- Legio VIII Augusta
Legio VIII "Augusta" was a
Roman legion created byJulius Caesar and continuing in service toRome for at least 400 years thereafter.It was levied by Caesar in
59 BC , or possibly earlier. Between 58 and49 BC they fought in theGallic wars under Caesar. In 49, the Eighth legion accompanied Caesar across theRubicon intoItaly , at the very beginning of the civil war between Caesar andPompey , and at theBattle of Pharsalus . The legion was also present inEgypt , when Caesar captured Egypt for Cleopatra. In46 BC the legion took part in theBattle of Thapsus (modern Tunisia), shortly before their disbandment.In
44 BC ,Augustus reconstituted the legion which had helped him attain the control of the Empire. This loyalty gave the legion thecognomen "Augusta". VIII "Augusta" took part in theRoman invasion of Britain .In
69 AD, theYear of the Four Emperors , following the suicide ofNero , the legion took the part ofVitellius , one of the defeated emperors. After that they were moved to theRhine frontier, where they stayed for almost the entire remainder of their history. The legion also fought inParthia withSeptimius Severus (who ruled from193 until211 ) and with his successors.Records indicate that they were still active during the first years of the
4th century at the Rhine frontier. This means that the history of the legion covers more than 400 years of almost continuous service. In371 it was stationed in "Argentoratum" (Strasbourg ), inGermania Superior , according to an inscription. Later, the Roman generalStilicho , was compelled to move the German legions back to Italy to defend it against the Visigothic invasion.According to "
Notitia Dignitatum ", around420 an "Octaviani" unit was under the "Magister Peditum" of Italia; it is possible that this unit was the old VIII "Augusta", which was originally a "comitatensis " unit, but that had been promoted to "palatina " status.ee also
*
List of Roman legions andRoman legion External links
* [http://www.livius.org/le-lh/legio/viii_augusta.html livius.org account]
* [http://www.legio8augusta.de/ VEX LEG VIII AVG] , German re-enactment society
* [http://www.leg8.com/ LEGION VIII AUGUSTA] , French re-enactment society
* [http://www.geocities.com/legionviiiaugusta/LegioVIII.html LEGIO VIII AUGUSTA] , US re-enactment society
* [http://www.roman.org.uk LEGIO VIII AVGVSTA MGV] , British re-enactment society
* [http://www.ne.jp/asahi/luke/ueda-sarson/MagisterItalia.html Octaviani in "Notitia Dignitatum"]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.