Legio I Minervia

Legio I Minervia was a Roman legion levied by emperor Domitian in 82 AD, for the campaign against the Germanic tribe of the Chatti. The name is related to the goddess Minerva, the legion's protector. There are still records of the I Minervia in the Rhine border in the middle of the 4th century AD. The legion's emblem is an image of goddess Minerva.

Legio I Minervia first, and main, camp was in the city of Bonn, in the province of Germania Inferior. In 89, they suppressed a revolt of the governor of Germania Superior. Due to this, Domitian gave them the cognomen Pia Fidelis Domitiana (loyal and faithful to Domitian) to acknowledge their support.

Between 101 and 106 AD, the legion fought the Dacian Wars of emperor Trajan, commanded by Hadrian, the future emperor. The emblem with Minerva figure appears on the column of Trajan in Rome, along with symbols of other legions. After this war I Minervia returned to its home city of Bonn. Together with Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix, stationed close by in Xanten, they worked in numerous military and building activities, even extracting stone from quarries.

Although it belonged to the Germanic army and Bonn was its camp, the legion (or subunits of it) was allocated in different parts of the Empire:

• 162-166 war against the Parthian Empire, commanded by emperor Lucius Verus
• 166-175 and 178-180 war against the Marcomanni, commanded by emperor Marcus Aurelius
• 173 campaign against the Chauci of Gallia Belgica, commanded by governor Didius Julianus

198-211 garrison of the city of Lyon, capital of Gallia

During the civil wars of the late 2nd and 3rd century, Legio I Minervia supported the following emperors (each of them gave them the indicated titles, dropped out after their fall):

• Septimius Severus
• Heliogabalus (Antoniniana)
• Severus Alexander (Severiana Alexandriana)
• The Gallic Empire, that existed between 260 and 274

Around 353, Bonn was destroyed by the Franks, and Legio I Minervia disappears from the sources. However, there is no reference to its destruction.

See also: List of Roman legions, Roman legion

External link

livius.org account for Legio I Minervia