XIX legion

XIX Legion ( Latin Legio XIX ) - Roman legion of the era of the republic and empire. It was probably founded in 41/40 BC. e. Presumably, the unit participated in the civil wars of the last years of the republic, campaigns in Germany . The Legion was defeated in the Teutoburg Forest in the year 9 . Perhaps he had the nickname "German" or "Gallic" ^[1] . The emblem of the legion is unknown ^[1] .

The history of the XIX legion is known from fragmentary evidence and therefore is incomplete. During the civil war 49-45 years BC. e. on the side of Gaius Julius Caesar and Gnei Pompey the Great, legions with serial numbers XIX fought, but their further fate is not possible to trace ^[1] . There is an opinion that the legions of Caesar, commanded by Guy Scribonius Kourion , were destroyed in Africa, but again this is only a hypothesis ^[2] . But it is more likely that the XIX Legion was founded in 41 or 40 BC. e. ^[3] after the battle of Philippi , during which the assassins of Caesar Brutus and Cassius were defeated. Its founder, it seems, was Caesar's heir, Octavian, who needed to replenish his troops in order to put an end to the rule of Sextus Pompey in Sicily, which threatened to stop the supply of grain to Rome ^[1] . The new legion may have consisted of veterans of the army of Cassius and Brutus, who were included in the army of their former adversaries. Other soldiers were apparently recruited in Etruria , where in 30 BC e. nineteenth veterans were settled in the vicinity of Pisa ^[1] . Although Octavian is the most likely creator of this legion, it is possible that it was founded by Mark Anthony , who minted coins mentioning the XVII Sea Legion ( Latin Legio XIX Classica ) ^[2] .

There is an assumption that the XIX legion was in Aquitaine after the battle of Actium in 31 BC. e ^[1] . The iron fragment of the catapult with the stigma of the legion ^[4] , found in Dottenbichl (near Oberammergau in Bavaria) allows us to conclude that the unit was part of the Roman army, which participated in the Alpine campaigns ^[5] . At that time, as the inscription on the wheel rim found in Dangstetten on the Upper Rhine testifies, the legate of the legion was Publius Quintillius Var ^[6] . In the late 60s of the XX century, three carts were discovered in Dangstetten, where, apparently, the legion was stationed in the period from 15 to 8 BC. e ^[1] .

In Germany, the XIX legion could take part in the campaigns of Tiberius . Initially, it was based in the Altar of Ubiev and Novesia , and then transferred to Oberaden and Haltern ^[1] . During excavations in 1971, the western gate of the former main camp of the Legion was discovered in Haltern, while a lead ingot weighing 64 kilograms with the inscription LXIX (= Legio XIX) was found in the pit on Via Principalis ^[7] . In the year 6, Tiberius led an army of eight legions ( VIII August , XV Apollon , XX Valeriev Victorious , XXI Swift , XIII Paired , XIV Paired and XVI Gallic and another unknown) against the Marcoman king Marobod from the south at the same time as I German , V Zhavoronkov , XVII , XVIII and XIX must attack from the north. This grandiose operation was prevented by the Great Illyrian uprising ^[1] .

Three years later, the XIX Legion was destroyed along with the XVII and XVIII legions in the Teutoburg Forest during the battle with the rebel Germans over whom Arminius led. The governor of Germany, Publius Quintilius Var , also died in the battle ^[8] . The legion eagle was returned in 15 by Lucius Stertinius during the campaign against the brookers ^[3] . In memory of the misfortune that befell the XIX legion, its number was no longer assigned to other legions ^[9] .

Several people who served in the XIX Legion are known by their names: military tribunes Gnei Lerius Flaccus from the Umbrian city of Fulginia ^[10] , centurion Sextus Abuleni comes from the Umbrian city of Urbin Matavriysky ^[11] , two legionaries - Mark Virtsy from the Etruscan city of the Moon ^[12] and Lucius Artorius of Ravenna ^[13] . It is not known what rank Sextus Anquirinius was, whose gravestone was installed in Port Pisan ^[14] .