View source for Legio XX Valeria Victrix

{{Short description|Roman legion}}
{{Redirect|Legion XX|the album|Legion: XX}}

[[File:Roman Empire 125.png|thumb|right|300px|Map of the Roman empire in AD&nbsp;125, under emperor [[Hadrian]], showing the Legio XX Valeria Victrix, stationed at [[Deva Victrix]] ([[Chester]], [[England]]), in the province of [[Britannia]]. They were stationed there from AD&nbsp;88 until at least the late 3rd century.]]
[[File:Roman tile antefix.jpg|thumb|Moulded [[antefix]] roof tile showing the badge and standard of Legion XX, from Holt, Clwyd, Wales]]

'''Legio XX Valeria Victrix''', in English the '''Twentieth Victorious Valeria Legion''', was a [[Roman legion|legion]] of the [[Imperial Roman army]].

The origin of the Legion's name is unclear and there are various theories, but the legion may have gained its title ''Valeria Victrix'' from a victory it achieved during the [[Great Illyrian revolt]] under the command of the general [[Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus]]. The legion had a [[boar]] as its [[emblem]].

==History==
The legion was probably founded shortly after 31 BC by the emperor [[Augustus]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.livius.org/articles/legion/legio-xx-valeria-victrix/|title = Legio XX Valeria Victrix - Livius}}</ref>

XX ''Valeria victrix'' was probably part of the large Roman force that fought in the [[Cantabrian Wars]] in [[Hispania]] from 25 to 19 BC.

The legion then moved to [[Burnum]] in [[Illyricum (Roman province)|Illyricum]] at the beginning of the [[Great Illyrian revolt]] (''Bellum Batonianum'') in AD 6.<ref>Velleius Paterculus, ''Compendium of Roman History'', 2.112.1–2.</ref> It is recorded operating against the [[Marcomanni]] in AD 6 in the army of [[Tiberius]].

In Illyria they were led by the governor of Illyricum, [[Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus]], who may have given his clan (''gens'') name ''[[Valeria (gens)|Valeria]]'' to the legion. Although understrength, they managed to defeat the rebels led by [[Bato I|Bato of the Daesitiates]].<ref>[[Velleius Paterculus]], 2.112.1-2, [[Cassius Dio]], 55.30.1-5.</ref> In one battle the legion cut through the enemy lines, was surrounded, and cut its way out again.

After the disaster of [[Publius Quinctilius Varus|Varus]] in AD 9, XX ''Valeria Victrix'' moved to [[Germania Inferior]] and was based at [[Oppidum Ubiorum]], then moved to Novaesium at the site of modern [[Neuss]] during Tiberius' reign.

The legion was one of the four with which [[Claudius]] [[Roman invasion of Britain|invaded Britain]] in 43 AD. It was also one of the legions that defeated [[Caratacus]] at the [[Battle of Caer Caradoc]], after which, from the AD 50s, it was encamped at [[Camulodunum]], with a few units at Kingsholm in [[Glevum|Gloucester]].

Around AD 55 under The command of Manlius Valens it moved to [[Burrium|Usk]], in an unsuccessful attempt to pacify the [[Silures]], a tribe very resistant to the imposition of Roman rule in Wales. But the legion suffered defeat, resulting in Valens’ replacement as legate<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://museum.wales/articles/2007-05-10/Roman-fortress-discovered-underneath-town-centre/|title=Roman fortress discovered underneath town centre}}</ref> In AD 60 or 61 the Twentieth helped put down the revolt of queen [[Boudica]], after outflanking the [[Ordovices]] it took part in the [[Roman conquest of Anglesey|second Roman invasion of Anglesey]] which destroyed the [[Celts|Celtic]] [[Druid]]s and their [[Ancient Celtic religion|religious practices]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Moffat |first1=Alistair |title=Before Scotland |publisher=Thames & Hudson |year=2005 |pages=243–245 |isbn=978-0-500-05133-7}}</ref><ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Tac.+Ag.+18 ''Agricola'']</ref> In AD 66, the legion was transferred to the much more passive [[Viroconium]] ([[Wroxeter]]).<ref>W. H. Manning (2000). "The fortresses of Legio XX". In RJ Brewer (ed.) ''Roman Fortresses and Their Legions''.</ref> It may also have occupied [[Gloucester]] ([[Glevum]]) at this time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gadarg.org.uk/essays/e001.htm |title=GADARG - Essay 1 |access-date=2013-06-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927074540/http://www.gadarg.org.uk/essays/e001.htm |archive-date=2011-09-27 }} The colonia of Glevum</ref>

