The Legio I Illyricorum was a

Roman Legion The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period o ...

stationed in Qasr el-Azraq and

Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early secon ...

; it is mentioned in the '' Notitia Dignitatum''. According to many ancient sources, it was stationed within the Eastern Half of the Roman Empire, under emperor Aurelian.

History

This Legio I Ilyricorum was founded by the Roman Emperor Aurelian. The legion was made up entirely of soldiers who lived near the

Danube river The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

. In either 272 or 273 the legion would fight under Aurelian against the

Palmyrene Empire The Palmyrene Empire was a short-lived breakaway state from the Roman Empire resulting from the Crisis of the Third Century. Named after its capital city, Palmyra, it encompassed the Roman provinces of Syria Palaestina, Arabia Petraea, and Egypt, ...

. After the defeat of the Palmyrene Empire the legion remained in the east. They were based in Qasr el-Azraq and garrisoned Palmyra. The purpose of the legion was to prevent any more uprisings. During Diocletian's and

Galerius Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus (; 258 – May 311) was Roman emperor from 305 to 311. During his reign he campaigned, aided by Diocletian, against the Sasanian Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 299. He also campaigned across th ...

' reigns the legion was transferred to the Camp of Diocletian near

. During the reign of emperor

Licinius Valerius Licinianus Licinius (c. 265 – 325) was Roman emperor from 308 to 324. For most of his reign he was the colleague and rival of Constantine I, with whom he co-authored the Edict of Milan, AD 313, that granted official toleration to C ...

soldiers from the I Illyricorum would be transferred to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

and Cyrene. The commander of the soldiers at the time was Victorinus. Later, the Legion was transferred back to Palmyra. Sometime in the third century a unit of Moorish cavalry from the I Illyricorum would replace the

Legio X Fretensis Legio X ''Fretensis'' ("Tenth legion of the Strait") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was founded by the young Gaius Octavius (later to become Augustus Caesar) in 41/40 BC to fight during the period of civil war that started the disso ...

in Eilat.

Attested members

References

01 Illyricorum Comitatenses Military units and formations established in the 3rd century {{AncientRome-mil-stub

History

Attested members

See also

References