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111-528: The origin of the Legion's name is unclear and there are various theories, but the legion may have gained its title Valeria Victrix from a victory it achieved during the Great Illyrian revolt under the command of the general Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus . The legion had a boar as its emblem . The legion was probably founded shortly after 31 BC by the emperor Augustus . XX Valeria victrix

222-448: A monastery and was a monk at the time his father rebelled, but he was summoned to the new imperial court. Constantine appointed him to the position of caesar  – a senior, formal position that also recognised him as heir apparent  – and gave him the imperial-sounding name of Constans . He was swiftly married so a dynasty could be founded. Early in 408 he was sent with Gerontius into Hispania. Hispania

333-526: A Caesarian, repulsed Quintus Octavius, a Pompeian. The Dalmatians routed Aulus Gabinius , a Caesarian who had been ordered by Caesar to join Cornificius in Illyricum. The Dalmatians later asked Caesar for a pardon. Caesar demanded a tribute and hostages as compensation, which was standard practice, and sent Publius Vatinius with three legions to enforce this. After Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC,

444-598: A Pictish invasion without external support. This is the last recorded Roman military campaign in Britain. Stilicho sent funds to strengthen the defences along Hadrian's Wall and the coastal defences at about the same time. In 401 or 402 Stilicho needed military manpower for wars with the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths and so stripped Hadrian's Wall of troops. The year 402 is the last date from which Roman coinage

555-475: A bad winter probably also played a part. The Pannonians laid down their arms at the River Bathinus . Bato was captured and Pinnes surrendered. In AD 9, the war was restricted to Dalmatia. Velleius Paterculus wrote that Augustus gave the chief command of all Roman forces to Marcus Aemilius Lepidus . In the summer, Lepidus made his way to Tiberius through areas which had not been affected by the war, and

666-511: A campaign against the tribes, conquered the Breuci, and won over the others without a battle. Bato the Daesitiate subsequently withdrew from Pannonia, occupied the passes leading to Dalmatia, and ravaged the lands beyond. In Pannonia there was some brigandage. Velleius Paterculus wrote that the harsh winter brought rewards because in the following summer all of Pannonia sought peace. Therefore,

777-530: A contributory factor. According to Dio, Bato the Breucian overthrew Pinnes , the king of the Breuci. He became suspicious of his subject tribes and demanded hostages from the Pannonian garrisons. Bato the Daesitiate defeated him in battle and pinned him in a stronghold. He was handed over to Bato the Daesitiate and was executed. After this many Pannonians broke with the rebels. Marcus Plautius Silvanus conducted

888-466: A corresponding force of auxiliaries, amid great difficulties of every kind and the utmost scarcity of supplies." Suetonius' claim about fifteen legions is known to be incorrect. At one point there were ten legions assembled in Illyricum, but five of them were sent back because this would have created an oversized army. On three occasions the three legions from the Roman province of Moesia were involved in

999-542: A defensive position in the natural fortifications. In Velleius Paterculus’ version, the second rebel force confronted the legions which Caecina Severus and Marcus Plautius Silvanus were bringing to Illyricum (from Moesia and the Roman province of Asia , three and two legions respectively). They surrounded the five legions, their auxiliary troops, and the Thracian cavalry and almost inflicted a fatal defeat. The Thracian cavalry

1110-575: A few references by other authors, though there is no information about the causes. The Roman sources had little interest in events in Illyria from the campaigns of Augustus in 35–33 BC to 16 BC. Cassius Dio wrote that in that year the governor of Illyria for 17–16 BC, Publius Silius Nerva , went to fight in the Italian Alps because there were no troops there. Some Pannonians and Noricans entered Istria and pillaged it. Silius Nerva quickly brought

1221-587: A glutton and another considered that his major flaw was being inconstant in his policies. In 406 the approximately 6,000 troops of the Roman field army based in Roman Britain were dissatisfied. They had not been paid for several years, a large contingent had left to fight on the continent four years earlier and had not returned, the coastal defences had been dismantled to form the new field army and their commander had been replaced. They revolted and determined to choose their own leader. Their first choice

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1332-563: A large deployment of Roman forces in the province, with whole armies operating across the western Balkans and fighting on more than one front. In AD 8, the Breuci of the Sava valley surrendered, but it took a winter blockade and another season of fighting before the surrender in Dalmatia in AD 9. The Roman historian Suetonius described the uprising as the most difficult conflict faced by Rome since

