| Unit Name: | Legio XIII Gemina |
| Dates: | 57 BC to sometime in the 5th century |
| Country: | Roman Republic and Roman Empire |
| Type: | Roman legion (Caesarian) |
| Role: | Infantry assault (some cavalry support) |
| Size: | Varied over unit lifetime. Approx. 3,500 fighting men + support at the time of creation. Expanded and given the cognomen Gemina in 31 BC. |
| Garrison: | Burnum, Illyricum (1st century BC) Emona, Italia (1st century) Augusta Vindelica, Germania Superior Poetovio, Pannonia (1st century) Roman Dacia (106 – c. 270) Dacia Aureliana (since 270) Babylon in Egypt (400s) |
| Nickname: | Gemina, "The twin" (since 31 BC) Pia Fidelis, "Faithful and loyal"[1] |
| Motto: | Leo Rugit Rursum (The Lion Roars Again) |
| Mascot: | Lion |
| Battles: | Gallic Wars (58–51 BC) Battle against the Nervians (57 BC) Battle of Gergovia (52 BC) Battle of Alesia (52 BC)–uncertain Siege of Corfinium (49 BC) Battle of Dyrrhachium (48 BC) Battle of Pharsalus (48 BC) Battle of Thapsus (46 BC) Battle of Munda (45 BC) Battle of Actium (31 BC) 1st and 2nd Battle of Bedriacum (69) Dacian Wars (101–102,105–106) Vexillationes of the 13th participated in many other campaigns. |
| Notable Commanders: | Julius Caesar, Marcus Salvius Otho, Marcus Antonius Primus |
Latin: Legio XIII Gemina, in English the 13th Twin(s) Legion (either "Female Twin" or "Neuter Twins"); was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was one of Julius Caesar's key units in Gaul and in the civil war, and was the legion with which he crossed the Rubicon in January, perhaps the 10th, 49 BC. The legion appears to have still been in existence in the 5th century AD. Its symbol was the lion.
Legio XIII was levied by Julius Caesar in 57 BC, before marching against the Belgae, in one of his early interventions in intra-Gallic conflicts. During the Gallic Wars (58–51 BC), Legio XIII was present at the Battle against the Nervians, the Siege of Gergovia, and while not specifically mentioned in the sources, it is reasonable to assume that Legio XIII was also present for the Battle of Alesia.
After the end of the Gallic wars, the Roman Senate refused Caesar his second consulship, ordered him to give up his commands, and demanded he return to Rome to face prosecution. Forced to choose either the end of his political career or civil war, Caesar brought Legio XIII across the Rubicon river and into Italy. The legion remained faithful to Caesar during the resulting civil war between Caesar and the conservative Optimates faction of the senate, whose legions were commanded by Pompey. Legio XIII was active throughout the entire war, fighting at Dyrrhachium (48 BC) and Pharsalus (48 BC). After the decisive victory over Pompey at Pharsalus, the legion was to be disbanded, and the legionaries "pensioned off" with the traditional land grants; however, the legion was recalled for the Battle of Thapsus (46 BC) and the final Battle of Munda (45 BC). After Munda, Caesar disbanded the legion, retired his veterans, and gave them farmland in their native Italy.
Augustus reconstituted the legion once again in 41 BC to deal with the rebellion of Sextus Pompeius (son of Pompey) in Sicily.
Legio XIII acquired the cognomen Gemina ("twin", a common appellation for legions constituted from portions of others) after being reinforced with veteran legionaries from other legions following the war against Mark Antony and the Battle of Actium.[2] Augustus then sent the legion to Burnum (modern Knin), in Illyricum, a Roman province in the Adriatic Sea.
In 16 BC, the legion was transferred to Emona (now Ljubljana) in Pannonia, where it dealt with local rebellions.
After the disaster of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9, the legion was sent as reinforcements to Augusta Vindelicorum (Augsburg), and then to Vindonissa, Raetia, to prevent further attacks from the Germanic tribes.
Emperor Claudius sent them back to Pannonia around 45 and the legion built its legionary fortress at Poetovium (modern Ptuj, Slovenia).
In the year of the four emperors (69), XIII Gemina supported first Otho and then Vespasian against Vitellius, fighting in the two Battles of Bedriacum. After their defeat in the first battle, the victorious Vitellius forced the legion to build an amphitheatre in the city of Bononia.[3]
Under Trajan the legion took part in both Dacian wars (101–102, 105–106), and it was transferred by Trajan in 106 to the newly conquered province of Dacia (in Apulum, modern Alba Iulia, Romania) to garrison it.
Vexillationes of the XIII Gemina fought under Emperor Gallienus in northern Italy. The emperor issued a legionary antoninianus celebrating the legion, and showing the legion's lion (259–260).[4] Another vexillatio was present in the army of the emperor of the Gallic Empire Victorinus: this emperor, in fact, issued a gold coin celebrating the legion and its emblem.[5]
In 271, the legion was relocated when the Dacia province was evacuated, and restationed in Dacia Aureliana.
