Legio XVII ("Seventeenth Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was founded by

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

around 41 BC. The legion was destroyed in the

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, described as the Varian Disaster () by Roman historians, took place at modern Kalkriese in AD 9, when an alliance of Germanic peoples ambushed Roman legions and their auxiliaries, led by Publius Quinctil ...

(September 9, 9). The legion's symbol and ''cognomen'' are unknown. This legion was probably created to deal with Sextus Pompey, the last opponent of the second triumvirate, garrisoned in Sicily and threatening

Rome's grain supply Cura Annonae ("care of Annona") was the term used in ancient Rome, in honour of their goddess Annona (goddess), Annona, to describe the import and distribution of grain to the residents of the cities of Rome and, after its foundation, Constantin ...

. Following the defeat of Antony and

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler. ...

in the

battle of Actium The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between a maritime fleet of Octavian led by Marcus Agrippa and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII Philopator. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, ne ...

(31 BC), the legion was stationed in Gaul. In the end of the 1st century BC, the Seventeenth was sent to the Germania

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

in the Rhine and was stationed in Castra Vetera (

Xanten Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel. Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the worl ...

). In AD 5, the provinces were pacified and

Publius Quinctilius Varus Publius Quinctilius Varus ( Cremona, 46 BC – Teutoburg Forest, AD 9) was a Roman general and politician under the first Roman emperor Augustus. Varus is generally remembered for having lost three Roman legions when ambushed by Germanic tribe ...

was assigned governor and commander of the Germania army. On September 9, Arminius, leader of the Cheruscan allies, reported a rebellion in the Rhine area. Without suspecting the information received, Varus took his three legions, the XVII along with

XVIII 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...

and XIX, and headed west. On 9 September, near modern

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a populat ...

, the Cheruscii led by Arminius ambushed the governor's army. All three legions were destroyed in what is known as the

battle of the Teutoburg Forest The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, described as the Varian Disaster () by Roman historians, took place at modern Kalkriese in AD 9, when an alliance of Germanic peoples ambushed Roman legions and their auxiliaries, led by Publius Quinctil ...

and their eagle standards lost. The eagle standards were recovered by the Romans in later years. After its destruction, the Romans never used this legion number again.

External links

livius.org account of Legio XVII
{{DEFAULTSORT:Legio Xvii 17 40s BC establishments 1st-century BC establishments in the Roman Republic 9 disestablishments Military units and formations established in the 1st century BC

See also

External links