1443-461: A last stand. The Dalmatians marched on Salona (in Dalmatia, on the Adriatic coast) but there Bato was defeated and wounded. He sent other men forward who ravaged the coast down to Apollonia . They were defeated in one battle, but won another. Tiberius came from Germania, fearing an invasion of Italy, and sent Valerius Messallinus ahead. Even though Bato was not well, he engaged Tiberius. Tiberius

1554-518: A name he probably adopted because he thought it was that of Constantine the Great, when in fact it was that of his son, Constantine II . The style and legends of these early coins were also copied from those of Constantine II. Rebellion in Roman Britain was not unusual, a contemporary described it as a "province rich in usurpers ". It was on the periphery of the Empire and there was a common view that it

1665-415: A new general, Constantius , who arrived at Arles while Gerontius was outside the city. Much of Gerontius's army deserted to Constantius, who took over the siege. A force attempting to relieve Constantine was ambushed. Constantine abdicated , took holy orders and – promised his life – surrendered. Constantius had lied: Constantine was killed and his head presented to Honorius on

1776-582: A pass and was reinforced. Constans established himself at Saragossa and rebuilt the civilian administration. Gerontius took the army and decisively defeated Honorius's supporters at a battle in Lusitania where Didymus and Verinianus were captured. With Hispania back under Constantine's control Constans left his new wife at Saragossa and returned to Arles to report to his father. Didymus and Verinianus accompanied him and were executed as civilian rebels, which further soured relations with Honorius. By early 408

1887-506: A pole and presented to Emperor Honorius on 18 September. It was later displayed outside Carthage , as was that of Julian. Constantius withdrew in the face of Jovinus's forces. The modern historian Peter Heather describes the Roman Army of Gaul as emerging from Constantine's wars "in tatters". In 413 a Visigoth army under Athaulf , who was now allied with Honorius, suppressed Jovinus's revolt. Constantius took over Stilicho's role as

1998-604: A pole. Following the death of the Roman emperor Theodosius I in 395 the Roman Empire was divided between his two sons: Arcadius became emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire and ten-year-old Honorius of the Western . Honorius was underage and the leading general Stilicho became hugely influential and the de facto commander-in-chief of the Roman armies in the west. During this period Roman Britain

2109-502: A sizable veteran contingent who were helpless in this remote area. They seized and pillaged Macedonia, creating general panic in Rome. Augustus , also alarmed, ordered a general levy, and recalled veterans. Rich families were ordered to supply freedmen in proportion to their income, which had not been done since the aftermath of the Battle of Cannae two centuries earlier. Augustus warned that

2220-543: A successful invasion of the Western Roman Empire. Hearing of the Germanic invasion the Roman military in Britain was desperate for some sense of security in a world that seemed to be rapidly falling apart. They next chose as their leader a man named after the famed emperor of the early fourth century, Constantine the Great , who had himself risen to power through a military coup in Britain. This Constantine

2331-519: Is a military doctor in Britannia attached to Legio XX. 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 first person narrator of Stephen Vincent Benét 's short story "The Last of

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2442-662: Is found in large quantities in Britain, suggesting the Empire was no longer paying the troops who remained. Meanwhile, the Picts, Saxons and Scoti continued their raids, which may have increased in scope. In 405 the Irish king Niall of the Nine Hostages is described as having raided along the southern coast of Britain. Both the Eastern and Western Empires were suffering from incursions of large groups from Germanic tribes , whom

2553-693: Is possible that the plan was for the Visigoths to accompany this force as military allies. On 1 May, the emperor of the Eastern Empire, Arcadius, died, leaving a seven-year-old heir, Theodosius II . A disagreement arose between Stilicho and Honorius, who each wished to travel to Constantinople  – the capital of the Eastern Empire ;– to represent the Western Empire's interests. Stilicho got his way: He

2664-569: Is sometimes described as having been fought by the Daesitiatae and the Breuci only, Cassius Dio identified the forces led by Bato the Daesitiate as Dalmatian, indicating a broader composition. According to Velleius Paterculus, the population of the tribes which rebelled was more than 800,000, and they fielded 200,000 infantry and 9,000 cavalry. Modern scholars cannot be certain of how trustworthy this information is, as ancient historians tended to exaggerate figures. Velleius Paterculus also wrote that

