Legio XX Valeria Victrix, in English Twentieth Victorious Valeria 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 ...

. The origin of the Legion's name is unclear and there are various theories, but the legion may have gained its title ''Valeria Victrix'' from a victory it achieved during the

Great Illyrian revolt The (Latin for 'War of the Batos') was a military conflict fought in the Roman province of Illyricum in the 1st century AD, in which an alliance of native peoples of the two regions of Illyricum, Dalmatia and Pannonia, revolted against the Roma ...

under the command of the general

Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus (also spelled as Messalinus,Gagarin, ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome: Academy Bible'', p.131 c. 36 BC – after AD 21) was a Roman senator who was elected consul for 3 BC. Early life Messa ...

. The legion had a

boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

as its

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often us ...

History

The legion was probably founded shortly after 31 BC by the emperor

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 ...

. XX ''Valeria victrix'' was probably part of the large Roman force that fought in the Cantabrian Wars in

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hisp ...

from 25 to 19 BC. The legion then moved to

Burnum Burnum (; or Burnum Municipium), an archaeological site, was a Roman Legion camp and town. It is located 2.5 km north of Kistanje, in inland Dalmatia, Croatia. The remains include a praetorium, the foundations of several rooms, the amphithea ...

in Illyricum at the beginning of the Pannonian uprising (''Bellum Batonianum'') in AD 6. It is recorded operating against the

Marcomanni The Marcomanni were a Germanic people * * * that established a powerful kingdom north of the Danube, somewhere near modern Bohemia, during the peak of power of the nearby Roman Empire. According to Tacitus and Strabo, they were Suebian. Or ...

in AD 6 in the army of

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

. In Illyria they were led by the governor of Illyricum, Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus, who may have given his clan (''gens'') name '' Valeria'' to the legion. Although understrength, they managed to defeat the rebels led by Bato of the Daesitiates. In one battle the legion cut through the enemy lines, was surrounded, and cut its way out again. After the disaster of Varus in AD 9, XX ''Valeria Victrix'' moved to

Germania Inferior Germania Inferior ("Lower Germania") was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed Germania Secunda in the fourth century, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Agripp ...

and was based at

Oppidum Ubiorum Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...

, then moved to Novaesium at the site of modern

Neuss Neuss (; spelled ''Neuß'' until 1968; li, Nüss ; la, Novaesium) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It ...

during Tiberius' reign. The legion was one of the four, with which Claudius invaded Britain in 43 AD. It was also one of the legions that defeated

Caratacus Caratacus (Brythonic ''*Caratācos'', Middle Welsh ''Caratawc''; Welsh ''Caradog''; Breton ''Karadeg''; Greek ''Καράτακος''; variants Latin ''Caractacus'', Greek ''Καρτάκης'') was a 1st-century AD British chieftain of the ...

at the

Battle of Caer Caradoc The final battle in Caratacus's resistance to Roman rule was fought in 50 AD. The Romans under Publius Ostorius Scapula defeated the Britons and in the aftermath captured Caratacus himself, since 43 the leader of armed opposition to the Rom ...

, after which, from the AD 50s, it was encamped at

Camulodunum Camulodunum (; la, ), the Ancient Roman name for what is now Colchester in Essex, was an important castrum and city in Roman Britain, and the first capital of the province. A temporary "strapline" in the 1960s identifying it as the "oldest re ...

, with a few units at Kingsholm in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

. Around AD 55 under The command of Manlius Valens it moved to

Usk Usk ( cy, Brynbuga) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, northeast of Newport. It is located on the River Usk, which is spanned by an arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. Usk Castle, above the town, overlooks th ...

, in an unsuccessful attempt to pacify the Silures, a tribe very resistant to the imposition of Roman rule in Wales. But the legion suffered defeat, resulting in Valens’ replacement as legate In AD 60 or 61 the Twentieth helped put down the revolt of queen Boudica, after having outflanked the Ordovices by crossing Menai Strait in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

to destroy the Druids' sacred groves. In AD 66, the legion was transferred to the much more passive Viroconium (

Wroxeter Wroxeter is a village in Shropshire, England, which forms part of the civil parish of Wroxeter and Uppington, beside the River Severn, south-east of Shrewsbury. '' Viroconium Cornoviorum'', the fourth largest city in Roman Britain, was site ...

). It may also have occupied

(

Glevum Glevum (or, more formally, Colonia Nervia Glevensium, or occasionally ''Glouvia'') was originally a Roman fort in Roman Britain that became a " colonia" of retired legionaries in AD 97. Today, it is known as Gloucester, in the English county o ...

) at this time. Romanwallinscotl00macduoft raw 0371Cochno

In the

year of the four emperors The Year of the Four Emperors, AD 69, was the first civil war of the Roman Empire, during which four emperors ruled in succession: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian. It is considered an important interval, marking the transition from the ...

