Legio XX

Apart from a short period when Roman Chester was first built the Roman force here was Legio XX. Roman historian Cassius Dio writes of them:


 * "…the Twentieth, called both Valeria and Victrix, in Upper Britain. All these I believe, were the troops which Augustus took over and kept, together with the legion known as the Twenty-Second, which is quartered in Germany. The legion I have entitled Valeria is not given this name by all, and in fact no longer uses that designation. At any rate these are the legions which are still in service today, out of those maintained by Augustus himself and by other emperors, in consequence of which such legions have come to bear the name Gemina.” - Cassius Dio, Roman History (LV.23.6-7)

There are many issues with Legio XX:


 * when/where was it formed, or when/where was it disbanded?;
 * what were they called (nicknamed) and when and how did they get that name?;
 * "What have the Romans ever done for us.." (apart from written language..);

History of Legio XX
Direct references to Legio XX are largely confined to the first century and the events of AD 6, AD 14-16, AD 60 and AD 69. The written sources for the history of Legio XX are:


 * Velleius Paterculus (c. 19 BC – c. AD 31): His History (Latin: Historiae), written in a highly rhetorical style, covers the period from the end of the Trojan War to the death of Livia in AD 29, but is most useful for the period from the death of Julius Caesar in 44 BC. to the death of Augustus in 14 AD;


 * Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c.  56 – c.  120 AD) lived in what has been called the Silver Age of Latin literature, and is known for the brevity and compactness of his Latin prose, as well as for his penetrating insights into the psychology of power politics. The text of Tacitus is available online. The work most relevant to Legio XX is the life of his father-in-law, Agricola, the general responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Britain, mainly focusing on his campaign in Britannia (De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae). Agricola was at one point commander of Legio XX;


 * Ptolemy (c. AD 100 – c. 170) was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer and astrologer. He lived in the city of Alexandria in the Roman province of Egypt.


 * The Antonine Itinary is a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly from a survey carried out under Augustus. Almost nothing is known of its date or author. Scholars consider it likely that the original edition was prepared at the beginning of the 3rd century. Although it is traditionally ascribed to the patronage of the 2nd-century Antoninus Pius, the oldest extant copy has been assigned to the time of Diocletian and the most likely imperial patron—if the work had one—would have been Caracalla (4 April 188 – 8 April 217).


 * Cassius Dio ( c. 155 – c. 235) was a Roman statesman and historian of Greek and Roman origin. He published 80 volumes of history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the subsequent founding of Rome (753 BC), the formation of the Republic (509 BC), and the creation of the Empire (31 BC), up until 229 AD. Written in ancient Greek over 22 years, Dio's work covers approximately 1,000 years of history. Many of his 80 books have survived intact, or as fragments, providing modern scholars with a detailed perspective on Roman history;

Prior to Britain
The original founding of Legio XX may have been as early as 40 BC, for one of Octavian's campaigns. The legion possibly played a part in his Actium campaign and his victory over Antony and Cleopatra, in 31 BC, which brought to an end the "Final War of the Roman Republic". If not, it may have been formed shortly thereafter.

Legio XX was probably part of the large Roman force that fought in the Cantabrian Wars in Hispania from 25 to 19 BC. However, that may be a misunderstanding based on the use of wings on coins struck in connection with the wars and a wrong interpretation of the name "Valeria" as meaning eagle.

Illyricum
Legio XX was afterwards based in Illyricum. This may shed some light both on the name of the legion and it's genetic impact on the population of North Wales. Illyricum was a Roman province that existed from 27 BC to sometime during the reign of Vespasian (69–79 AD). The province comprised Illyria/Dalmatia and Pannonia. Illyria included the area along the east coast of the Adriatic Sea and its inland mountains. With the creation of this province it came to be called Dalmatia. It was in the south, while Pannonia was in the north. Illyria/Dalmatia stretched from the River Drin (in modern northern Albania) to Istria (Croatia) and the River Sava in the north. The area roughly corresponded to modern northern Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and coastal Croatia. Pannonia was the plain which lies to its north, from the mountains of Illyria/Dalmatia to the westward bend of the River Danube, and included modern Vojvodina (in modern northern Serbia), northern Croatia and western Hungary. As the province developed, Salona (near modern Split, Croatia) became its capital.

In the great Pannonian revolt of 6 AD, Velleius Paterculus (c. 19 BC – c. AD 31) records (2.112) that Legio XX served with distinction. In 6 CE, Tiberius led at least eight legions (VIII from Pannonia, XV and XX from Illyricum, XXI from Raetia, XIII, XIV and XVI from Germania Superior and an unknown unit) against king Maroboduus of the Marcomanni in Czechia. During one battle the legion broke through the enemy lines, but then became cut off and surrounded, and had to fight its way back out again. Paterculus (who was present in the region as a serving soldier) records:


 * "An exploit of Messalinus in the first summer of the war, fortunate in its issue as it was bold in undertaking, must here be recorded for posterity. This man, who was even more noble in heart than in birth, and thoroughly worthy of having had Corvinus as his father, and of leaving his cognomen to his brother Cotta, was in command in Illyricum, and, at the sudden outbreak of the rebellion, finding himself surrounded by the army of the enemy and supported by only the twentieth legion, and that at but half its normal strength, he routed and put to flight more than twenty thousand, and for this was honoured with the ornaments of a triumph. .. At this critical moment, when some tribunes of the soldiers had been slain by the enemy, the prefect of the camp and several prefects of cohorts had been cut off, a number of centurions had been wounded, and even some of the centurions of the first rank had fallen, the legions, shouting encouragement to each other, fell upon the enemy, and not content with sustaining their onslaught, broke through their line and wrested a victory from a desperate plight. " (Paterculus Book 2, chapter 112)

