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Legio X Equestris
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Legio X Equestris | |
|---|---|
 Denarius issued by Marc Antony celebrating Legio X |
|
| Active | 61 BC to after 31 BC |
| Country | Roman Republic |
| Type | Roman legion (Marian) |
| Role | Infantry assault (some cavalry support) |
| Size | Varied over unit lifetime. Approx. 6,000 men + support at the time of creation. |
| Nickname | Equestris, "mounted" Veneria, "devoted to Venus" |
| Mascot | Bull |
| Battles/wars | Gallic Wars (58-51 BC) Battle against the Nervians (57 BC) Battle of Gergovia (52 BC) Battle of Ilerda (49 BC) Battle of Dyrrhachium (48 BC) Battle of Pharsalus (48 BC) Battle of Munda (45 BC) Mark Antony Parthian campaign Battle of Actium (31 BC) |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Julius Caesar Mark Antony Octavian |
Legio X Equestris (Latin: "Tenth legion mounted") was a Roman legion, levied by Julius Caesar, possibly in 61 BC.[1] Legio X fought for Caesar in many of his major battles, and Caesar used the legionaries as bodyguards.[2] Its soldiers were discharged in 45 BC. Its remnants were reconstituted, fought for Mark Antony and Octavian, disbanded, and later merged into X Gemina.[3]
Contents |
The Tenth was founded in Spain by Gaius Julius Caesar in 61 BC. It joined the Pompey-raised 8th and 9th legions serving at the time under Caesar and soon began campaigning with them.[4]. It chose the bull as its emblem, because of the month the Tenth was mustered. For its first action, Caesar would send them to western Spain to help subdue hostile tribes.
The Tenth played a crucial part in the Gallic Wars, fighting under Caesar in virtually every battle.
There is a possibility that the Tenth already gained its name Equestris during the Gallic War, when Caesar mounted the Tenth temporarily so that he could have his favored troops as a bodyguard, yet still conform to an agreement made between him and the German leader Ariovistus. One of the soldiers jokingly said that Caesar was better than his word: he had promised to make them footguards, but now they appeared as knights.[2]
Legio X saved the day in the Battle against the Nervians in 57 BC. Together with the XIth, the Xth defeated the Atrebates, moved against the Belgians on the other side of the river and captured the enemy camp. From that position, the Tenth could see how desperate the situation was for the XII Victrix as well as the VII. So, it quickly charged downhill, crossed the river, and attacked the Nervii from the rear, trapping them so that there was little hope of survival.
In 45 BC the legion was disbanded, and the veterans obtained lands in Narbonne, southern Gaul.
During the civil war that followed Caesar's assassination, the Legio X was reconstituted by Lepidus (winter 44/43), and fought for the triumvirs until the final Battle of Philippi. The veterans obtained lands near Cremona, and an inscription reports that the name of the legion at the time was Veneria, "devoted to Venus", the mythical mother of gens Julia.[5]
The Tenth later followed Mark Antony in Armenia, during his Parthian campaign. During Antony's civil war, the legion fought for Mark Antony until the defeat in the Battle of Actium, after which the legion moved into Octavian's army. The veterans settled in Patras. When the legion rebelled to Augustus, it was disbanded,[6] stripped of its Equestris title, and, being populated with soldiers from other legions, renamed X Gemina.[3]
- ^ Dando-Collins, p. 270. Novelist Dando-Collins' researches often do not agree with widely accepted scholarity.
- ^ a b Julius Caesar, I.42.
- ^ a b See, for example, Kreppie. Dando-Collins is the only to support the idea that Legio X was reconstituded in the legion later known as X Fretensis and not in X Gemina.
- ^ Dando-Collins, p. 7.
- ^ CIL V 4191, C. Lanius C. f(ilius) Ani(ensis) de leg(ione) X Vener(ia), cited in Ritterling.
- ^ Suetonius, De Vita Caesarum — Divus Augustus, xxiv.
- Julius Caesar, De Bello Gallico
- Dando-Collins, Stephen, Caesar's Legion, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, ISBN 0-471-09570-2
- Keppie, Lawrence, The Making of the Roman Army. From Republic to Empire, University of Oklaoma Press, 1984, pp. 132-149.
- Lendering, Jona, "Legio X Gemina", livius.org
- Ritterling's "Legio", "Legio X Veneria"