[[File:Romanwallinscotl00macduoft raw 0371Cochno.png|thumb|left|RIB 2199. Distance Slab of the Twentieth Legion Valeria Victrix<ref>{{cite web|title=RIB 2199. Distance Slab of the Sixth Legion|url=https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/2199|website=Roman Inscriptions of Britain|access-date=18 November 2017}}</ref> George MacDonald calls in no. 13 in the 2nd edition of his book ''The Roman Wall in Scotland''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Macdonald|first1=Sir George|title=The Roman wall in Scotland, by Sir George Macdonald|date=1934|publisher=The Clarendon press|location=Oxford|page=387|edition=2d ed., rev., enl., and in great part rewritten|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3760345;view=2up;seq=544;size=200|access-date=11 October 2017}}</ref> It was found near [[Cleddans]], close to [[Duntocher]]. It may have been a "waster" and lacks distance data. It has been scanned and a video produced.<ref>{{cite web|title=Distance slab of the 20th Legion, Cochno Estate, Duntocher|date=30 March 2017|url=https://vimeo.com/210769022|access-date=14 November 2017}}</ref>]]
[[File:DevaMinervaPlan(bq).jpg|thumb|right|300px|Legio XX built ''[[Deva Victrix]]'' (now [[Chester]]), a Roman castrum shown in the figure. The Legio was stationed in [[Roman Britain]] until the beginning of the fifth century]]

In the [[year of the four emperors]], the legion sided with [[Vitellius]]. Some units went with him to [[Rome]].  In AD 78–84, the legion was part of [[Gnaeus Julius Agricola]]'s campaigns in northern Britannia and Caledonia, and built the base at [[Inchtuthill]]. In AD 88 the legion returned south and occupied Castra Deva ([[Deva Victrix]]), where it remained based for at least two centuries.

The Twentieth was among the legions involved with the construction of [[Hadrian's Wall]], and the discovery of stone altars commemorating their work in [[Caledonia]] suggests that they had some role in building the [[Antonine Wall]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Distance slab of the Twentieth Legion, Castlehill|date=28 May 2015|url=https://vimeo.com/129135964|access-date=27 October 2017}}</ref>

The legion probably went on campaign in 196 under [[Decimus Clodius Albinus]] into [[Gaul]], and would have suffered heavy losses in Gaul before returning to Britain.<ref>Mason (2001), pp.&nbsp;155–156.</ref>

During the [[Carausian Revolt]], which established the [[Britannic Empire]] under [[Carausius]] and [[Allectus]] in the 280s and 290s, the XX ''Valeria Victrix'' was still active. No further information is known after this period and scholars believe Legio XX was still stationed in Britain when [[Constantine III (usurper)|Constantine&nbsp;III]] pulled the bulk of the military forces from there in the year 407 for his doomed campaign on the continent.

This legion has been much studied; at least 250 members of the legion have been identified in surviving inscriptions.