Germania
Germania was the Roman term for the historical region in north-central Europe initially inhabited mainly by Germanic tribes. It extended from the Danube and Main in the south to the Baltic Sea, and from the Rhine in the west to the Vistula. The ethnonym "Germani" is most likely Gallic in origin. Jacob Grimm derived it from a Celtic term for "shouting; noisy", and argued that the name represents a literal translation of the endonym "Tungri". Johann Kaspar Zeuss derived the name from the Celtic word for "neighbour". The occupied Lesser Germania was divided into two provinces: Germania Inferior (Lower Germania) (approximately corresponding to the southern part of the present-day Netherlands) and Germania Superior (Upper Germania) (approximately corresponding to present-day Switzerland, South West Germany and Alsace). The Romans under Augustus began to conquer and defeat the peoples of Germania Magna in 12 BC, having the Legati (generals) Germanicus, and Tiberius leading the Legions. By 6 AD, all of Germania up to the River Elbe was temporarily pacified by the Romans as well as being occupied by them, with Publius Quinctilius Varus being appointed as Germania's governor. The Roman plan to complete the conquest and incorporate all of Magna Germania into the Roman Empire was frustrated when three Roman legions under Varus command were annihilated by the German tribesmen in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD.

After Publius Quinctilius Varus' disasterous defeat in 9 AD and the destruction of Legio XVII, XVIII and XIV, Tacitus records that Legio XX was moved to Oppidum Ubiorum (Cologne) and then to Novaesium (Neuss) in Germany, and in the following years took part in Germanicus' punitive campaigns across the Rhine. He attacked the Marsi with the element of surprise. The Bructeri, Tubanti, and Usipeti were roused by the attack and ambushed Germanicus on the way to his winter quarters, but were defeated with heavy losses. The next year was marked by two major campaigns and several smaller battles with a large army estimated at 55,000–70,000 men, backed by naval forces. In spring 15 CE, Legatus Caecina Severus invaded the Marsi a second time with about 25,000–30,000 men, causing great havoc. Meanwhile, Germanicus' troops had built a fort on Mount Taunus from where he marched with about 30,000–35,000 men against the Chatti. Many of the men fled across a river and dispersed themselves in the forests. Germanicus next marched on Mattium (caput gentis) and burned it to the ground.] After initial successful skirmishes in summer 15 CE, including the capture of Arminius' wife Thusnelda, the army visited the site of the first battle. According to Tacitus, they found heaps of bleached bones and severed skulls nailed to trees, which they buried.

Germanicus' campaign had been taken to avenge the Teutoburg slaughter and also partially in reaction to indications of mutinous intent amongst his troops. Arminius, who had been considered a very real threat to stability by Rome, was now defeated. Once his Germanic coalition had been broken and honour avenged, the huge cost and risk of keeping the Roman army operating beyond the Rhine was not worth any likely benefit to be gained. Tacitus, with some bitterness, claims that Tiberius' decision to recall Germanicus was driven by his jealousy of the glory Germanicus had acquired, and that an additional campaign the next summer would have concluded the war and facilitated a Roman occupation of territories between the Rhine and the Elbe

In 21, a mixed subunit of Legio XX and XXI Rapax, commanded by an officer from I Germanica, was sent out to suppress the rebellion of the Turoni in Gaul (Tacitus: Annals Book 3.40), who had revolted against the heavy Roman taxation under a nobleman named Julius Sacrovir and Julius Florus.

Almost twenty years later (AD 39-40), the Twentieth was employed during the Germanic war of Caligula. The details, however, are not fully understood. In 41 AD, the Praetorian Guard assassinated Caligula, together with his wife Caesonia and his daughter. He was 29. Only the common people, who benefited from his extravagant spending, lamented his death.

In Britain
Legio XX was part of the army sent by Emperor Claudius to invade Britain in 43 AD. Its first base was Camulodunum (Colchester), then it moved west in 47 or 49, possibly to Kingsholm (near Gloucester), and probably to Usk shortly afterwards (57). There was sporadic fighting against such famous enemies as Caratacus, and against the Silures and Ordovices in south-eastern Wales.

Boudica's Revolt
Probably the best-known event in the history of Legio XX is the defeat of Boudica's Revolt in 60. At the time Legio XX was engaged (under Suetonius Paulinus) in mopping-up the Druids in North Wales as described by Tacitus:


 * "He prepared accordingly to attack the island of Mona, which had a considerable population of its own, while serving as a haven for refugees; and, in view of the shallow and variable channel, constructed a flotilla of boats with flat bottoms. By this method the infantry crossed; the cavalry, who followed, did so by fording or, in deeper water, by swimming at the side of their horses. On the beach stood the adverse array, a serried mass of arms and men, with women flitting between the ranks. In the style of Furies, in robes of deathly black and with dishevelled hair, they brandished their torches; while a circle of Druids, lifting their hands to heaven and showering imprecations, struck the troops with such an awe at the extraordinary spectacle that, as though their limbs were paralysed, they exposed their bodies to wounds without an attempt at movement. Then, reassured by their general, and inciting each other never to flinch before a band of females and fanatics, they charged behind the standards, cut down all who met them, and enveloped the enemy in his own flames. The next step was to install a garrison among the conquered population, and to demolish the groves consecrated to their savage cults: for they considered it a duty to consult their deities by means of human entrails. — While he was thus occupied, the sudden revolt of the province was announced to Suetonius."

