Legio XIII Gemina
Map of the Roman empire in AD 125, under emperor Hadrian, showing the LEGIO XIII GEMINA, stationed at Apulum (Alba Iulia, Romania), in Dacia province, from AD 106 to ca. 271
Active	57 BC to sometime in the 5th century
Country	Roman Republic and Roman Empire
Type	Roman legion (Marian)
Role	Infantry assault (some cavalry support)
Size	Varied over unit lifetime. Approx. 3,500 fighting men + support at the time of creation. Expanded and given the cognomen Gemina in 31 BC.
Garrison/HQ	Burnum, Illyricum (1st century BC) Emona, Pannonia (1st century) Augusta Vindelica, Germania Superior Poetovio, Pannonia (1st century) Roman Dacia (106 - c. 270) Dacia Aureliana (since 270) Babylon in Egypt (400s)
Nickname	Gemina, "The twin" (since 31 BC) Pia Fidelis, "Faithful and loyal"[1]
Mascot	Lion
Engagements	Gallic Wars (58-51 BC) Battle against the Nervians (57 BC) Battle of Gergovia (52 BC) Battle of Alesia (52 BC) - uncertain Battle of Dyrrhachium (48 BC) Battle of Pharsalus (48 BC) Battle of Thapsus (46 BC) Battle of Munda (45 BC) Battle of Actium (31 BC) 1st and 2nd Battle of Bedriacum (69) Dacian Wars (101-102,105-106) Vexillationes of the 13th participated in many other campaigns.
Commanders
Notable commanders	Julius Caesar, Marcus Salvius Otho, Marcus Antonius Primus

Sestertius minted in 248 by Philip the Arab to celebrate the province of Dacia and its legions, V Macedonica and XIII Gemina. Note the eagle and lion, symbols on the reverse, respectively of legio V and legio XIII.

Legio tertia decima Gemina (Thirteenth Twin Legion) was one of the most prominent Roman legions. It was one of Julius Caesar's key units in Gaul and in the civil war, and was the legion with which he famously crossed the Rubicon on January 10, 49 BC. The legion appears to have still been in existence in the fifth century. Its symbol was the lion.

History[link]

Under the late Republic[link]

Legio XIII was levied by Julius Caesar in 57 BC, before marching against the Belgae, in one of his early interventions in intra-Gallic conflicts. During the Gallic wars (58-51 BC), Legio XIII was present at the Battle against the Nervians, the siege of Gergovia, and while not specifically mentioned in the sources, it is reasonable to assume that Legio XIII was also present for the Battle of Alesia.

After the end of the Gallic wars, the Roman senate refused Caesar his second consulship, ordered him to give up his commands, and demanded he return to Rome to face prosecution. Forced to choose either the end of his political career, or civil war, Caesar brought Legio XIII across the Rubicon river and into Italy. The legion remained faithful to Caesar during the resulting civil war between Caesar and the conservative Optimates faction of the senate, whose legions were commanded by Pompey. Legio XIII was active throughout the entire war, fighting at Dyrrhachium (48 BC) and Pharsalus (48 BC). After the decisive victory over Pompey at Pharsalus, the legion was to be disbanded, and the legionaries "pensioned off" with the traditional land grants; however, the legion was recalled for the Battle of Thapsus (46 BC) and the final Battle of Munda (45 BC). After Munda, Caesar disbanded the legion, retired his veterans, and gave them farmland in Italy.

Under the Empire[link]

Augustus reconstituted the legion once again in 41 BC to deal with rebellion of Sextus Pompeius (son of Pompey) in Sicily.

Legio XIII acquired the cognomen Gemina ("twin", a common appellation for legions constituted from portions of others) after being reinforced with veteran legionaries from other legions following the war against Mark Antony and the Battle of Actium.^[2] Augustus then sent the legion to Burnum (modern Knin), in Illyricum, a Roman province in the Adriatic Sea.

In 16 BC, the legion was transferred to Emona (now Ljubljana) in Pannonia, where they dealt with local rebellions.

After the disaster of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9, the legion was sent as reinforcements to Augusta Vindelicorum (Augsburg), and then to Vindonissa, Raetia, to prevent further attacks from the Germanic tribes.

