Roman Legions > Legio I Minervia

Legio I Minervia

Map of the Roman empire in AD 125, under emperor Hadrian, showing the Legio I Minervia, stationed on the river Rhine at Bonna (Bonn, Germany), in Germania Inferior province, between AD 82 until the 4th centuryDenarius issued in 193 under Septimius Severus, to celebrate I Minervia, which had supported the commander of the Pannonian army in his fight for purpleLegio I Minervia ("Minerva's First Legion", i.e., "devoted to the goddess Minerva") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in AD 82 by emperor Domitian (r. 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[edit]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 Verus166–175 and 178–180 war against the Marcomanni, commanded by emperor Marcus Aurelius173 campaign against the Chauci of Gallia Belgica, commanded by governor Didius Julianus198–211 garrison of the city of Lugdunum, capital of GalliaDuring 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 SeverusElagabalus (Antoniniana)Alexander Severus (Severiana Alexandriana)the Gallic Empire, that existed between 260 and 274Around 353, Bonna was destroyed by the Franks, and I 'Minervia disappears from the sources. However, there is no reference to its destruction.See also[edit]iconMilitary of ancient Rome portalList of Roman legionsRoman legionExternal links[edit]livius.org account for Legio I Minervia(German) Legio I Minervia Pia Fidelis, German re-enactment group[1], German re-enactment group, reenacting not only the Legio I Minervia.

Roman Legions

List of Legions

Sources

Primary Sources

Secondary Sources