- Legio VI Ferrata
Legio VI "Ferrata" ("Ironclad") was a
Roman legion . Ferrata was not the only name that Legion VI was called, it was also known as "Fidelas Constans", meaning Loyal and Steady. Although it is unclear when this title was given but several sources indicate that it may have been in the 1st century AD.The symbol for Legio VI Ferrata is the bull, like all legions raised by
Julius Caesar . It also carried the symbolic she-wolf withRomulus and Remus .History
Raised in
Cisalpine Gaul in58 BC byJulius Caesar , the Sixth Legion served with him during his tenure as governor and was withdrawn to Spain in49 BC where it earned the title “Hispaniensis”. (Caesar’s Gallic Wars)Later seeing action at
Pharsalus in48 BC ,Julius Caesar took the 6th toAlexandria to settle the dispute inEgypt withCleopatra .Alexandria was laid to siege and the 6th was almost wiped out losing almost two thirds of its entire manpower.Julius Caesar eventually triumphed when reinforcements arrived. (The Alexandrian War, attributed to Caesar)Julius Caesar took his “Veteran Sixth Legion” with him toSyria andPontus . (The Alexandrian War, attributed to Caesar, 33).“When Caesar reached
Pontus he gathered all his forces together in one spot. They were modest in number and experience of war, with the exception of the veteran Sixth Legion, which he had brought with him fromAlexandria ; but this had gone through such toil and danger and been so reduced in size, in part by the difficulties of the marches and voyages, and in part by the frequency of campaigning, that it contained less than a thousand men…” (The Alexandrian War, attributed to Caesar, 76)The
Legion then served inPontus under Caesar in48 BC and47 BC . This culminated in thebattle of Zela (a town inPontus ) where victory was won by Legio VI.“The origin of our victory lay in the bitter and intense hand-to-hand battle joined on the right wing, where the veteran Sixth
Legion was stationed”. (The Alexandrian War, attributed to Caesar, 76)“Caesar was quite overjoyed at such a victory, although he had been victorius in many battles. He had brought a major war to an astonishingly rapid end…He ordered the Sixth
Legion back toItaly to receive their rewards and honors…” (The Alexandrian War, attributed to Caesar, 77)During Caesar’s African war against
Scipio , the SixthLegion deserted en masse fromScipio to reinforce Caesar and fought under him. (The African War, attributed to Caesar, 35 and 52) Thelegion was disbanded in45 BC after Munda establishing a colony at Arelate (Arles ), but was re-formed byLepidus the following year (44 BC) and given over toMarcus Antonius the year after that. Following the defeat of the republican generalsCassius andBrutus in successive battles atPhilippi in42 BC and the subsequent division of control betweenAntony andOctavian , a colony was again formed from retired veterans atBeneventum in41 BC (this is the colony which it is believed becameLegio VI Victrix ) and the remainder of Legio VI Ferrata was taken byAntony to the East where it garrisonedJudea . (Life in Ancient Rome, Adkins and Adkins) Legio VI fought in the Parthian War in36 BC . (Life in Ancient Rome, Adkins and Adkins)Another
Legio VI Victrix evidently saw action atPerusia in41 BC , which presents us with a problem because the official Legio VI Ferrata was at that moment withAnthony in the East. This is explained in Lawrence Keppie's excellent book The Making of the Roman Army - from Republic to Empire (pp.134);“Octavian did not hesitate to duplicatelegionary numerals already in use byAntony . The latter had serving with himlegio V Alaudae , legio VI Ferrata andlegio X Equestris . Soon we findOctavian 's army boasting of a Legio V (the later Macedonica), legio VI (the later Victrix) and legio X (soon to be Fretensis). Of these, legio V and legio X, and less certainly legio VI, bore under the empire a bull-emblem which would normally indicate a foundation by Caesar; but the true Caesarianlegion s with these numerals (Alaudae, Ferrata and Equestris) were withAntony .”It would seem, therefore, that
Octavian had again used the veterans of Caesars Sixth Legion, this time from those left atBeneventum , to form the core of his own Sixth Legion used atPerusia . BothLegio VI ’s (Ferrata and Victrix) fought at theBattle of Actium , after this event the Legio VI Ferrata was dispatched back to Judea and the next time we hear of theLegio VI Victrix was inSpain .Legio VI Ferrata was severely mauled at the
Battle of Actium in31 BC by the forces loyal to Caesar's nephew and heir,Octavian . Following theBattle of Actium , another colony of veterans seems to have been created atByllis , probably together with soldiers from otherlegion s, and the remainder of VI Ferrata was moved toSyria /Judea where it was to remain.From
9 BC to73 AD the VI Ferrata was garrisoned the area ofJudea (Palestine ). It was in this time frame (historians differ as to the exact year) that oneJesus Christ was tried beforePontius Pilate , the Roman Governor ofJudea . (Tacitus ,Seutonius , Epictitius, et al)From
54 AD to68 AD theLegion served underGnaeus Domitius Corbulo atArtaxata andTigranocerta against theParthians . (The Roman Imperial Army, Webster)In
69 AD theLegion returned toJudea and fought in the Jewish Civil War. As the Jewish Civil War wound down, the sixth was placed under Mucianis and fought againstVitellius . Legion VI was largely responsible for Mucianis victory over the forces ofVitellius during the briefRoman Civil War . (Tacitus , Hist III, pg 46)106 AD thelegion can be placed atBostra under A. Cornelius Palma. (Notes on Parthian Campaign ofTrajan , JRS, p35)138 AD thelegion is stationed inPalestine , but briefly sent toAfrica during the Reign ofAntonius Pius . (The Roman Imperial Army, Webster)150 AD thelegion was again inJudea . (Life in Ancient Rome, Adkins & Adkins)215 AD , the last reference found to Legio VI Ferrata places them still stationed inPalestine . (Life in Ancient Rome, Adkins & Adkins)ee also
*
List of Roman legions
*Roman legion Notes
References
Primary sources
* [http://www.livius.org/le-lh/legio/vi_ferrata.html livius.org account]
External links
* [http://legvi.tripod.com/ Legion VI Ferrata, Charleston, SC Roman Re-enactment Group]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.