, the legion sided with

Vitellius Aulus Vitellius (; ; 24 September 1520 December 69) was Roman emperor for eight months, from 19 April to 20 December AD 69. Vitellius was proclaimed emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of ci ...

. Some units went with him to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. In AD 78–84, the legion was part of

Gnaeus Julius Agricola Gnaeus Julius Agricola (; 13 June 40 – 23 August 93) was a Roman general and politician responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Britain. Born to a political family of senatorial rank, Agricola began his military career as a military tribu ...

's campaigns in northern Britannia and Caledonia, and built the base at Inchtuthill. In AD 88 the legion returned south and occupied Castra Deva (

Deva Victrix Deva Victrix, or simply Deva, was a legionary fortress and town in the Roman province of Britannia on the site of the modern city of Chester. The fortress was built by the Legio II ''Adiutrix'' in the 70s AD as the Roman army advanced north ag ...

), where it remained based for at least two centuries. The Twentieth was among the legions involved with the construction of Hadrian's Wall, and the discovery of stone altars commemorating their work in Caledonia suggests that they had some role in building the Antonine Wall. The legion probably went on campaign in 196 under Decimus Clodius Albinus into

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

, and would have suffered heavy losses in Gaul before returning to Britain. During the Carausian Revolt, which established the Britannic Empire under Carausius and Allectus in the 280s and 290s, the XX ''Valeria Victrix'' was still active. No further information is known after this period and scholars believe the XX legion was still stationed in Britain when Constantine III pulled the bulk of the military forces from there in the year 407 for his doomed campaign on the continent. This legion has been much studied; at least 250 members of the legion have been identified in surviving inscriptions.

Attested members

Fiction

Legio XX ''Valeria Victrix'' and their final days in Deva (Chester) in the early AD 400s form the backdrop to the Tom Stevens mythic fiction genre novel ''The Cauldron'' (special edition) with the story's protagonist Valerian—the Praefectus and Chief Centurion—defending the city with the rump of the legion against the incursions of Hibernian pirates as the "Dark Ages" settle on Britannia. The movie ''Victrix! The Valiant of Albion'' is in production and features an adaptation of Stevens' novel. Legio XX ''Valeria Victrix'' was the legion featured in the novel '' Eagle in the Snow''; author Wallace Breem postulates that they were annihilated by the Germanic invasion of 406. Several of the main characters in the early novels of

Jack Whyte Jack Whyte (March 15, 1940February 22, 2021) was a Scottish-Canadian novelist of historical fiction. Born and raised in Scotland, he moved to Canada in 1967. He resided in Kelowna, British Columbia. Early life Whyte was born in Scotland on Marc ...

's '' A Dream of Eagles'' series were former members of Legio XX ''Valeria Victrix''. Gaius Petreius Ruso, protagonist of ''Medicus'' by Ruth Downie, is a military doctor in Britannia attached to Legio XX. Legio XX ''Valeria Victrix'' lends its name to the character Valeria Matuchek in

Poul Anderson Poul William Anderson (November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American fantasy and science fiction author who was active from the 1940s until the 21st century. Anderson wrote also historical novels. His awards include seven Hugo Awards and ...

's '' Operation Chaos'' and its sequel '' Operation Luna''; her mother is said to describe this legion as the last to leave Britain—"the last that stood against Chaos". The first person narrator of

Stephen Vincent Benét Stephen Vincent Benét (; July 22, 1898 – March 13, 1943) was an American poet, short story writer, and novelist. He is best known for his book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, '' John Brown's Body'' (1928), for which he receiv ...

's short story "The Last of the Legions" is the senior centurion of the ''Valeria Victrix'', who recounts the events and the impressions of soldiers and populace surrounding the departure of the legion from Britain. Legion Company of the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

's 1st battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment,

173rd Airborne Brigade The 173rd Airborne Brigade ("Sky Soldiers") is an airborne infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) of the United States Army based in Vicenza, Italy. It is the United States European Command's conventional airborne strategic response force for Eu ...

stationed in

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a thr ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

is named after Legio XX. They chose this name for the paratroopers' ability to fight fiercely behind enemy lines. Legio XX Valeria Victrix features in the six-novel series ''Soldier of Rome: The Artorian Chronicles'' by James Mace. Legio XX Valeria Victrix is mentioned in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story "Through the Veil".

References

External links

livius.org account of XX ''Valeria Victrix''
Maryland (USA) re-enactment group {{Authority control 20 Valeria Victrix Military units and formations established in the 1st century BC 20 Boars in heraldry

History

Attested members

Fiction

See also

References

External links