The cause of the revolt appears to have been ill-treatment by the Romans of the Iceni, especially by retired veterans.

Civil War
Marcus Roscius Coelius (or Caelius) was the legate of the Legio XX in 68 AD. He was on bad terms with the provincial governor, Marcus Trebellius Maximus, and took the opportunity during the turmoil of the year of four emperors to foment mutiny against him. Trebellius lost all authority with the army, which sided with Coelius, and fled to the protection of Vitellius in Germania. Coelius and his fellow legates briefly ruled the province until Vitellius, now emperor, sent Marcus Vettius Bolanus to be the new governor in late 69. In 69 AD a vexillation was sent to support Vitellius in his brief term on the Imperial throne. Legio XX seems to have fought against its old comrades in Legio XIIII in the Battle of Cremona. The year of civil war ended when Vespasian took the Empire. In 71 he recalled Coelius, whose treacherous behaviour had been made known to him, and replaced him as commander of the XX Valeria Victrix with Gnaeus Julius Agricola.

Scotland
In 83 another vexillation participated in Emperor Domitian's war against the Chatti (see below for more on this), and the next year the legion was with Agricola's campaign into the far north of Britain. Legio XX was to have been based at Inchtuthil in Scotland, and began building a fortress there called Victoria: the northernmost Roman fortification in the Empire. Whilst the forts and fortlets along the northern frontier provided sufficient troops to deal with minor issues, the viability of the Roman occupation depended upon being able to surge a large and well equipped force to deal with major incursions. This requirement was met by the construction of Inchtuthil as a base for the Twentieth Legion, then consisting of over 5000 troops. The fortress was centrally located along the frontier enabling rapid reaction to any area as required.

But, in 84, before construction was completed, the decision was made to withdraw from the region. Inchtuthil had been occupied for around five years and seems to have been largely complete by the time it was abandoned; only the Praetorium (the Commanding Officer's House) and some of the accommodation for the Tribunes was incomplete. The speed of establishing the fortress is a testament to the efficiency, logistical prowess and industrial capability of the Roman military machine. In infrastructure terms the fortress was a town and for the Romans to establish it at this remote plain in the north of Scotland in just a matter of a few years is remarkable. The industrial achievement is perhaps best emphasised by the archaeological discovered in 1959 of a huge cache of Roman nails - in excess of 800,000 - ranging from small nails a few centimetres long to larger spikes used for the timber joints on the defensive arrangements. These were new, unused nails manufactured on the site presumably to support construction of the forts and watchtowers of the Glen Blocker and Gask Ridge systems. The weight of the nails was in excess of 10 tons almost certainly explaining why they were not taken south with the Legion. However, Iron was highly prized by the northern tribes - for its obvious weapon making properties - and so the nails were buried. The pit was elaborately concealed. The job could hardly have been more expertly done: the pit lay hidden for nearly 1900 years. After rediscovery, many of the nails were sent to museums as a gift and the rest of the hoard was sold to the public and other interested organisations with an offer of 5 shillings for an 8 to 10 inch nail and 25 shillings for a boxed set of 5 nails. Colville's (Iron and Steel refiners) who had been given the task of sorting and storing the nails state that all the complete nails had been "sorted gifted and sold" within 3 years of their discovery, ie. c.1963. Some of the almost 2000-year-old iron Inchtuthil nails have been used by atomic scientists to estimate the corrosion effects on barrels of nuclear waste.

The undoubtedly disgruntled legionaries completely demolished the fortress and moved back to the Welsh border (Wroxeter).

Chester
In the early 90s they moved into the fort of Deva (Chester), which Legio XX was to call home for the next two hundred years. See Roman Chester for more on this.

There was still much activity, however. The men of Legio XX helped build both Hadrian's Wall (122-125) and the Antonine Wall (c. 140). In the years between 155 and 158, a widespread revolt occured in northern Britain, requiring heavy fighting by the British legions. They suffered severely, and reinforcements had to be brought in from the two Germanic provinces.

Revolts
In 196, governor Clodius Albinus of Britannia attempted to become emperor. The British legions were ferried to the continent, but were defeated by the lawful ruler Lucius Septimius Severus in the spring of 197. When the legions returned to their island, they found the province overrun by northern tribes. Punitive actions did not deter the tribesmen, and in 208, Severus came to Britain, in an attempt to conquer Scotland.

A vexillation was sent to Germany in 255, and from there to the Danube and apparently never returned to Britain.

Under Caracalla (Severus' son - formally Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus Augustus), the unit added "Antoniniana" to its titles, but this was dropped about 222. Emperor Trajan Decius (249-251) may have briefly added "Deciana" to the legion's name (but see below).

The End
The latest known reference to Legio XX is on coins struck by the usurper Carausius, who died in 294, in all, a unit history of nearly 350 years. Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Valerius Carausius was a military commander of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century. He was a Menapian from Belgic Gaul, who usurped power in 286, during the Carausian Revolt, declaring himself emperor in Britain and northern Gaul (Imperium Britanniarum). He did this only 13 years after the Gallic Empire of the Batavian Postumus was ended in 273. He held power for seven years, fashioning the name "Emperor of the North" for himself, before being assassinated by his finance minister Allectus. Carausius appears to have appealed to native British dissatisfaction with Roman rule; he issued coins with legends such as "Restitutor Britanniae" (Restorer of Britain) and "Genius Britanniae" (Spirit of Britain). Some of these silver coins bear the legend "Expectate veni", (Come long-awaited one), recognised to allude to a messianic line in the Aeneid by the Augustan poet Virgil (the sixth and seventh lines of the Fourth Eclogue of Virgil), written more than 300 years previously.