In the 5th century, according to the Notitia Dignitatum, a legio tertiadecima gemina was in Babylon in Egypt, a strategic fortress on the Nile at the traditional border between Lower Egypt and Middle Egypt, under the command of the Comes limitis Aegypti.[6]
| Name | Rank | Time frame | Province | Soldier located in | Veteran located in | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurelius Rufinus [7] | beneficiarius | 2nd – 3rd century AD | Dacia | Samum | |||
| M. Valerius Valentinus | beneficiarius | 2nd – 3rd century AD | Dacia | Samum | - | ||
| Valerius Vibius Valerianus | beneficiarius | 2nd – 3rd century AD | Dacia | Samum | - | ||
| Ulpius Bacchius | centurion | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| L. Valerius Rufus | decurio | after 222 AD | ? | ? | Sarmizegetusa Ulpia Traiana, Dacia | ||
| Vedius Aquila | legatus | 69 | Tacitus, Histories, III.7 | ||||
| Aelius Vitalis [8] | duplarius | 3rd century AD | Dacia | Apulum | Antiochia ad Taurum, Syria? | ||
| Aurelius Valerianus | duplarius | 3rd century AD | Dacia | Apulum | Antiochia ad Taurum, Syria? | ||
| Aulus Julius Pompilius Piso[9] | legatus | c. 173 | = ILS 1111 | ||||
| Marcus Valerius Maximianus[10] | legatus | c. 182 | |||||
| Gaius Caerellius Sabinus | legatus | c. 183 - c. 185 | |||||
| Proculus | legatus | between 185 and 191 | |||||
| Tiberius Manilius Fuscus | legatus | 191-c. 193 | |||||
| Aulus Terentius Pudens Uttedianus[11] | legatus | between 198 and 209 | = ILS 3923 | ||||
| Quintus Marcius Victor Felix Maximillianus | legatus | reign of Septimius Severus | |||||
| Lucius Annius Italicus Honoratus | legatus | reign of Caracalla | , | ||||
| Rufrius Sulpicianus | legatus | reign of Caracalla or Elagabalus | = ILS 3867 | ||||
| Quintus Servaeus Fuscus Cornelianus | legatus | c. 225 | = ILS 8978 = ILTun 33 | ||||
| Marcus Valerius Longinus | legatus | reign of Alexander Severus | , | ||||
| Gaius Rutilius Gallicus | military tribune | c. 52 | |||||
| L. Maecius L.f. Postumus | military tribune | c. 72 | |||||
| C. Caelius C.f. Martialis | military tribune | before 106 | |||||
| Sextus Julius Severus | military tribune | before 110 | = ILS 1056 | ||||
| Aulus Junius Pastor | military tribune | c. 149 | |||||
| Aulus Julius Pompilius Piso | military tribune | c. 165 | = ILS 1111 | ||||
| Quintus Hedius Lollianus Plautius Avitus[12] | military tribune | c. 192 | Dacia | = ILS 1149 | |||
| Publius Catius Sabinus | military tribune | before 206 | Dacia | ||||
| C. Cassio C. f. Volt[inia] [13] | military tribune | ? | ? | ? | - | ? | |
| Caius | speculator | 2nd – 3rd century AD | Dacia | Apulum | - |
| |
| Cocceius | speculator | 2nd – 3rd century AD | Dacia | Apulum | - |
| |
| C. Iulius Valerius [14] | ? | 222 – 235 AD | Dacia ? | ? | Sarmizegetusa Ulpia Traiana, Dacia | ||
| Lucius Dasumius Priscus | ? | 2nd century AD | ? | ? | Sarmizegetusa Ulpia Traiana, Dacia | ||
| Lucius Furius | ? | 1st century AD | Gallia Aquitania | Mediolanum Santonum | 60px | ||
| Lucius Autius | ? | 1st century AD | Gallia Aquitania | Mediolanum Santonum | 60px | ||
| Marcus Aurelius Timoni [15] | ? | 2nd - 3rd century AD | Dacia ? | Castra of Sânnicolau Mare ? | Castra of Sânnicolau Mare, Dacia | IDR III/1, 274 | |
| M[arcus] Ulp[ius] | ? | 2nd – 3rd century AD | Dacia | ? | Apulum | IDR III/5, 180 | |
| P. Aelius Valerianus [16] | speculator | 2nd - 3rd century AD | Dacia | Apulum | - | IDR III/5, 721 | |
| Publius Urvinus | ? | ? | Raetia | Augusta Vindelicorum ? | - | ||
| Q. Julius Secundinus | ? | 2nd century AD | Dacia ? | ? | Sarmizegetusa Ulpia Traiana, Dacia | ||
| Statius Alexander | speculator | 2nd – 3rd century AD | Dacia | Apulum | - | Apulum 40, 2007, 176–177 | |
| Ulpius Proculinus | speculator | Gordian's reign | Dacia | Apulum | - |
|
Golfer Jon Rahm called his LIV Golf team Legion XIII after the Legio XIII Gemina.[17]