Legio XI Claudia
Legio XI Claudia (Legio Vndecima Claudia, "Claudius' Eleventh Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. The legion was levied by Julius Caesar for his campaign against the Nervii. XI Claudia dates back to the two legions (the other was the XIIth) recruited by Julius Caesar to invade Gallia in 58 BC, and it existed at least until the early 5th century, guarding lower Danube in Durostorum (modern Silistra, Bulgaria).
History
Founding and Service in the Late Republic
Legio XI Claudia, along with Legio XII Fulminata, was a Roman Legion levied by Julius Caesar in 58 BC in Cisalpine Gaul, for his war against the Nervians. They likely were present at the Siege of Alesia.[1]After his campaigns in Gaul, civil war broke out between Julius Caesar and Pompey, both of whom were triumvirs, and in January, 49 BC, Caesar invaded Italy with Legio XI serving in his army. They fought in 48 BC at Dyrrhachium and Pharsalus, but were disbanded in 45 BC and settled in Central Italy around the area of Bovianum Undecumanorum.[2]
Legio XI was reconstituted in 42 BC by Octavian for the civil wars. They served under the command of the second triumvirate consisting of Octavian, Mark Antony, and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus against Brutus and Cassius, who had assassinated Julius Caesar. The Legion was present at the Battle of Phillipi in 42 BC, following which they were dispatched to Perugia in Italy to suppress a local revolt. They likely also served with Octavian in Sicily against Sextus Pompeius.[2]
Legio XI participated in the civil war between Octavian and Mark Antony from 32 to 32 BC, and ended with the Battle of Actium. Their participation in the battle was commemorated on the tombstones of soldiers from the Legion.[2]
Principate
Afterwards, the XI was sent to the Balkans, where it seems to have stayed for a century or so. The location of its base is uncertain prior to 9 CE, when it is recorded at Burnum (Kistanje) on the coast with Legio VII Claudia, mostly involved in construction and development works such as roads. Vexillationes were stationed at Salona and Gardun as well. In 42 AD, Legio XI was still stationed at Burnum when the governor of Dalmatia, Scribonianus, revolted against Claudius. In response, Legio XI put down the rebellion and was awarded the title Claudia Pia Fidelis. Legio XI Claudia remained at Burnum until around 68 AD, at the time of the death of Nero.[2]
During the Year of the Four Emperors, Legio XI Claudia, alongside Legio VII Claudia and Legio XIIII Gemina, sided with Otho, who had executed Galba against Vitellius. They marched to the Battle of Bedriacum but arrived too late, and Vitellius ordered Legio XI Claudia to return to the Balkans without any punishment. Legio XI then sided with Vespasian and participated in the Second Battle of Bedriacum, which resulted in a victory for Vespasian and his accession as emperor.[2]
In 70 AD, Legio XI was part of the expeditionary force under Cerialis to put down the Batavian Revolt on the Rhine. They were then stationed at Vindonissa (Windisch) in 71 AD. There are reports of Legio XI fighting in on the Rhine in 73–74 AD and they participated in Domitian's war against the Chatti in 83 AD. It is believed to have been stationed in Mainz at the time. Later in 101, it was sent to Brigetio (Szony) in Pannonia. They participated in Trajan's Dacian Wars from 101 to 106 AD, commemorated with a column in Rome.[2]
Legio XI Claudia was then sent to Durostorum (Silistra) before 114 AD, when they are first attested at the site, and would remain headquartered there for at least the next three centuries. Soldiers of Legio XI Claudia were dispatched to occupy the Crimea, build the fortress at Draschna in Buzau, and to serve bureaucratic functions in Tomis.[3] A vexillatio was sent to Judea in 132 under Hadrian to suppress the Bar Kokhba revolt; an inscription bearing the legion's name was found near Betar.[4] In 193, Legio XI Claudia supported Septimus Severus and they fought against Pescennius Niger, besieging Byzantium, forcing their way through the Cilician gates, and fighting against his forces at the Battle of Issus. They also took part in Severus' Parthian campaign, in which they helped capture Ctesiphon in 198.[2]
Crisis of the 3rd Century and Dominate