The Romans would stay in Britain for the next hundred years, but during this entire time there is no actual historical mention of Legio XX. Then came the Dark Ages.

Legio XX In Fiction
Legio XX turns up in various works of fiction, many of which are of dubious historical accuracy. In truth, the situation in Britain had been desparate for some time. In the winter of 367, the Roman garrison on Hadrian's Wall rebelled, and allowed Picts from Caledonia to enter Britannia. Simultaneously, Attacotti, the Scotti from Hibernia, and Saxons from Germania landed in what might have been coordinated and pre-arranged[citation needed] waves on the island's mid-western and southeastern borders, respectively. Franks and Saxons also landed in northern Gaul. These warbands managed to overwhelm nearly all of the loyal Roman outposts and settlements. The entire western and northern areas of Britannia were overwhelmed, the cities sacked and the civilian Romano-British murdered, raped, or enslaved. Nectaridus, the comes maritime tractus (commanding general of the seacoast region), was killed and the Dux Britanniarum, Fullofaudes, was either besieged or captured and the remaining loyal army units stayed garrisoned inside southeastern cities.

In the spring of 368, a relief force commanded by Flavius Theodosius gathered at Bononia. It included four units, Batavi, Heruli, Iovii and Victores as well as his son, the later Emperor Theodosius I and probably the later usurper Magnus Maximus, his nephew. Theodosius took advantage of a break in the winter weather to cross the Channel to Richborough, leaving the rest of his troops at Bononia to await better weather. This enabled Theodosius to gather vital intelligence. He discovered that the British troops had either been overwhelmed, refused to fight or deserted; many also may not have been paid. By the end of the year, the barbarians had been driven back to their homelands; the mutineers had been executed; Hadrian's Wall was retaken; and order returned.

In 383, the Roman general then assigned to Britain, Magnus Maximus, launched his successful bid for imperial power, crossing to Gaul with his troops. He killed the Western Roman Emperor Gratian and ruled Gaul and Britain as Caesar (i.e., as a "sub-emperor" under Theodosius I). 383 is the last date for any evidence of a Roman presence in the north and west of Britain, perhaps excepting troop assignments at the tower on Holyhead Mountain in Anglesey and at western coastal posts such as Lancaster. These outposts may have lasted into the 390s, but they were a very minor presence, intended primarily to stop attacks and settlement by groups from Ireland. Coins dated later than 383 have been excavated along Hadrian's Wall, suggesting that troops were not stripped from it, as once thought or, if they were, they were quickly returned as soon as Maximus had won his victory in Gaul. In 388, Maximus led his army across the Alps into Italy in an attempt to claim the purple. The effort failed when he was defeated in Pannonia at the Battle of the Save (in modern Croatia) and at the Battle of Poetovio (at Ptuj in modern Slovenia). He was then executed by Theodosius.

With Maximus' death, Britain came back under the rule of Emperor Theodosius I until 392, when the usurper Eugenius would successfully bid for imperial power in the Western Roman Empire, surviving until 394 when he was defeated and killed by Theodosius. When Theodosius died in 395, his 10-year-old son Honorius succeeded him as Western Roman Emperor. The real power behind the throne, however, was Stilicho, the son-in-law of Theodosius' brother and the father-in-law of Honorius. Britain was suffering raids by the Scoti, Saxons, and Picts and, sometime between 396 and 398, Stilicho allegedly ordered a campaign against the Picts, likely a naval campaign intended to end their seaborne raids on the east coast of Britain. He may also have ordered campaigns against the Scoti and Saxons at the same time, but either way this would be the last Roman campaign in Britain of which there is any record. In 401 or 402 Stilicho faced wars with the Visigothic king Alaric and the Ostrogothic king Radagaisus. Needing military manpower, he posssibly stripped Hadrian's Wall of troops for the final time. 402 is the last date of any Roman coinage found in large numbers in Britain, suggesting either that Stilicho also stripped the remaining troops from Britain, or that the Empire could no longer afford to pay the troops who were still there.

The Cauldron

 * 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 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. The blurb reads:

"Set in the twilight of the Roman Empire: the movie opens in 402 AD with the last gladiatorial games held in the amphitheatre at the Mega-Fortress of Deva in Britannia. Most of the elite Twentieth Legion Valeria Victrix 'The Valiant and Victorious' have been recalled to defend Rome from barbarians, with the rump left at the fortress city, commanded by Valerian 'The Valiant of Albion'. Defending the west coast of Britain from seaborne Hibernian invaders he's acutely aware that the empire is on the brink of collapse. The Hibernian raids are becoming more frequent, more intense and ever-more fierce. The spoilt wealthy Romans of the uber-rich villa-set, who occupy the Red Hills district on the coast, constantly pressure him for protection. Hopelessly overstretched: the remnant of the once mighty Twentieth-Legion will soon face their last and greatest challenge: as forces both natural and supernatural, led by the Pagan Warrior Goddess Morrigan, close-in to seize the original Holy Grail - the Celtic Cauldron of Rebirth in the epic final-drama of Rome's Empire in Britain."

