Legio XX Valeria Victrix
Encyclopedia
Legio vigesima Valeria Victrix (Twentieth Victorious Valerian Legion) was a Roman legion
, probably raised by Augustus
some time after 31 BC. It served in Hispania
, Illyricum
, and Germania
before participating in the invasion of Britannia
in 43 AD, where it remained and was active until at least the beginning of the 4th century. The emblem
of the legion was a boar
.
Valeria
in east-central Europe was a part of Illyricum when the legion was stationed there. The legion won its title from victories in this region while campaigning in the Marcomannic Wars
. (Later, in the year 296, Valeria
became a separate Province.)
in Hispania Tarraconensis
from 25 to 13 BC.
The legion then moved to Illyricum
, and is recorded in the army of Tiberius
operating against the Marcomanni
in AD 6. From there, they were withdrawn to fight the Pannonian uprising
. In Illyria they were led by the governor of Illyricum Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus
, who may have given his clan (gens) name Valeria to the legion. Although understrength, they managed to defeat the rebels led by Bato of the Daesitiates
.
In one battle the legion cut through the enemy lines, was surrounded, and cut its way out again.
After the disaster of Varus
in 9 AD, 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
invaded Britain in 43. It was also one of the two 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 Gloucester
and a garrison at Wroxeter
. In AD 60 or 61 the XX helped put down the revolt of queen Boudica
.
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The legion was then based at Deva Victrix
.
In the year of the four emperors
, the legion sided with Vitellius
. Some units went with him to Rome
. In 78-84 AD, the legion was part of Gnaeus Julius Agricola
's campaigns in northern Britain and Scotland, and built the base at Inchtuthil
. In 88 AD the legion returned south and occupied Castra Devena Deva Victrix
, where it remained 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
.
During the reign of the usurper emperors Carausius
and Allectus
(286-293 and 293-296 AD) the XX Valeria Victrix was still active. No further information is known after this period and scholars believe the XX legion was still stationed in Britain when the usurper Constantine 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.
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 and its sequel Operation Luna
; her mother is said to describe this legion as the last to leave Britain -- "the last that stood aequel gainst Chaos."
The first person narrator of Stephen Vincent Benét’s short story The Last Of The Legions is a legionary of the Victoria Victrix, who recounts the events and the impressions of soldiers and populace surrounding the departure of the legion from Britain.
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
, probably raised by Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
some time after 31 BC. It served in Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
, Illyricum
Illyricum (Roman province)
The Roman province of Illyricum or Illyris Romana or Illyris Barbara or Illyria Barbara replaced most of the region of Illyria. It stretched from the Drilon river in modern north Albania to Istria in the west and to the Sava river in the north. Salona functioned as its capital...
, and Germania
Germania
Germania was the Greek and Roman geographical term for the geographical regions inhabited by mainly by peoples considered to be Germani. It was most often used to refer especially to the east of the Rhine and north of the Danube...
before participating in the invasion of Britannia
Britannia
Britannia is an ancient term for Great Britain, and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain. However, by the...
in 43 AD, where it remained and was active until at least the beginning of the 4th century. The emblem
Emblem
An emblem is a pictorial image, abstract or representational, that epitomizes a concept — e.g., a moral truth, or an allegory — or that represents a person, such as a king or saint.-Distinction: emblem and symbol:...
of the legion was a boar
Boar
Wild boar, also wild pig, is a species of the pig genus Sus, part of the biological family Suidae. The species includes many subspecies. It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig, an animal with which it freely hybridises...
.
Valeria
Pannonia Valeria
The Pannonia Valeria or simply Valeria was one of the provinces of the Roman Empire. It was formed in the year 296, during the reign of emperor Diocletian. The capital of the province was Sopianae . Pannonia Valeria included parts of present-day Hungary and Croatia.-External links:*...
in east-central Europe was a part of Illyricum when the legion was stationed there. The legion won its title from victories in this region while campaigning in the Marcomannic Wars
Marcomannic Wars
The Marcomannic Wars were a series of wars lasting over a dozen years from about AD 166 until 180. These wars pitted the Roman Empire against the Marcomanni, Quadi and other Germanic peoples, along both sides of the upper and middle Danube...
. (Later, in the year 296, Valeria
Pannonia Valeria
The Pannonia Valeria or simply Valeria was one of the provinces of the Roman Empire. It was formed in the year 296, during the reign of emperor Diocletian. The capital of the province was Sopianae . Pannonia Valeria included parts of present-day Hungary and Croatia.-External links:*...
became a separate Province.)