== Attested members ==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
! Name
! Rank
! Time frame
! Province
! Source
|-
| [[Marcus Roscius Coelius]]<ref>Anthony Birley, ''The Fasti of Roman Britain'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981), pp.&nbsp;231f</ref>
| [[legatus legionis]]
| 69-70
| [[Roman Britain|Britannica]]
| [[Tacitus]], ''Histories'', I.60
|-
| [[Gnaeus Julius Agricola]]<ref>Birley, ''Fasti'', pp.&nbsp;76f</ref>
| legatus legionis
| 70-73
| Britannica
| [[Tacitus]], ''Agricola'' 7.3
|-
| [[Pomponius Mamilianus|Lucius Pomponius Mamilianus]]<ref>Birley, ''Fasti'', p.&nbsp;235</ref>
| legatus legionis
| early 90s
| Britannica
| {{CIL|7|164}}
|-
| [[Julius Vitalis]]<ref>Davenport, ''Roman Bath'' (Stroud: The History Press, 2021), pp.&nbsp;149-151</ref>
| fabriciensis
| between 71 and 100
| Britannica
| {{CIL|7|49}}
|-
| [[Marcus Aemilius Papus]]<ref>Birley, ''Fasti'', p.&nbsp;243</ref>
| legatus legionis
| c. 128
| Britannica
| {{CIL|2|1371}}
|-
| [[Gaius Curtius Justus]]<ref>Birley, ''Fasti'', pp.&nbsp;252f</ref>
| legatus legionis
| between 140 and 145
| Britannica
| {{CIL|3|1458}}
|-
| [[Lucius Cestius Gallus]]<ref>Birley, ''Fasti'', pp.&nbsp;258f</ref>
| legatus legionis
| between 160 and 180
| Britannica
| {{CIL|10|3722}}
|-
| [[Tiberius Claudius Balbilus]]
| military tribune
| c. 43
| Britannica
| 
|-
| [[Marcus Accenna Helvius Agrippa]]<ref name=Birley-279>Birley, ''Fasti'', p.&nbsp;279</ref>
| tribunus laticlavius
| 2nd century
| Britannica
| {{CIL|2|1262}}
|-
| [[Lucius Aemilius Naso Fabullinus]]<ref name=Birley-279/>
| tribunus laticlavus
| 2nd century
| Britannica
| {{CIL|6|29683}}{{CIL|6|29684}}
|-
| [[Marcus Caelius Flavius Proculus]]<ref>Birley, ''Fasti'', p.&nbsp;280</ref>
| tribunus laticlavus
| 2nd century
| Britannica
| {{CIL|11|3883}}
|}

==Fiction==

Legio XX ''Valeria Victrix'' and their final days in Deva (Chester) in the early AD 400s form the backdrop to the Tom Stevens [[mythic fiction]] genre novel ''The Cauldron'' (special edition)<ref>(special edition) {{ISBN|978-0-9559656-1-6}}</ref> with the story's protagonist Valerian—the Praefectus and Chief Centurion—defending the city with the rump of the legion against the incursions of Hibernian pirates as the "Dark Ages" settle on Britannia.<ref>{{Cite book|isbn=978-0955965616|title=The Cauldron: Special Edition|last1=Stevens|first1=Tom|date=July 2008}}</ref>  The movie ''Victrix! The Valiant of Albion'' is in production and features an adaptation of Stevens' novel.

Legio XX ''Valeria Victrix'' was the legion featured in the novel ''[[Eagle in the Snow]]''; author [[Wallace Breem]] postulates that they were annihilated by the Germanic invasion of 406.

Several of the main characters in the early novels of [[Jack Whyte]]'s ''[[A Dream of Eagles]]'' series were former members of Legio XX ''Valeria Victrix''.

Gaius Petreius Ruso, protagonist of ''Medicus'' by [[Ruth Downie]], is a military doctor in Britannia attached to Legio XX.

Legio XX ''Valeria Victrix'' lends its name to the character Valeria Matuchek in [[Poul Anderson]]'s ''[[Operation Chaos (novel)|Operation Chaos]]'' and its sequel ''[[Operation Luna]]''; her mother is said to describe this legion as the last to leave Britain—"the last that stood against Chaos".

The first person narrator of [[Stephen Vincent Benét]]'s short story "The Last of the Legions" is the senior centurion of the ''Valeria Victrix'', who recounts the events and the impressions of soldiers and populace surrounding the departure of the legion from Britain.

Legion Company of the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]]'s 1st battalion, [[503rd Infantry Regiment (United States)|503rd Infantry Regiment]], [[173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team|173rd Airborne Brigade]] stationed in [[Vicenza]], [[Italy]] is named after Legio XX. They chose this name for the paratroopers' ability to fight fiercely behind enemy lines.

Legio XX Valeria Victrix features in the six-novel series ''Soldier of Rome: The Artorian Chronicles'' by James Mace.

Legio XX Valeria Victrix is mentioned in Sir [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]’s short story "Through the Veil".

==See also==
*[[List of Roman legions]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}<!--added above External links/Sources by script-assisted edit-->

==External links==
*[https://www.livius.org/articles/legion/legio-xx-valeria-victrix/ livius.org account of XX ''Valeria Victrix'']
*[http://www.larp.com/legioxx/index.html LEGIO XX], Maryland (USA) re-enactment group

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[[Category:Roman legions|20 Valeria Victrix]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in the 1st century BC]]
[[Category:Roman legions in Britain|20]]
[[Category:Boars in heraldry]]