Eagle in the Snow

 * Legio XX Valeria Victrix was the legion featured in the novel Eagle in the Snow; author Wallace Breem postulates that they were annihilated by a Germanic invasion of 406. The blurb reads:

'''During the waning days of the Roman Empire, commander Maximus and his friend Quintus have been commanding the defence of Hadrian's Wall against the Picts and other tribes, who unite under the guidance of Maximus's archenemy, when the news of an impending Germanic invasion across the Rhine breaks. After being promoted to 'General of the West' and his wife's death, Maximus is sent to Moguntiacum (modern-day Mainz in Germany) where he is assigned to defend the entire 820-mile border between Gaul and Germania with just one legion, the XX.'''

A Dream of Eagles

 * Several of the main characters in the early novels of Jack Whyte's A Dream of Eagles series were former members of Legio XX Valeria Victrix.

Medicus

 * Gaius Petreius Ruso, protagonist of Medicus by Ruth Downie, is a military doctor in Britannia attached to Legio XX.

Operation Chaos

 * Legio XX Valeria Victrix lends its name to the character Valeria Matuchek in Poul Anderson'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 Last of the Legions

 * The first person narrator of Stephen Vincent Benét'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.

Soldier of Rome

 * Legio XX Valeria Victrix features in the six-novel series "Soldier of Rome: The Artorian Chronicles" by James Mace.

Through the Veil

 * Legio XX Valeria Victrix is mentioned in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story "Through the Veil".

Meaning of "Valeria and Victrix"
It is often said that the name of Legio XX is "Valeria Victrix" meaning "Valiant and Victorious". However, that might not be completely accurate. The passage from Dio ( c. 155 – c. 235) quoted above is the first mention of the "name" of Legio XX, and has been a source of some scholarly disagreement. Part of the problem arises due to scholars adding "VV" to the text of inscriptions when recording them, even if the original stone does not contain these letters.

Inscriptions which actually feature "VV"


Here are some examples of inscriptions which actually contain "VV":


 * RIB 1430 - Hadrian's Wall;
 * RIB 1645 - Hadrian's Wall;
 * RIB 1093 - Hadrian's Wall;
 * RIB 1708 - Hadrian's Wall
 * RIB 2210 - Camelon fort;
 * RIB 1020 - Cumbria (?);
 * RIB 1166 - Hadrian's Wall;
 * RIB 1204 - Hadrian's Wall;
 * RIB 2184 - Antonine Wall;

The earliest which can be dated are from Gloucester (RIB 3069) and Carvoran (RIB 1826) and many are from Hadrian's Wall. Even RIB 3069 is problematic as the stone was recovered after re-use in the cathedral at Gloucester and the original context is not known. So there is only a single stone bearing the motto "Valeria Victrix" which can potentially be dated to Legio XX in Gloucester. The Roman legionary fortress of Burrium was founded on the River Usk by the military commander Aulus Didius Gallus, around AD 55. He moved his Legio XX into the area from its earlier base at Glevum (Gloucester). In AD 66, the legion was (possibly) transferred to Viroconium Cornoviorum (at Wroxeter) and their base in Wales was largely abandoned. The only evidence for Legio XX at Viroconium is a single tombstone (RIB 293 which does not use VV). "VV" is frequently used on tombstones of Legio XX at Chester, but it is difficult to date these other than to say that in general they come from the time after which Legio XX had moved to Chester.

...from Valerius Messalinus? (see: Legio XX Valeria Victrix)
One opinion holds that the honorific has two parts, one (Valeria) derived from the family (clan or gens) name of Valerius Messalinus, under whose command Legio XX gained distinction in suppressing the revolt of the Pannonians and Dalmatians in AD 6-9. This view was first put forward by Emil Ritterling in 1925.

Messallinus was born and raised in Rome. He was the oldest son of the famous senator, orator and literary patron Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus whom he resembled in character, from wife Calpurnia. Messallinus is known to have had at least one sister, Valeria, who married the Senator Titus Statilius Taurus. From his father’s second marriage, his younger paternal half-brother was the Senator Marcus Aurelius Cotta Maximus Messalinus. Messallinus was the great-uncle of Lollia Paulina, the third wife of Emperor Caligula, and a relation to Statilia Messalina, the third wife of Emperor Nero. In AD 6, Messallinus served as a governor in Illyricum. During his time in Illyricum, he served with Tiberius with distinction in a campaign against the Pannonians and Dalmatians in the uprising of the Great Illyrian Revolt (Bellum Batonianum) with the half-strength Legio XX. In one battle the legion cut through the enemy lines, was surrounded, and cut its way out again. Messallinus defeated the Pannonii, led by Bato the Daesitiate, and prevented spread of the uprising. For his defeat over Bato, Messallinus was rewarded with a triumphal decoration (ornamenta triumphalia) and a place in the procession during Tiberius’ Pannonian triumph in AD 12, four years after the death of his father. Tacitus notes that Messallinus, along with Caecina Severus, proposed a golden statue be placed in the temple of Mars the Avenger (Mars Ultor), and an altar dedicated to Vengeance, in celebration of the execution/suicide of Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso.