In 260–268 the Legion supported Gallienus in his war against Postumus of the Gallic Empire, being awarded the title Pia Fidelis for the 5th and 6th times, although unlike other units it never received a 7th recognition. In 273 the Legion participated in road construction in modern Jordan, and in 295 a detachment was present in Egypt. In 298 a detachment of XI Claudia was stationed in Mauretania.Two Christians within the legion named Julius and Hesychius were persecuted by Diocletian in 302, at Durostorum.[2] Aurelius Sudecentius, a soldier of Legio XI Claudia's western detachment, died in Mauretania and was commemorated by a tombstone in Aquileia dating to the 4th century AD. In 395–425, the Legion remained headquartered on the Danube at Durostorum, with field army detachments under the Magister Militum per Gallias and under the Magister Militum Praesentalis II.[5]
Known members of the legion
| Name | Rank | Time frame | Province | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lucius Vorenus | centurio | 54 BC | ? | Commentarii de Bello Gallico, 5.44
N.B. Caesar does not state here or anywhere else the name of the legion concerned in this incident involving Vorenus and Pullo (see next entry). He refers only to Vorenus and Pullo serving 'in that legion' (in ea legione), and that it was commanded by Quintus Cicero. Their attribution to Legio XI Claudia is therefore not grounded in the available evidence. |
| Titus Pullo | centurio | 54 BC | ? | Commentarii de Bello Gallico, 5.44 |
| Titus Flavius Rufus | centurio (veteranus) | ? | Italia, Moesia, Dacia | CIL XI, 20 = ILS 2082, CIL III, 00971 |
| Lucius Annius Bassus | legatus | AD 69 | Tacitus, Histories III.50 | |
| Lucius Julius Marinus Caecilius Simplex | legatus | between 91 and 95 | CIL IX, 4965 = ILS 1026 | |
| Gaius Julius Quadratus Bassus[6] | legatus | 99-101 | ||
| Publius Metilius Secundus | legatus | c. 116 | CIL XI, 3718 | |
| Gaius Oppius Sabinus Julius Nepos Manius Vibius Sollemnis Severus | legatus | between 120 and 130 | CIL IX, 5833 = ILS 1047 | |
| Quintus Caecilius Marcellus Dentilianus[7] | legatus | c. 142-c. 145 | CIL VIII, 14291 = ILS 1096 | |
| Tiberius Claudius Julianus[8] | legatus | c. 145-148 | CIL III, 7474 | |
| Marcus Claudius Fronto[8] | legatus | c. 158-c. 161 | CIL III, 1457 | |
| Cornelius Plotianus[8] | legatus | c. 161-c. 164 | AE 1925, 109 | |
| Tiberius Claudius Saethida Caelianus[9] | legatus | c. 170 | CIL X, 1123 | |
| Tiberius Claudius Gordianus[10] | legatus | around 185/186 | AE 1954, 138 | |
| Marcus Annaeus Saturninus Clodianus Aelianus[10] | legatus | end 2nd century/beginning of 3rd century | CIL VI, 1337 | |
| Gaius Eggius Ambibulus | military tribune | between 100 and 115 | CIL IX, 1123 | |
| Lucius Minicius Natalis Quadronius Verus | military tribune | c. 115 | CIL II, 4510 | |
| Quintus Caecilius Marcellus Dentilianus | military tribune | before 130 | CIL VIII, 14291 = ILS 1096; CIL VIII, 14292 | |
| Marcus Magnus Valerianus | military tribune | c. 170 | CIL XI, 2106 | |
| Lucius Junius Aurelius Neratio Gallus Fulvius Macer | military tribune | between 171 and 230 | CIL VI, 1433 | |
| Marcus Aelius Aurelius Theo | military tribune | first half 3rd century | CIL XI, 376 = ILS 1192 | |
| Marcus Aquillius M. f. Felix[11] | primus pilus | AD 193 | ? |
See also
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Legio XI Claudia. |
- Sadler, John; Serdiville, Rosie (2016-12-31). Caesar's Greatest Victory: The Battle of Alesia, Gaul 52 BC. Casemate. ISBN 978-1-61200-463-1.
- Lendering, Jona (26 May 2017). "Legio XI Claudia Pia Fidelis". Livius.org. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
- Vlădescu, Cristian M.; Avram, Romeo; Zahariade, Mihai; Teodorescu, Victor (1994). "Drajna De Sus: Archaeological Excavation Report". CIMEC. 65: 70.
- Clermont-Ganneau, C. (1899). Archaeological Researches in Palestina during the Years 1873-74. London. pp. 463–470.
- Ueda-Sarson, Luke (3 August 2015). "The Undecimani". lukeuedasarson.com. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
- Edward Dabrowa, Legio X Fretensis: A Prosopographical Study of its Officers (I-III c. A.D.) (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 1993), p. 35
- Bernard Rémy, Les carrières sénatoriales dans les provinces romaines d'Anatolie au Haut-Empire (31 av. J.-C. - 284 ap. J.-C.) (Istanbul: Institut Français d'Études Anatoliennes-Georges Dumézil, 1989), p. 258
- Géza Alföldy, Konsulat und Senatorenstand unter der Antoninen (Bonn: Rudolf Habelt Verlag, 1977), p. 300
- Alföldy, Konsulat und Senatorenstand, p. 301
- Paul M. M. Leunissen, Konsuln und Konsulare in der Zeit von Commodus bis Severus Alexander (Amsterdam: J.C. Gieben, 1989), p. 342
- James H. Oliver, "M. Aquilius Felix", pp. 311–319