2775-458: Is unclear how the war in Illyricum caused famine in Italy. Augustus sent Tiberius back to Dalmatia. Tiberius split the army into three divisions to avoid a mutiny. He put Marcus Plautius Silvanus and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in charge of two of them and led the third against Bato, taking Germanicus with him. The other two divisions easily defeated their enemies. Tiberius chased the fugitive Bato around

2886-532: The Battle of Faesulae ; 12,000 prisoners joined the Roman army and so many captives were sold that the market in slaves collapsed. The Western Empire's problems with barbarian intruders were far from over, however. Little is known of Constantine before he was declared emperor. His date and place of birth are unknown, as is his marital status. He had two sons, although their names prior to being given more regal-sounding ones are likewise unknown. Regarding his personal habits, one fifth-century historian described him as

2997-563: The Britannic Empire under Carausius and Allectus in the 280s and 290s, the XX Valeria Victrix was still active. No further information is known after this period and scholars believe Legio XX was still stationed in Britain when Constantine 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

3108-522: The Channel at Bononia (modern Boulogne), taking with him all of the 6,000 or so mobile troops left in Britain and their commander , the general Gerontius . This denuded Roman Britain of front-line military protection and explains the disappearance of the legions in the early fifth century. Constantine travelled to Lyon , where he set up his headquarters and commenced minting coins in his own name. The Roman Army of Gaul declared for him, followed by

3219-743: The Odrysian Kingdom in Thrace , an ally of the Romans) which had been sent ahead against them by Caecina Severus, the governor of Moesia. They then fought hard against Severus, who later went back to Moesia because the Dacians and Sarmatians had crossed the Danube and were ravaging it. Tiberius and Valerius Messallinus lingered in Siscia ( Sisak , in present-day central Croatia , the headquarters of

3330-793: The Punic Wars two centuries earlier. Bato the Breucian betrayed Pinnes which later became the Ruler of the Breucians by the Romans. Illyricum had seen some fighting during the Great Roman Civil War between Julius Caesar and the forces of the Senate led by Pompey several decades earlier. The Romans who lived in some of the coastal towns supported Caesar, while the native peoples largely supported Pompey. Quintus Cornificius,

3441-784: The Western Roman Empire , Honorius , sent an army under Sarus the Goth to expel Constantine's forces. After initial victories, Sarus was repulsed. In Hispania, Honorius's relatives rose and expelled Constantine's administration. An army under the general Gerontius was sent to deal with this and Constantine's authority was re-established. In early 409 Honorius recognised Constantine as co-emperor. Constantine in turn raised his own oldest son to co-emperor as Constans II . In 409 Gerontius rebelled, proclaimed his client Maximus emperor and incited barbarian groups in Gaul to rise up. Constans

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3552-407: The year of the four emperors , the legion sided with Vitellius . Some units went with him to Rome . In AD 78–84, the legion was part of Gnaeus Julius Agricola 's campaigns in northern Britannia and Caledonia, and built the base at Inchtuthill . 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

3663-594: The "Dark Ages" settle on Britannia. The movie Victrix! The Valiant of Albion is in production and features an adaptation of Stevens' novel. Legio XX Valeria Victrix was the legion featured in the novel Eagle in the Snow ; author Wallace Breem postulates that they were annihilated by the Germanic invasion of 406. 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 . Gaius Petreius Ruso, protagonist of Medicus by Ruth Downie ,

3774-720: The Alps against the Rhaeti and Vindelici . In 13 BC, Augustus gave Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa , his most important ally, the supreme command in Illyricum. Agrippa found a negotiated solution; however, he died suddenly and the treaty was ignored. Command was then given to Tiberius , who finally defeated the Illyrians. Roman military operations in Illyricum might have started by the time of Marcus Vinicius ' governorship in 14–13 BC. The Pannonian War led to Illyricum being redesignated an imperial province. The Great Illyrian Revolt of AD 6–9

3885-502: The Alps and headed south through Italy, devastating the countryside. He camped his army outside Rome and demanded a huge ransom. Late in 408 Constantine sent an embassy to Ravenna. Needing to placate him, Honorius acknowledged him as co-emperor and sent a purple robe as formal recognition. The pair were joint consuls in 409. At around this time, Constantine raised Constans to the position of co-emperor, theoretically equal in rank to Honorius or Theodosius, as well as to Constantine. With