McPake argues against the notion that Legio XX acquired its title in honor of its commander. It would have been the only legion to have done so and, presumably, its honorific would have appeared on at least one other inscription in the more than half a century that followed. Yet, of all those that mention the Twentieth Legion, there is no epigraphic evidence datable before AD 60 that shows any indication of the name. Only in inscriptions from the late first century AD do the initial letters VV or Val Vic begin to appear. However a number of unusual privileges did attach to this family, including the right to burial within the city walls, and a special place for its members in the Circus Maximus, where the unique honour of a throne was granted them. The house built by Publius Valerius Publicola at the foot of the Velian Hill was the only one whose doors were permitted to open into the street. The historian Niebuhr conjectured that, during the transition from the monarchy to the Republic, the Valerii were entitled to exercise royal power on behalf of the Titienses, one of the three Romulean tribes that made up the Roman people.

...from "Valeria" (valiant)? (see:Legio XX Valeria Victrix)
McPake contends, Valeria is derived from valeo (which the Oxford Latin Dictionary defines as “to possess, or have predominance in, military or political power, resources, etc.”) and personifies its qualities of strength and well-being, luck and good omen, in much the same way that Martia represents the warlike qualities of Mars. Nor was Legio XX the only military unit to hold this title. Cohors I Breucorum also was known as Valeria Victrix (in german), which must have been given that title quite independently of a commander called Valerius or events in Britain. Cohors Breucorum was an important Roman castrum located in western Mauretania Caesariensis (located at Takhemaret in what is now Algeria). Curiously, the name was given because it was under the control of the Cohors of the "Breuci", a tribe from ancient Illyria, where the abovementioned revolt took place. An example of the use of VV by the Cohors I Breucorum (from a stone near Ingolstadt) can be found in EDCS;

...from "Victorious Black Eagle"? (see; Legio XX Valeria Victrix)


Incidentally, the cap-badge of the Mercian Regiment, formed by amalgamation including the Cheshire Regiment is derived from the double-headed eagle used as a personal emblem by Leofric, Earl of Chester (see: Dark Ages) and that this could this be a corntinuous tradition from the Roman eagle, through the Mercian Eagle to the eagle of the regiment (this also featured as a pub sign in Castle Street).

This may be a based on a mistranslation of Pliny the Elder’s Natural History (10.3 ‘melanaetos a Graecis dicta, eadem in valeria’). Pliny's source was Aristotle's Historia animalium (9, chapter 32) which might be read as "hare-eagle" (leporaria). Unfortunately early editions of english translations of Pliny contained the error:


 * "The one cailed by the Greeks the black eagle, and also the hare-eagle, is smallest in size and of outstanding strength ; it is of a blackish colour. It is the only eagle that rears its own young, whereas all the others, as we shall describe, drive tliem away; and it is the only one that has no scream or cry."

and this led some to believe that "Valeria" meant black eagle. Later translations make it clear that Aristotle calls it "the hare-killing eagle". It is not at all clear which type of eagle Aristotle is referring to. The smallest eagle is the Booted eagle which breeds in southern Europe, North Africa and across Asia, but it is not "black". There are two relatively distinct plumage forms. Pale birds are mainly light grey with a darker head and flight feathers. The other form has mid-brown plumage with dark grey flight feathers. It hunts small mammals, reptiles and (mainly) smaller birds.

...after the Boudican revolt?
Probably the best-known event in the history of Legio XX is the defeat of Boudicca's Revolt in 60. The Roman governor Suetonius Paulinus was just completing the eradication of a Druid stronghold in northwest Wales (Angelsey) when he got word of the revolt. The rebels had sacked and burned three undefended towns, including London, and had ambushed and wiped out part of Legio IX Hispana, which had been rushing to the scene (although the Roman cavalry contingent escaped cleanly--some ambush!). Paulinus force-marched his army--Legio XIIII Gemina, most of Legio XX, ans some auxiliaries--across the province, and met Boudicca's vastly larger force head on. In the resulting battle, the Britons were completely crushed, and Roman losses were minimal.

Legio XX had no cognomen apart from its double honorific, which appears to have been awarded only after the Boudican revolt, at the same time and for the same reason, that Legio XIV Gemina was similarly recognized with the title Martia Victrix. However even dating the use of "VV" to just after Boudicca's Revolt has its problems as there are very few examples and these are gravestones without dates. Just because a gravestone is found where the legion had been stationed at some point does not unambiguously date the stone to that time, as a person could have died while travelling, or may have retired to a veteran's colony elsewhere. Thus while it is certain that Legio XX were using the title Valeria Victrix when stationed on Hadrian's Wall (122-125) it is not clear how much earlier they used it. Perhaps notably, even though Tacitus writes about the role of Legio XX in the Boudican revolt, he never refers to the "VV" title even though his father in law was Agricola who was appointed to command of Legio XX in place of Marcus Roscius Coelius in 71. What Tacitus writes is:


 * "Agricola, having been sent by Mucianus to conduct a levy of troops, and having done his work with integrity and energy, was appointed to command the 20th Legion, which had been slow to take the new oath of allegiance, and the retiring officer of which was reported to be acting disloyally. It was a trying and formidable charge for even officers of consular rank, and the late praetorian officer, perhaps from his own disposition, perhaps from that of the soldiers, was powerless to restrain them. Chosen thus at once to supersede and to punish, Agricola, with a singular moderation, wished it to be thought that he had found rather than made an obedient soldiery."

It is surely surprising that Tacitus does not mention the cognomen of the Legio XX if it had been awarded prior to Agricola's recall from Britain in 85.