History
XX Valeria Victrix was part of the great army that campaigned against the CantabriansCantabrian Wars
The Cantabrian Wars occurred during the Roman conquest of the modern provinces of Cantabria, Asturias and León, against the Asturs and the Cantabri. They were the final stage of the conquest of Hispania.-Antecedents:...
in Hispania Tarraconensis
Hispania Tarraconensis
Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the Mediterranean coast of Spain along with the central plateau. Southern Spain, the region now called Andalusia, was the province of Hispania Baetica...
from 25 to 13 BC.
The legion then moved to Illyricum
Illyricum (Roman province)
The Roman province of Illyricum or Illyris Romana or Illyris Barbara or Illyria Barbara replaced most of the region of Illyria. It stretched from the Drilon river in modern north Albania to Istria in the west and to the Sava river in the north. Salona functioned as its capital...
, and is recorded in the army of Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
operating against the Marcomanni
Marcomanni
The Marcomanni were a Germanic tribe, probably related to the Buri, Suebi or Suevi.-Origin:Scholars believe their name derives possibly from Proto-Germanic forms of "march" and "men"....
in AD 6. From there, they were withdrawn to fight the Pannonian uprising
Great Illyrian revolt
The Great Illyrian Revolt, was a major conflict between an alliance of indigenous communities from Illyricum and Roman forces that lasted for four years beginning in AD 6 and ending in AD 9.-The war:...
. In Illyria they were led by the governor of Illyricum Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus
Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus
Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus was the son of the Roman famous orator Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus, whom he resembled in character, and wife Calpurnia.He was a senator and consul in 3 BC and AD 3...
, who may have given his clan (gens) name Valeria to the legion. Although understrength, they managed to defeat the rebels led by Bato of the Daesitiates
Bato I
Also known as Bato the Daesitiate. Bato was an Illyrian warlord who led the Daesitiates in the Great Illyrian revolt against the Roman Empire from 6-9 CE.-Background:He was probably born between 35 and 30 BCE in what is today Upper Bosnia...
.
In one battle the legion cut through the enemy lines, was surrounded, and cut its way out again.
After the disaster of Varus
Publius Quinctilius Varus
Publius Quinctilius Varus was a Roman politician and general under Emperor Augustus, mainly remembered for having lost three Roman legions and his own life when attacked by Germanic leader Arminius in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.-Life:His paternal grandfather was senator Sextus Quinctilius...
in 9 AD, XX Valeria Victrix moved to Germania Inferior
Germania Inferior
Germania Inferior was a Roman province located on the left bank of the Rhine, in today's Luxembourg, southern Netherlands, parts of Belgium, and North Rhine-Westphalia left of the Rhine....
and was based at Oppidum Ubiorum, then moved to Novaesium at the site of modern Neuss
Neuss
Neuss is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district and owes its prosperity to its location at the crossing of historic and modern trade routes. It is primarily known...
during Tiberius' reign.
The legion was one of the four with which Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
invaded Britain in 43. It was also one of the two legions that defeated Caratacus
Caratacus
Caratacus was a first century British chieftain of the Catuvellauni tribe, who led the British resistance to the Roman conquest....
at the Battle of Caer Caradoc
Battle of Caer Caradoc
The Battle of Caer Caradoc was the final battle in Caratacus's resistance to Roman rule. Fought in 50, the Romans defeated the Britons and thus secured the southern areas of the province of Britannia....
, after which, from the AD 50s, it was encamped at Camulodunum
Camulodunum
Camulodunum is the Roman name for the ancient settlement which is today's Colchester, a town in Essex, England. Camulodunum is claimed to be the oldest town in Britain as recorded by the Romans, existing as a Celtic settlement before the Roman conquest, when it became the first Roman town, and...
, with a few units at Kingsholm in Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
and a garrison at Wroxeter
Wroxeter
Wroxeter is a village in Shropshire, England. It forms part of the civil parish of Wroxeter and Uppington and is located in the Severn Valley about south-east of Shrewsbury.-History:...
. In AD 60 or 61 the XX helped put down the revolt of queen Boudica
Boudica
Boudica , also known as Boadicea and known in Welsh as "Buddug" was queen of the British Iceni tribe who led an uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire....
.
Deva Victrix
Deva Victrix, or simply Deva, was a legionary fortress and town in the Roman province of Britannia. The settlement evolved into Chester, the county town of Cheshire, England...
.
In the year of the four emperors
Year of the Four Emperors
The Year of the Four Emperors was a year in the history of the Roman Empire, AD 69, in which four emperors ruled in a remarkable succession. These four emperors were Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian....