Emperor Claudius sent them back to Pannonia around 45; the legion camped at Poetovio (modern Ptuj, Slovenia).

In the year of the four emperors (69), XIII Gemina supported first Otho and then Vespasian against Vitellius, fighting in the two Battles of Bedriacum.

Stamped Brick found at Alba Iulia, Romania

Under Trajan the Legion took part in both Dacian wars (101-102, 105-106), and it was transferred by Trajan in 106 to the newly conquered province of Dacia (in Apulum, modern Alba Iulia, Romania) to garrison it.

Vexillationes of the XIII Gemina fought under Emperor Gallienus in northern Italy. The emperor issued a legionary antoninianus celebrating the legion, and showing the legion's lion (259-260).^[3] Another vexillatio was present in the army of the emperor of the Gallic Empire Victorinus: this emperor, in fact, issued a gold coin celebrating the legion and its emblem.^[4]

In 271, the legion was relocated when the Dacia province was evacuated, and restationed in Dacia Aureliana.

In the 5th century, according to the Notitia Dignitatum, a legio tertiadecima gemina was in Babylon in Egypt, a strategic fortress on the Nile at the traditional border between Lower Egypt and Middle Egypt, under the command of the Comes limitis Aegypti.^[5]

Fictional accounts[link]

• A fictionalized account of the actions of Legio XIII Gemina during the struggle between Julius Caesar and the Optimates faction under Pompey can be seen in the joint HBO/BBC/RAI television production Rome, most notably two of its soldiers: Tribune Lucius Vorenus and Legionary Titus Pullo, named after real-life Centurions Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo of the XI Legion.

Legacy[link]

On June 15, 2008, the 4th Romanian Territorial Corps became the 4th Infantry Division (Romania) "Gemina".

See also[link]

• Roman legion
• List of Roman legions
• Dacia Ripensis

Notes[link]

References[link]

Primary sources[link]

• "Notitia Dignitatum". http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/notitia.html. Retrieved 2006-11-22. 

Secondary sources[link]

• Lendering, Jona. "Legio XIII Gemina". http://www.livius.org/le-lh/legio/xiii_gemina.html. Retrieved 2006-11-18. 
• Cowan, Ross; illustrated by Angus McBride (2003). Imperial Roman Legionary AD 161-284. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-601-1. 

External links[link]

Media related to Legio XIII Gemina at Wikimedia Commons

• LEGIO XIII GEMINA Blog (Roman reenactment group inside the virtual world of Second Life)
• LEG XIII GEM, Austrian re-enactment group
• Legio XIIII Gemina Martia Victrix (Roman Military Research Society)

Legio in Latin means Legion; in the Bible it also designates the Devil, because of his numerous temptations, see Legion (demon).

Legio was a Roman Catholic titular see in the former Roman province of Palestina Secunda, which was suffragan of Scythopolis^[1]

It figures for the first time in a Latin episcopal notitia, dating probably from the eleventh century, where it is given under the name of Legionum, between the Bishoprics of Diocæsarea and Capitolias (Tobler and Molinier, "Itinera Hierosolymitana", I, Geneva, 1880, 343). If, however, we consult the Greek Notitiæ Episcopatuum, of which the Latin is only a translation, we find in that place, not Legio, but Maximianopolis.^[2] The see of Legio is, therefore, identical with Maximianopolis.

In the Middle Ages both cities were identified, being near neighbours, though really distinct places in the same see. Legio became Lajjun, well known in the Bible and in history under the name of Megiddo.

Recent research[link]

In 2002–2003 an archaeological survey was made in the Legio region by Yotam Tepper as part of his master's thesis. The survey located the legionary camp of the Legio VI Ferrata on the northern slope of the El-Manach hill, the village of Ceparcotani on the adjacent hill, and the city of Maximianopolis on the site of the contemporary Kibbutz Megiddo.^[3]

See also[link]

• Megiddo church
• Lajjun

References[link]

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Legio". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company. 

Coordinates: 32°34′20″N 35°10′13″E / 32.57222°N 35.17028°E / 32.57222; 35.17028

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