Legio III Parthica ("Parthian-conquering Third Legion") was a

legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...

of the

Imperial Roman army The Imperial Roman army was the military land force of the Roman Empire from about 30 BC to 476 AD, and the final incarnation in the long history of the Roman army. This period is sometimes split into the Principate (30 BC – 284 AD) and the Do ...

founded in AD 197 by the emperor

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa (Roman province), Africa. As a young man he advanced thro ...

(r. 193–211) for his campaign against the

Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conque ...

, hence the cognomen ''Parthica''. The legion was still active in the Eastern provinces in the early 5th century. The legion's symbol was probably a

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

Foundation

Together with its sister legions I ''Parthica'' and II ''Parthica'', the third Parthian legion was levied for the attack on the eastern frontier. The campaign was a success and

Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; Middle Persian: 𐭲𐭩𐭮𐭯𐭥𐭭 ''tyspwn'' or ''tysfwn''; fa, تیسفون; grc-gre, Κτησιφῶν, ; syr, ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢThomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modi ...

, the Parthian capital, was taken and sacked. III ''Parthica'' remained in the region afterwards, garrisoning the new province of

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

. Their main base camp was

Rhesaena Rhesaina (Rhesaena) ( grc, Ρέσαινα and Ρεσαίνα) was a city in the late Roman province of Mesopotamia Secunda and a bishopric that was a suffragan of Dara. Rhesaina (Rhesaena, Resaena – numerous variations of the name appear in an ...

, where they had the duty of securing the main roads and protect the province against the

Sassanids The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

Against the Sassanids

During the 3rd century, III ''Parthica'' took part in several other campaigns against the Sassanids; even if there are few direct proofs of its involvement, III ''Parthica'' was stationed in the region and was obviously employed in the wars between the two rival empires. A first indecisive campaign was led by Emperor

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor S ...

in 217, during which he was assassinated. In 230, the Sassanids invaded the Roman province, defeating the Third. The Emperor

Alexander Severus Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – 21/22 March 235) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his slain cousin Elagabalus in 222. Alexander himself was ...

then organized a successful campaign to restore Roman rule over Mesopotamia. Emperor Gordian III organized another campaign in 243, and the Third won the

Battle of Resaena The Battle of Resaena or Resaina, near present-day Ceylanpınar, Turkey, was fought in 243 between the forces of the Roman Empire, led by the Emperor Gordian III and the Praetorian Prefect Timesitheus against the Sasanian Empire's forces dur ...

, but in the following year Gordian died during the campaign, and his successor

Philip the Arab Philip the Arab ( la, Marcus Julius Philippus "Arabs"; 204 – September 249) was Roman emperor from 244 to 249. He was born in Aurantis, Arabia, in a city situated in modern-day Syria. After the death of Gordian III in February 244, Philip, ...

, whose position had been confirmed by

Shapur I Shapur I (also spelled Shabuhr I; pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩, Šābuhr ) was the second Sasanian King of Kings of Iran. The dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his father Ardas ...

, retreated. The Sassanids marked a major victory in 256, when they defeated the XV ''Apollinaris'' and conquered its fortress,

Satala Located in Turkey, the settlement of Satala ( xcl, Սատաղ ''Satał'', grc, Σάταλα), according to the ancient geographers, was situated in a valley surrounded by mountains, a little north of the Euphrates, where the road from Trapez ...

, sacking Trapezus in 258. Emperor Valerian tried to recover the lost territories, but was defeated and taken prisoner (260). The Romans successfully challenged the Sassanid rule, first with

Odaenathus Septimius Odaenathus ( Palmyrene Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; ar, أذينة, translit=Uḏaina; 220 – 267) was the founder king ( ''Mlk'') of the Palmyrene Kingdom who ruled from Palmyra, Syria. He elevated the status of his kingdom from a r ...

(261-267), leader of a secessionist

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, ...

, and later with Emperor

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

(284-305), who signed a treaty of peace in 298 that marked the return of Northern Mesopotamia under Roman influence. In the early 5th century, the legion was probably still active in the region under the ''

Dux ''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, '' ...

Osrhoenae'', based in Apatna, modern

Tell Fdyin Tell may refer to: *Tell (archaeology), a type of archaeological site *Tell (name), a name used as a given name and a surname * Tell (poker), a subconscious behavior that can betray information to an observant opponent Arts, entertainment, and ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

(

Notitia dignitatum The ''Notitia Dignitatum'' (Latin for "The List of Offices") is a document of the late Roman Empire that details the administrative organization of the Western and the Eastern Roman Empire. It is unique as one of very few surviving documents of ...

is corrupted, but shows that a legion is quartered in Apatna, and the III ''Parthica'' is not mentioned anywhere else).

References

livius.org account of Legio III Parthica

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Legio Iii Parthica 03 Parthica 197 establishments Military units and formations established in the 2nd century Septimius Severus Roman–Parthian Wars Roman–Persian Wars

Foundation

Against the Sassanids

See also

References

External links