Legio XX Valeria Victrix, in English theTwentieth Victorious Valeria Legion, was alegion of theImperial Roman army.
The origin of the Legion's name is unclear and there are various theories, but the legion may have gained its titleValeria Victrix from a victory it achieved during theGreat Illyrian revolt under the command of the generalMarcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus. The legion had aboar as itsemblem.
The legion was probably founded shortly after 31 BC by the emperorAugustus.[1]
XXValeria victrix was probably part of the large Roman force that fought in theCantabrian Wars inHispania from 25 to 19 BC.
The legion then moved toBurnum inIllyricum at the beginning of theGreat Illyrian revolt (Bellum Batonianum) in AD 6.[2] It is recorded operating against theMarcomanni in AD 6 in the army ofTiberius.
In Illyria they were led by the governor of Illyricum,Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus, who may have given his clan (gens) nameValeria to the legion. Although understrength, they managed to defeat the rebels led byBato of the Daesitiates.[3] In one battle the legion cut through the enemy lines, was surrounded, and cut its way out again.
After the disaster ofVarus in AD 9, XXValeria Victrix moved toGermania Inferior and was based atOppidum Ubiorum, then moved to Novaesium at the site of modernNeuss during Tiberius' reign.
The legion was one of the four with whichClaudiusinvaded Britain in 43 AD. It was also one of the legions that defeatedCaratacus at theBattle of Caer Caradoc, after which, from the AD 50s, it was encamped atCamulodunum, with a few units at Kingsholm inGloucester.
Around AD 55 under The command of Manlius Valens it moved toUsk, in an unsuccessful attempt to pacify theSilures, a tribe very resistant to the imposition of Roman rule in Wales. But the legion suffered defeat, resulting in Valens’ replacement as legate[4] In AD 60 or 61 the Twentieth helped put down the revolt of queenBoudica, after outflanking theOrdovices it took part in thesecond Roman invasion of Anglesey which destroyed theCelticDruids and theirreligious practices.[5][6] In AD 66, the legion was transferred to the much more passiveViroconium (Wroxeter).[7] It may also have occupiedGloucester (Glevum) at this time.[8]
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In theyear of the four emperors, the legion sided withVitellius. Some units went with him toRome. In AD 78–84, the legion was part ofGnaeus Julius Agricola's campaigns in northern Britannia and Caledonia, and built the base atInchtuthill. In AD 88 the legion returned south and occupied Castra Deva (Deva Victrix), where it remained based for at least two centuries.
The Twentieth was among the legions involved with the construction ofHadrian's Wall, and the discovery of stone altars commemorating their work inCaledonia suggests that they had some role in building theAntonine Wall.[12]
The legion probably went on campaign in 196 underDecimus Clodius Albinus intoGaul, and would have suffered heavy losses in Gaul before returning to Britain.[13]
During theCarausian Revolt, which established theBritannic Empire underCarausius andAllectus in the 280s and 290s, the XXValeria Victrix was still active. No further information is known after this period and scholars believe Legio XX was still stationed in Britain whenConstantine 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.
| Name | Rank | Time frame | Province | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marcus Roscius Coelius[14] | legatus legionis | 69-70 | Britannica | Tacitus,Histories, I.60 |
| Gnaeus Julius Agricola[15] | legatus legionis | 70-73 | Britannica | Tacitus,Agricola 7.3 |
| Lucius Pomponius Mamilianus[16] | legatus legionis | early 90s | Britannica | CILVII, 164 |
| Julius Vitalis[17] | fabriciensis | between 71 and 100 | Britannica | CILVII, 49 |
| Marcus Aemilius Papus[18] | legatus legionis | c. 128 | Britannica | CILII, 1371 |
| Gaius Curtius Justus[19] | legatus legionis | between 140 and 145 | Britannica | CILIII, 1458 |
| Lucius Cestius Gallus[20] | legatus legionis | between 160 and 180 | Britannica | CILX, 3722 |
| Tiberius Claudius Balbilus | military tribune | c. 43 | Britannica | |
| Marcus Accenna Helvius Agrippa[21] | tribunus laticlavius | 2nd century | Britannica | CILII, 1262 |
| Lucius Aemilius Naso Fabullinus[21] | tribunus laticlavus | 2nd century | Britannica | CILVI, 29683CILVI, 29684 |
| Marcus Caelius Flavius Proculus[22] | tribunus laticlavus | 2nd century | Britannica | CILXI, 3883 |
Legio XXValeria Victrix and their final days in Deva (Chester) in the early AD 400s form the backdrop to the Tom Stevensmythic fiction genre novelThe Cauldron (special edition)[23] 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.[24] The movieVictrix! The Valiant of Albion is in production and features an adaptation of Stevens' novel.
Legio XXValeria Victrix was the legion featured in the novelEagle in the Snow; authorWallace Breem postulates that they were annihilated by the Germanic invasion of 406.
Several of the main characters in the early novels ofJack Whyte'sA Dream of Eagles series were former members of Legio XXValeria Victrix.
Gaius Petreius Ruso, protagonist ofMedicus byRuth Downie, is a military doctor in Britannia attached to Legio XX.
Legio XXValeria Victrix lends its name to the character Valeria Matuchek inPoul Anderson'sOperation Chaos and its sequelOperation 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 ofStephen Vincent Benét's short story "The Last of the Legions" is the senior centurion of theValeria Victrix, who recounts the events and the impressions of soldiers and populace surrounding the departure of the legion from Britain.
Legion Company of theU.S. Army's 1st battalion,503rd Infantry Regiment,173rd Airborne Brigade stationed inVicenza,Italy 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 seriesSoldier of Rome: The Artorian Chronicles by James Mace.
Legio XX Valeria Victrix is mentioned in SirArthur Conan Doyle’s short story "Through the Veil".
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