View source for Legio I Minervia

{{short description|Roman legion}}
{{No footnotes|article|date=January 2013}}
[[File:Roman Empire 125.png|thumb|300px|Map of the Roman empire in AD&nbsp;125, under emperor [[Hadrian]], showing the Legio I Minervia, stationed on the river [[Rhine]] at [[Bonn]]a (Bonn, Germany), in [[Germania Inferior]] province, between AD&nbsp;82 until the 4th century]]
[[File:Denarius-Septimius Severus-l1minervia-RIC 0004.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Denarius]] issued in 193 under [[Septimius Severus]], to celebrate I&nbsp;''Minervia'', which had supported the commander of the [[Pannonia]]n army in his fight for [[Roman Emperor|purple]]]]

'''Legio I Minervia''' ({{lit}} First Legion "Minervan", i.e., "devoted to the goddess [[Minerva]]") was a [[Roman legion|legion]] of the [[Imperial Roman army]] founded in AD&nbsp;82 by emperor [[Domitian]] ({{reign}}&nbsp;81–96), for his campaign against the Germanic tribe of the [[Chatti]]. Its [[cognomen]] refers to the goddess Minerva, the legion's protector. There are still records of the I&nbsp;''Minervia'' in the [[Rhine]] border region in the middle of the 4th century. The legion's emblem is an image of goddess Minerva.

Legio I ''Minervia'' first, and main, camp was in the city of ''Bonna'' (modern [[Bonn]]), in the province of [[Germania Inferior]]. In 89, they suppressed a revolt of the governor of [[Germania Superior]]. Due to this, Domitian gave them the cognomen ''Pia Fidelis Domitiana'' (loyal and faithful to Domitian) to acknowledge their support.

==History==

Between 101 and 106, the legion fought the [[Trajan's Dacian Wars|Dacian Wars]] of emperor [[Trajan]], commanded by [[Hadrian]], the future emperor. The emblem with Minerva figure appears on the [[Trajan's Column|column of Trajan]] in [[Rome]], along with symbols of other legions. After this war, I&nbsp;''Minervia'' returned to its home city of Bonna. Together with [[Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix|XXX ''Ulpia Victrix'']], stationed close by in ''Castra Vetera II'' (modern [[Xanten]]), they worked in numerous military and building activities, even extracting stone from quarries.

Although it belonged to the Germanic army and Bonn was its camp, ''[[vexillatio]]nes'' (subunits) of the legion were allocated in different parts of the Empire:
* 162–166 war against the [[Parthian Empire]], commanded by emperor [[Lucius Verus]]
* 166–175 and 178–180 war against the [[Marcomanni]], commanded by emperor [[Marcus Aurelius]]
* 173 campaign against the [[Chauci]] of [[Gallia Belgica]], commanded by governor [[Didius Julianus]]
* 198–211 garrison of the city of [[Lugdunum]], capital of Gallia

During the civil wars of the late 2nd and 3rd century, I&nbsp;''Minervia'' supported the following emperors (each of them gave them the indicated titles, dropped out after their fall):
* [[Septimius Severus]]
* [[Elagabalus]] (''Antoniniana'')
* [[Alexander Severus]] (''Severiana Alexandriana'')
* The [[Gallic Empire]], that existed between 260 and 274

Around 353, Bonna was destroyed by the Franks. Although Legio I&nbsp;''Minervia'' disappears from recorded history, there is no account of its end, whether destroyed in battle or simply disbanded.

