Legio II Italica ("Italian Second 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 ...

Formation

Originally having the ''

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became here ...

'' ''Pia'', the legion was raised alongside III ''Italica'' by emperor

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

when legions sent from the Danube frontier to the East to take part in the Parthian War could not be quickly recalled. There is good evidence to show both legions were raised in AD 165.H.M.D. Parker, ''The Roman Legions'' (1957), p. 116

Unit history

The legion's main theatre of operations was the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, ...

, in the southern margin of the

Danube 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 , p ...

, where Germanic incursions were frequent. In 180 II ''Italica'' was stationed in Lauriacum, modern Lorch.

Year of the five emperors

In 193, II ''Italica'' marched into Rome with

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. As a young man he advanced through the customary suc ...

, then fighting for power. The new emperor awarded them the title of ''Fidelis'' (loyal) to acknowledge their support. Later Septimius Severus would use II ''Italica'' against the rebellions of Pescennius Niger and

Clodius Albinus Decimus Clodius Albinus ( 150 – 19 February 197) was a Roman imperial pretender between 193 and 197. He was proclaimed emperor by the legions in Britain and Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula, comprising modern Spain and Portugal) after the murder ...

, as well as in his Parthian campaigns.

Under Gallienus

In the 3rd century, support of the legions was of crucial importance to candidates for the throne. Well aware of this fact,

Gallienus Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (; c. 218 – September 268) was Roman emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260 and alone from 260 to 268. He ruled during the Crisis of the Third Century that nearly caused the collapse of the empi ...

granted II ''Italica'' the cognomina ''VII Pia VII Fidelis'' (seven times faithful, seven times loyal) to secure their continuing support.

Later service

There are still records of the II ''Italica'' in Noricum in the beginning of the 5th century.

Symbol

The legion symbol is a she-wolf and the twins Romulus and Remus, a reference to the rule of Marcus Aurelius and his colleague Lucius Verus.

References

External links

livius.org account of Legio II Italica
{{Authority control 02 Italica 165 establishments 02 Italica History of Upper Austria Military units and formations established in the 2nd century