14 Nero's 14th 'Mars' Victorious' Legion T-Shirt
This Legion was one of the most blooded of any Roman Legion throughout its 400-year existence. It was originally raised by Julius Caesar in Gaul in 57 BC, during his Gallic Campaigns, just before he attacked the Belgians. In 54, the Legion was destroyed fighting the Gallic King Ambiorix and the Euburones. Having reinforcements sent, Caesar immediately reconstituted the Legion - the first time in Roman history that an annihilated Legion had been instantly re-formed. By the time of the Siege of Alesia in 52, the Legion had again been serving with distinction. After serving throughout the Civil War with Pompey - including fighting at the Battles of Ilerda and Pharsalus - the Legion was given their pensions in Italy in 48, although it would again serve under Caesar in Africa. In 41, Caesar's heir, Octavian, reconstituted the Legion, using it to defeat the rebel pirate Sextus Pompeius. After the decisive Battle of Actium in 31, Octavian became Emperor Augustus, and the Legion was reinforced with disbanded troops from Marc Antony's Legions, which is when it earned its 'Twin' title. In 6 AD, it fought under Tiberius against the Marcomanni. After the Teutoburg Forest disaster in 9, it was sent to Germania Superior. In 21, units of the Legion suppressed the rebellion of the Turoni in Gaul. It later served during Caligula's Germanic War, and accompanied that Emperor to Britain in 43, where over the next decade it was sent against numerous Northern and Welsh tribes. When the native Queen Boudicca revolted in 60, the Legion fought so valiantly - part of a victorious Roman Army that had been outnumbered 23 to 1 - that it was rewarded the honorific title 'Martia Victrix' (Victorious, and Blessed by Mars). Emperor Nero called the Legion the Conqueror of Britain. In 70, it helped suppress the Batavian revolt, and then made an epic march through the country of the Nervians to fight in the decisive Battle at Xanten. In the years to come, the Legion fought in every campaign that took place along the eastern bank of the Rhine. Under Nerva, it fought against the Suebes and Sarmatians, and against the Dacians under Trajan. After Trajan's conquest of the Dacians, the Legion would be based at Carnuntum on the Danube, east of Vienna. It would remain there for more than three centuries, continuing to take part in numerous campaigns. 'Gemina Martia Victrix' - Twin, Victorious, and Blessed by Mars. Its emblem was the capricorn.
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