, the legion sided with Vitellius
Vitellius
Vitellius , was Roman Emperor for eight months, from 16 April to 22 December 69. Vitellius was acclaimed Emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors...
. Some units went with him to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. In 78-84 AD, the legion was part of Gnaeus Julius Agricola
Gnaeus Julius Agricola
Gnaeus Julius Agricola was a Roman general responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Britain. His biography, the De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae, was the first published work of his son-in-law, the historian Tacitus, and is the source for most of what is known about him.Born to a noted...
's campaigns in northern Britain and Scotland, and built the base at Inchtuthil
Inchtuthil
Inchtuthil is the site of a Roman legionary fortress situated on a natural platform overlooking the north bank of the River Tay southwest of Blairgowrie, Perth and Kinross, Scotland.It was built in 82 or 83 AD as the advance headquarters for the forces of governor Gnaeus Julius...
. In 88 AD the legion returned south and occupied Castra Devena Deva Victrix
Deva Victrix
Deva Victrix, or simply Deva, was a legionary fortress and town in the Roman province of Britannia. The settlement evolved into Chester, the county town of Cheshire, England...
, where it remained for at least two centuries.
The Twentieth was among the legions involved with the construction of Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall was a defensive fortification in Roman Britain. Begun in AD 122, during the rule of emperor Hadrian, it was the first of two fortifications built across Great Britain, the second being the Antonine Wall, lesser known of the two because its physical remains are less evident today.The...
, and the discovery of stone altars commemorating their work in Caledonia
Caledonia
Caledonia is the Latinised form and name given by the Romans to the land in today's Scotland north of their province of Britannia, beyond the frontier of their empire...
suggests that they had some role in building the Antonine Wall
Antonine Wall
The Antonine Wall is a stone and turf fortification built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. Representing the northernmost frontier barrier of the Roman Empire, it spanned approximately 39 miles and was about ten feet ...
.
During the reign of the usurper emperors Carausius
Carausius
Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Valerius Carausius was a military commander of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century. He was a Menapian from Belgic Gaul, who usurped power in 286, declaring himself emperor in Britain and northern Gaul. He did this only 13 years after the Gallic Empire of the Batavian...
and Allectus
Allectus
Allectus was a Roman usurper-emperor in Britain and northern Gaul from 293 to 296.-History:Allectus was treasurer to Carausius, a Menapian officer in the Roman navy who had seized power in Britain and northern Gaul in 286...
(286-293 and 293-296 AD) the XX Valeria Victrix was still active. No further information is known after this period and scholars believe the XX legion was still stationed in Britain when the usurper Constantine 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.
Fiction
Legio XX Valeria Victrix and their final days in Deva (Chester) in the early 400's AD form the backdrop to the Tom Stevens mythic-fiction genre novel 'The Cauldron' (special edition) 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 http://www.amazon.com/dp/0955965616Legio XX Valeria Victrix was the legion featured in the novel Eagle in the Snow
Eagle in the Snow
Eagle in the Snow is a historical fiction novel. Written in 1970 by Wallace Breem, the novel is set in Britannia and Germania in the late 4th and early 5th century, and centres on the Roman general Paulinus Gaius Maximus, a Mithraic in an age of Christianization...
; author Wallace Breem
Wallace Breem
Wallace Breem was a British librarian and author. He was the Librarian and Keeper of Manuscripts of the Inner Temple Law Library, and wrote historical novels, including Eagle in the Snow ....
postulates that they were annihilated by the Germanic invasion of 406.
Several of the main characters in the early novels of Jack Whyte
Jack Whyte
Jack Whyte is a Scottish-Canadian novelist of historical fiction. Born and raised in Scotland, Whyte has been living in Canada since 1967. He resides in Kelowna, British Columbia....
'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
Poul Anderson
Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...
's Operation Chaos and its sequel Operation Luna
Operation Luna
Operation Luna is a science fantasy novel by American writer Poul Anderson, published in 2000; it is the sequel to the 1971 fixup novel Operation Chaos by the same author....
; her mother is said to describe this legion as the last to leave Britain -- "the last that stood aequel gainst Chaos."
The first person narrator of Stephen Vincent Benét’s short story The Last Of The Legions is a legionary of the Victoria Victrix, who recounts the events and the impressions of soldiers and populace surrounding the departure of the legion from Britain.
External links
- livius.org account of XX Valeria Victrix
- LEGIO XX, Maryland (USA) re-enactment group