...under Domitian?
Titus Flavius Caesar Domitianus Augustus; (24 October 51 – 18 September 96 AD) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. He was the younger brother of Titus and the son of Vespasian, his two predecessors on the throne, and the last member of the Flavian dynasty. During his reign, the authoritarian nature of his rule put him at sharp odds with the Senate, whose powers he drastically curtailed. He honoured certain legions in 89 by granting them the title "Domitiana". Domitian's reign came to an end in AD 96 when he was assassinated by court officials. He was succeeded the same day by his advisor Nerva. After his death, Domitian's memory was "condemned to oblivion" ("Damnatio memoriae" - although the Romans did not use the phrase) by the Roman Senate, while senatorial authors such as Tacitus, Pliny the Younger, and Suetonius propagated the view of Domitian as a cruel and paranoid tyrant. Modern revisionists instead have characterized Domitian as a ruthless but efficient autocrat whose cultural, economic, and political programs provided the foundation of the peaceful second century.



RIB 449 is a fragment of a right jamb, with rebate, from the edge of a door or niche, with only the left margin intact. It was found (1897) in Shoemaker’s Row, Northgate Street, Chester, in debris near the bases of what may have been a colonnade in the Headquarters Building of the fortress and is now in the Grosvenor Museum. After V.V. a title beginning D...... has been erased. It has been said that this cannot be "Domitiana", because the formula was p(ia) f(idelis) D(omitiana), and Legio XX was not one of the group of units which in AD 89 received this honour from Domitian (they were I Minervia, VI Victrix, X Gemina and XXII Primigenia). However in 83 a vexillation from Legio XX participated in Emperor Domitian's war against the Chatti. Domitian granted his p(ia) f(idelis) D(omitiana) award for assistance against the german revolt of Lucius Antonius Saturninus in AD 89 - so part of Legio XX was in the right place at the right time. Suetonius possibly links the events in his "Life of Domitian":


 * "His campaigns he undertook partly without provocation and partly of necessity. That against the Chatti was uncalled for, while the one against the Sarmatians was justified by the destruction of a legion with its commander."

The Legio XXI Rapax was involved in the revolt of Saturninus. Afterwards it was sent to Pannonia and later almost destroyed in 92 by the Sarmatians. The symbol of Legio XXI is thought to have been a capricorn, also an early symbol of Legio XX, which was used in the first century, but ignored in the second and third centuries in favour of the more familiar jumping boar: possibly due to the associations with Legio XXI Rapax. In Chester's Roman Gardens there is a semi-reproduction (done in 2000 by artist Gary Drostle) of a Capricorn Mosaiic (discovered at St Michael's Row, 1909-10) which actually survived in Chester until the 1960's when it was destroyed by contractors. According to Domaszewski (1885) the boar signifies the god Quirinus, thought to be originally of Sabine origin, a god with martial qualities seen as the personification of the deified Romulus.



If it was a reference to an honour granted by Domitian this wouldd fit with the lack of any mention in Tacitus' "Agricola". In 93, Agricola died on his family estates in Gallia Narbonensis aged fifty-three. Rumours circulated attributing the death to a poison administered by the Emperor Domitian, but no positive evidence for this was ever produced. Not long after Agricola's recall from Britain, the Roman Empire entered into war with the Kingdom of Dacia in the East. Reinforcements were needed, and in 87 or 88, Domitian ordered a large-scale strategic withdrawal of troops in the British province. The fortress at Inchtuthil, being built by Legio XX, was dismantled and the Caledonian forts and watchtowers abandoned, moving the Roman frontier some 120 kilometres (75 mi) further south. The army command may have resented Domitian's decision to retreat, but to him the Caledonian territories never represented anything more than a loss to the Roman treasury.

As noted above "VV" is used at the Carvoran Fort. These include RIB 1779 and RIB 1826. RIB 1826 is probably Flavian in style and so possibly dates from before the death of Domitian (AD 96). It also has the "VV". The full text reads:


 * "Gaius Valerius Iullus, son of Gaius of the Voltinian voting-tribe, from Vienne, soldier of the Twentieth Legion Valeria Victrix."

This is the only use in Britain of this spelling of Vienna (Vindobona in Pannonia) If this did originally read "V.V.D" then the "D" would have been removed as part of the process by which Domitian's memory was "condemned to oblivion". So an aditional possibility is that the title "VVD" was given by Domitian as a "consolation prize" for the loss of a fortress which Legio XX had spent the last years building and were then forced to demolish. Legio XX would now move to "Deva Victrix" and then largely rebuilt Roman Chester.

The only other emperor whose "D" is sometimes removed is Decius (September 249 – June 251). A distinguished politician during the reign of Philippus Arabus, Decius was proclaimed emperor by his troops after successfully putting down a rebellion in Moesia (in the Balkans). In 249, he defeated and killed Philip near Verona and was recognized as emperor by the Senate afterwards. During his reign, he attempted to strengthen the Roman state and its religion, leading to the Decian persecution, where a number of prominent Christians (including Pope Fabian) were put to death. Cassius Dio, who died (c.235) before Domitian became emperor (249), writes that Legio XX had already stopped using the title "Valeria".

