Legio I Minervia
Template:Short description Template:No footnotes
Legio I Minervia (Template:Lit First Legion "Minervan", i.e., "devoted to the goddess Minerva") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in AD 82 by emperor Domitian (Template:Reign 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 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 Dacian Wars of emperor Trajan, commanded by Hadrian, the future emperor. The emblem with Minerva figure appears on the column of Trajan in Rome, along with symbols of other legions. After this war, I Minervia returned to its home city of Bonna. Together with 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, vexillationes (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 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 Minervia disappears from recorded history, there is no account of its end, whether destroyed in battle or simply disbanded.
Attested members
| Name | Rank | Time frame | Province | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quintus Sosius Senecio<ref>C. P. Jones, "Sura and Senecio", Journal of Roman Studies, 60 (1970), pp. 98-104</ref> | legatus legionis | c. 93 | Template:CIL | |
| 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. 297</ref> | legatus legionis | c. 138-c. 141 | Germania Inferior | Template:CIL |
| Lucius Pullaienus Gargilius Antiquus<ref name=Alföldy-297/> | legatus legionis | c. 155-c. 158 | Germania Inferior | Template:CIL |
| Marcus Claudius Fronto<ref name=Alföldy-297/> | legatus legionis | 162-c. 165 | Germania Inferior | Template:CIL |
| Gaius Scribonius Genialis<ref name=Alföldy-297/> | legatus legionis | 166/169 or 177/180 | Germania Inferior | Template:CIL |
| Lucius Calpurnius Proculus<ref name=Leunissen-336>Paul M. M. Leunissen, Konsuln und Konsulare in der Zeit von Commodus bis Severus Alexander (1989), p. 336</ref> | legatus legionis | ?180/185 | Germania Inferior | Template:CIL |
| 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 | Template:CIL |
| [...] Plotinus<ref name=Leunissen-336/> | legatus legionis | between 190 and 192 | Germania Inferior | Template:CIL |
| Quintus Venidius Rufus Marius Maximus Lucius Calvinianus<ref name=Leunissen-336/> | legatus legionis | c. 193 | Germania Inferior | Template:CIL |
| Titus Flavius Secundus Phillipianus<ref name=Leunissen-336/> | legatus legionis | c. 194-195/196? | Germania Inferior | Template:CIL |
| Gaius Julius Septimius Castinus<ref name=Leunissen-337>Leunissen, Konsuln und Konsulare, p. 337</ref> | legatus legionis | c. 205 or c. 208 | Template:CIL = ILS 2549 | |
| Gaius Fabius Agrippinus<ref name=Leunissen-337/> | legatus legionis | c. 211 | Template:CIL | |
| Aufidius Coresinius Marcellus<ref name=Leunissen-337/> | legatus legionis | 222-224 | Template:CIL | |
| Marcus Marius Titius Rufinus<ref>Leunissen, Konsuln und Konsulare, p. 338</ref> | legatus legionis | 231 | Template:CIL, Template:CIL | |
| Marcus Petronius Honoratus | tribunus angusticlavius | Before 138 | Germania Inferior | Template:CIL, Template:CIL = ILS 1340 |
| Gaius Bruttius Praesens | tribunus laticlavius | c. 90 | Dacia | Template:AE |
| Lucius Aninius Sextius Florentinus<ref>Anthony R. Birley, The Fasti of Roman Britain (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981), p. 238</ref> | tribunus laticlavius | c.110 | Germania Inferior | Template:CIL |
| Lucius Antonius Albus | tribunus laticlavius | c. 115 | Germania Inferior | Template:AE |
| Marcus Servilius Fabianus Maximus | tribunus laticlavius | c. 140 | Germania Inferior | Template:CIL |
| Quintus Antistius Adventus | tribunus laticlavius | c. 153 | Germania Inferior | Template:AE |
| Lucius Aurelius Commodus Pompeianus | tribunus laticlavius | c. 190 | Germania Inferior | |
| Quintus Petronius Melior | tribunus laticlavius | 3rd century | Template:CIL |
See also
References
External links
- livius.org article on Legio I Minervia
- Template:In lang Legio I Minervia Pia Fidelis Template:Webarchive, German re-enactment group
- [1], German re-enactment group, reenacting not only the Legio I Minervia.