men previously enlisted in other legions. The XXI Rapax was destroyed in 92 by the Sarmatians. The symbol of the legion is thought to have been a capricorn.
The Revolt of the Batavi took place in the Roman province of Germania Inferior between AD 69 and 70. It was an uprising against the Roman Empire started by the Batavi, a small but militarily powerful Germanic tribe that inhabited Batavia, on the delta of the river Rhine. They were soon joined by the Celtic tribes from Gallia Belgica and some Germanic tribes.
The Year of the Four Emperors, 69 AD, was a period in the history of the Roman Empire in which four emperors ruled in succession: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian.
Legio vigesima secunda Deiotariana was a legion of the Imperial Roman army, founded ca. 48 BC and disbanded during the Bar Kokhba revolt of 132–135. Its cognomen comes from Deiotarus, a Celtic king of Galatia. Its emblem is unknown.
Legio secunda adiutrix, was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in AD 70 by the emperor Vespasian, originally composed of Roman navy marines of the classis Ravennatis. There are still records of II Adiutrix in the Rhine border in the beginning of the 4th century. The legion's symbols were a Capricorn and Pegasus.
Legio decima Gemina, was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was one of the four legions used by Julius Caesar in 58 BC, for his invasion of Gaul. There are still records of the X Gemina in Vienna in the beginning of the 5th century. The legion symbol was a bull. Early on in its history, the legion was called X Equestris (mounted), because Caesar once used the legionaries as cavalry.
Legio XXII Primigenia was a legion of the Imperial Roman army dedicated to the goddess Fortuna Primigenia. Founded in AD 39 by the emperor Caligula for use in his campaigns in Germania, the XXII Primigenia spent much of their time in Mogontiacum up to the end of the 3rd century. The legion's symbols were a Capricorn and the demigod Hercules.
Quintus Petillius Cerialis Caesius Rufus, otherwise known as Quintus Petillius Cerialis was a Roman general and administrator who served in Britain during Boudica's rebellion and who went on to participate in the civil wars after the death of Nero. He later crushed the rebellion of Julius Civilis and returned to Britain as its governor.
Veleda was seeress of the Bructeri, a Germanic people who achieved some prominence during the Batavian rebellion of AD 69–70, headed by the Romanized Batavian chieftain Gaius Julius Civilis, when she correctly predicted the initial successes of the rebels against Roman legions.
Julius Classicus was a Gaulish nobleman and military commander of the 1st century AD, belonging to the tribe of the Treviri. He served as a commander of the Roman auxiliaries. Along with Julius Tutor, another Treviran Roman auxiliary commander, and Julius Sabinus, who claimed descent from Gaius Julius Caesar, he joined the rebellion of Gaius Julius Civilis during the disorder of the Year of the Four Emperors.
Legio XI Claudia was a Roman Legion levied by Julius Caesar in 58 BC in Cisalpine Gaul, for his war against the Nervians. They participated in the civil wars of the late Republic, the Year of the Four Emperors, the Batavian revolt, Trajan's Dacian wars, Severus' Parthian war, and the war with the Gallic Empire. They were likely destroyed or disbanded some time after 425 AD.
The Batavi was an auxilia palatina (infantry) unit of the late Roman army, active between the 4th and the 5th century. It was composed by 500 soldiers and was the heir of those ethnic groups that were initially used as auxiliary units of the Roman army and later integrated in the Roman Empire after the Constitutio Antoniniana. Their name was derived from the people of the Batavi.
Aulus Caecina Severus was a Roman politician and general who was consul in 1 BC. He was Emperor Augustus' representative in Moesia when the Great Illyrian Revolt broke out. As a result, he spent 4 years in heavy fighting against the Illyrian tribes before the revolt was suppressed by the Romans. In 14 AD he was in charge of several legions on the lower Rhine which mutinied on the death of Augustus. He was recorded as having handled this poorly, with the situation only being salvaged by the intervention of his commander-in-chief, Germanicus.