Summary
In summmary, the argument that "VV" was an award by Domitian (originally as "VVD") is based on the following:
 * The single potentially earlier "VV" inscription (Gloucester) has problems with context;
 * The "VVD" inscription from Deva Victrix is consistent with rebuilding after Legio XX was relocated there by Domitian;
 * Tacitus writes extensively about Legio XX, of which his father-in-law was commander, but never mentions "Valeria Victrix";
 * Domitian awarded honours to German legions at a time when a detachment of Legio XX had recently been sent to Germany;
 * Most use of "VV" comes from when Legio XX was building Hadrian's Wall;
 * Cassius Dio states that use of "VV" was eventually discontinued;

Genetic Impact of Legio XX
It has been suggested that the Romans left a genetic footprint in North Wales.In that context it is interesting to discuss the idea of “marriage” due to bachelor status being mandatory for members of the Roman army during the first and second centuries. Bachelor status may have been enforced to ensure a Roman soldier’s first and utmost obligation is to the Roman army and not to his wife and children. If a man was married prior to him joining the Roman army, his recruitment also declared him a bachelor and granted him a divorce from his wife. If a man was not married before he joined the Roman army, then he must remain unmarried while he is in the army. Nonetheless, soldiers had relations with women. Some of these relations led to more committed relationships that morphed into pseudo-family units, with the “wife” and children following behind the soldier’s camp.

The troops at Roman Chester had a settlement at Roman Prestatyn (where housing development may have destroyed much additional archaeology). Excavations in 1934-7 and from 1981 revealed elements of a first to second century Roman settlement that possibly extending into the 3rd century. The most prominent feature is a bathhouse of about 11.7m by 4.5m, but evidence of bronze working was also recovered. Prior occupation of the site was represented by traces of a roundhouse and other circular structures, together with an infant burial, dated to about 30 BC (AW 25 (1985) 29). Excavations in 1980 re-assessed the area of the 1930s excavations, revealing that rather than being an element of a Roman fort on the plateau to the north, the ditch ran south-south-east, forming part of an enclosure around the Melyd Avenue bath-house and industrial complex which was excavated in 1984/5. The bath-house was built in two stages, the initial one by Legio XX c. AD 120, with the later addition of a cold room and plunge bath, fed by a timber aqueduct. Bronze- and iron-smithing, and enamelling was conducted in adjacent, timber-built workshops, operating from c. AD 90/100 to c. AD 160. The other buildings found in the 1930s unquestionably form part of the same complex, now under a housing estate to the west of the bath-house. The current view is that these may signal a vicus-like settlement associated with a harbour installation designed for the shipment of lead and silver from nearby the mines, though its precise nature is unclear. It may even have, in part, functioned as a sort of "holiday resort" or "retirement village".

Genetic studies have revealed that there is a significant percentage of E1b1b1a2 haplogroup in Abergele. Membership in Y chromosome haplogroup E1b1b1a2 (E-V13) was found to average at 38.97% in a small sample of 18 male y-chromosomes in Abergele. (near Prestatyn) This genetic marker is found at its highest concentrations in the Balkans at over 40% in areas, but at much lower percentages in Northern Europe at less than 5%. The reason for drastically higher levels of E1b1b in Abergele has been argued as most likely due to the heavy Roman Army presence in Abergele. As this is a Y chromosome marker it is only inherited down the male line which means that males from the Balkans would have had to have joined the Roman army to pass on their genes. There is evidence of soldiers of Thracian origin who were members of Legio XX. One tombstone in the Grosvenor Museum is described as:


 * 523. Tombstone, 25 X 46 in., broken across the stool and also above the inscription.  Donatus reclines on a couch, and holds in his left hand a scroll, probably his will, and in his right a cup.  On the left his wife reclines behind him.  Found in 1887 in the North Wall (east part).  Now in the Grosvenor Museum.  Drawn by R. P. W., 1947. [Inscription]:  D(is) M(anibus) | C(a)ecilius Donatus B  |  essus na | tione mili  |  tauit ann | os XXVI uix  |  it annos XXXX.  (To the spirits of the departed, Caecilius Donatus, a Bessian tribesman, served 26 years and lived 40 years). The Bessi were a Thracian tribe. Since Donatus given no praenomen, tribe, or father’s names and uses the spelling Cecilius (for Caecilius), and as a legionary was recruited from a tribal area and not from a town, a third-century date seems certain.

Legio XX were in the Balkans before AD 9 and it is possible that some local males may have joined the legion. In the alternative the daughters of legionaries may have married local men and male offspring joined the legion. This would have introduced the "Balkan" genes into the legionary gene-pool.

Related Pages



 * Roman Chester;
 * Roman Festival Trail;
 * Dark Ages;
 * Heronbridge;
 * City Walls;
 * Grosvenor Museum;
 * Amphitheatre;

General

 * Twentieth Legion Valeria Victrix - site on the history of the legion;
 * Malone, Stephen James (2005) Legio XX Valeria Victrix:a prosopographical and historical study. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.;
 * THE IMPERIAL ROMAN TWENTIETH LEGION: an American group founded in 1991 to recreate the soldiers of the Roman Army for public demonstrations and living history displays.
 * A Note on the Cognomina of Legio XX" (1981) by R. McPake, Britannia, 12, 293-295;
 * The Roman Legions in Britain;
 * Inchtuthil;
 * The Carvoran Fort;
 * Roman Tours - still employs Roman soldiers in Chester;

Inscriptions

 * Inscriptions class 1933 ‒ Legio XX Valeria Victrix;
 * Catalogue of the Roman inscribed and sculptured stones in the Grosvenor Museum, Chester Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society 7 (1900);
 * Schedule of the Roman remains of Chester with maps and plans Plates I-XXVII. useful maps - Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society 27 (2);

Genetic Legacy

 * Y Chromosome Evidence for Anglo-Saxon Mass Migration;
 * Haplogroup E3b1a2 as a Possible Indicator of Settlement in Roman Britain by Soldiers of Balkan Origin;
 * The Roman Bath House at Prestatyn;