Legio I ''Parthica'' (
Latin for "1st
Parthian Legion") was a
legion of the
Imperial Roman army founded in AD 197 by the emperor
Septimius Severus (r. 193–211) for his forthcoming war against
Parthia. The legion's presence in the Middle East is recorded until the early 5th century.
The legions I,
II, and
III ''Parthica'' were levied by Septimius Severus for his campaign against the
Parthian Empire. After the success of this campaign, I and III ''Parthica'' remained in the region, in the camp of
Singara (
Sinjar,
Iraq), in
Mesopotamia, to prevent subsequent rebellions and to guard the eastern provinces from attacks from the Parthian Empire.
Legionaries from I ''Parthica'' were usually sent to other provinces, namely
Lycia,
Cilicia
Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coas ...
and
Cyrenaica.
In 360, I ''Parthica''
unsuccessfully defended its camp against a
Sasanid attack; after the defeat, the legion was moved to
Nisibis (modern Turkey), where it remained until the city was surrendered by emperor
Jovian to the
Sassanid Persians in 363. After that, the legion was moved to
Constantina, where it is last mentioned in the 5th century.
The legion emblem was the
centaur
A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse.
Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being ...
.
See also
*
List of Roman legions
This is a list of Roman legions, including key facts about each legion, primarily focusing on the Principate (early Empire, 27 BC – 284 AD) legions, for which there exists substantial literary, epigraphic and archaeological evidence.
When Au ...
*
Roman legion
External links
livius.org account of Legio I Parthica{{Roman Legion}
01 Parthica
197 establishments
Military units and formations established in the 2nd century
Septimius Severus
Roman–Parthian Wars
Roman–Persian Wars
190s establishments in the Roman Empire
190s establishments