== Attested members ==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
! Name
! Rank
! Time frame
! Province
! Source
|-
| [[Quintus Sosius Senecio]]<ref>C. P. Jones, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/299416 "Sura and Senecio"], ''[[Journal of Roman Studies]]'', 60 (1970), pp.&nbsp;98-104</ref>
| [[legatus legionis]]
| c. 93
| 
| {{CIL|6|1444}}
|-
| [[Hadrian|Publius Aelius Hadrianus]]
| legatus legionis
| c. 103-106
| [[Germania Inferior]]
| ''[[Historia Augusta]]'', "Hadrian", 3
|-
| [[Marcus Pontius Laelianus]]<ref name=Alföldy-297>Géza Alföldy, ''Konsulat und Senatorenstand unter der Antoninen'' (Bonn: Rudolf Habelt Verlag 1977), p.&nbsp;297</ref>
| legatus legionis
| c. 138-c. 141
| Germania Inferior
| {{CIL|6|1497}}
|-
| [[Lucius Pullaienus Gargilius Antiquus]]<ref name=Alföldy-297/>
| legatus legionis
| c. 155-c. 158
| Germania Inferior
| {{CIL|3|7394}}
|-
| [[Marcus Claudius Fronto]]<ref name=Alföldy-297/>
| legatus legionis
| 162-c. 165
| Germania Inferior
| {{CIL|6|1377}}
|-
| [[Gaius Scribonius Genialis]]<ref name=Alföldy-297/>
| legatus legionis
| 166/169 or 177/180
| Germania Inferior
| {{CIL|13|12036}}
|-
| [[Lucius Calpurnius Proculus]]<ref name=Leunissen-336>Paul M. M. Leunissen, ''Konsuln und Konsulare in der Zeit von Commodus bis Severus Alexander'' (1989), p.&nbsp;336</ref>
| legatus legionis
| ?180/185
| Germania Inferior
| {{CIL|13|8009}}
|-
| [[Claudius Stratonicus]]<ref name=Leunissen-336/>
| legatus legionis
| ?184-?186
| Germania Inferior
| IGRR IV.570
|-
| [[Claudius Apollinaris]]<ref name=Leunissen-336/>
| legatus legionis
| ?187-?189
| Germania Inferior
| {{CIL|13|7946}}
|-
| [...] Plotinus<ref name=Leunissen-336/>
| legatus legionis
| between 190 and 192
| Germania Inferior
| {{CIL|13|8598}}
|-
| [[Quintus Venidius Rufus Marius Maximus Lucius Calvinianus]]<ref name=Leunissen-336/>
| legatus legionis
| c. 193
| Germania Inferior
| {{CIL|13|7994}}
|-
| [[Titus Flavius Secundus Phillipianus]]<ref name=Leunissen-336/>
| legatus legionis
| c. 194-195/196?
| Germania Inferior
| {{CIL|13|1673}}
|-
| [[Gaius Julius Septimius Castinus]]<ref name=Leunissen-337>Leunissen, ''Konsuln und Konsulare'', p.&nbsp;337</ref>
| legatus legionis
| c. 205 or c. 208
| 
| {{CIL|13|7945}} = ILS&nbsp;2549
|-
| [[Gaius Fabius Agrippinus (consul 211)|Gaius Fabius Agrippinus]]<ref name=Leunissen-337/>
| legatus legionis
| c. 211
| 
| {{CIL|13|8050}}
|-
| [[Aufidius Coresinius Marcellus]]<ref name=Leunissen-337/>
| legatus legionis
| 222-224
| 
| {{CIL|13|8035}}
|-
| [[Marcus Marius Titius Rufinus]]<ref>Leunissen, ''Konsuln und Konsulare'', p.&nbsp;338</ref>
| legatus legionis
| 231
| 
| {{CIL|13|8017}}, {{CIL|9|1584}}
|-
| [[Marcus Petronius Honoratus]]
| [[tribunus angusticlavius]]
| Before 138
| Germania Inferior
| {{CIL|6|1625a}}, {{CIL|6|1625b}} = ILS&nbsp;1340
|-
| [[Gaius Bruttius Praesens Lucius Fulvius Rusticus|Gaius Bruttius Praesens]]
| [[tribunus laticlavius]]
| c. 90
| Dacia
| {{AE|1950|66}}
|-
| [[Lucius Aninius Sextius Florentinus]]<ref>Anthony R. Birley, ''The Fasti of Roman Britain'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981), p.&nbsp;238</ref>
| tribunus laticlavius
| c.110
| Germania Inferior
| {{CIL|3|14148,10}}
|-
| [[Lucius Antonius Albus (proconsul of Asia)|Lucius Antonius Albus]]
| tribunus laticlavius
| c. 115
| Germania Inferior
| {{AE|1972|567}}
|-
| [[Marcus Servilius Fabianus Maximus]]
| tribunus laticlavius
| c. 140
| Germania Inferior
| {{CIL|6|1517}}
|-
| [[Quintus Antistius Adventus]]
| tribunus laticlavius
| c. 153
| Germania Inferior
| {{AE|1893|88}}
|-
| [[Lucius Aurelius Commodus Pompeianus]]
| tribunus laticlavius
| c. 190
| Germania Inferior
| 
|-
| [[Quintus Petronius Melior]]
| tribunus laticlavius
| 3rd century
| 
| {{CIL|11|3367}}
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|Ancient Rome}}
*[[List of Roman legions]]
*[[Roman legion]]

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==External links==
* [https://www.livius.org/articles/legion/legio-i-minervia/ livius.org article on Legio I ''Minervia'']
* {{in lang|de}} [http://www.legioprima.de/ Legio I Minervia Pia Fidelis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107111104/http://legioprima.de/ |date=2014-01-07 }}, German re-enactment group
* [http://www.erste-legion.de/deutsch/main.php?main=historisch=LegioI], German re-enactment group, reenacting not only the Legio I Minervia.
{{Roman Legion|}}

[[Category:Roman legions|01 Minervia]]
[[Category:82 establishments]]
[[Category:Chatti]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in the 1st century]]
[[Category:80s establishments in the Roman Empire]]
[[Category:80s establishments]]