3996-459: The Bagaudae of Armorica (modern Brittany) also expelled Constantine's officials and declared independence. Constantine sent a further embassy to Ravenna, which achieved little, but Constantine's emissary, Jovius, did suborn one of Honorius's senior generals, Allobich. In spring 410 Constantine led an army into northern Italy. It is possible that he claimed he intended to assist Honorius against

4107-400: The Breucian , their army commander, and Pinnes , their king. The primary sources of this information are Cassius Dio and Velleius Paterculus . The latter participated in the war but supplied limited information. Suetonius also gave a description of the war: "the most serious of all foreign wars since those with Carthage, which [Tiberius] carried on for three years with fifteen legions and

4218-668: The Breucian . Many other tribes in Illyria also joined the revolt. The Romans referred to the conflict as Bellum Batonianum ("Batonian War") after these two leaders with the same name; Velleius Paterculus called it the Pannonian and Dalmatian War because it involved both regions of Illyricum, and in English it has also been called the Great Illyrian Revolt , Pannonian–Dalmatian uprising , and Bato uprising . The four-year war lasted from AD 6 to AD 9 and witnessed

4329-507: The Daesitiate went east to the other Bato and made an alliance with him. This contrasts with the picture given by Velleius Paterculus, in which the rebellion seemed to have a plan and the Dalmatians and the Breuci seemed to have acted in concert from the beginning. In Dio's account the two Batos occupied Mount Alma (Mount Fruška Gora , Serbia, just north of Sirmium); here they were defeated by the Thracian cavalry of Rhoemetalces (the king of

4440-686: The Dalmatian cities of Sunodium and Setovia . He then moved upon the Derbani, who sued for peace. He also destroyed the settlements on the islands of Melite ( Mljet ) and Melaina Corcyra ( Korčula ), and deprived the Liburnians of their ships, because all were involved in piracy. Octavian's lieutenants conducted various other operations in the region. Octavian temporarily restored Roman authority in Dalmatia and pushed into southern Pannonia, which had never before been reached by Roman armies. In 27 BC,

4551-555: The Dalmatians ignored these demands and routed five of Vatinius' cohorts . With the disruptions caused by further Roman civil wars in the years following, Dalmatian piracy in the Adriatic Sea became a problem again. In 35 BC, the Iapydes , the northernmost tribe of Dalmatia, carried out raids into northeastern Italy. They attacked Aquileia , and plundered Tergestus ( Trieste ). From 35 to 33 BC Octavian (who would soon become

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4662-447: The Dalmatians lined up outside the wall at the top of the slope and hurled stones at them, separating the Romans further. Tiberius prevented his men from retreating by continuously sending reinforcements. He sent a detachment to a point where the place could be ascended via a long route. Once it had been taken, the enemy could not enter the fortress and fled. They were later found hiding in the forest and were killed. Tiberius then negotiated

4773-548: The Eastern Roman Empire and allied to a large force of Visigoths under Alaric . The relationship with the Visigoths was shaky – they were demanding land or money for their services. An agreement was reached for a joint West Roman-Visigoth army to threaten the Eastern Empire to extort land from it which would then be given to the Visigoths. This manoeuvre was supposed to commence in May or June 407. By then

4884-648: 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. Legion Company of the U.S. Army 's 1st battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment , 173rd Airborne Brigade stationed in Vicenza , 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

4995-424: The Roman army). The Dalmatians overran the territory of the Roman allies and drew many more tribes into the revolt. Tiberius marched on them, but they avoided pitched battles and kept moving around, causing great devastation. In the winter the rebels invaded Macedonia again. Cassius Dio wrote that they did so again even though he had not mentioned a previous invasion of Macedonia. Modern scholars know about this through

5106-638: The Roman force sent against him, more rebels joined him. Then the Breuci, the largest tribe in southern Pannonia, led by a commander also named Bato , marched on Sirmium . Aulus Caecina Severus , the governor of the neighbouring province of Moesia (in modern Serbia, south of the River Sava and west of the River Danube ) quickly advanced against them and defeated them near the River Dravus ( Drava ), but suffered many casualties. Hoping to renew

5217-851: The Romans judged military worthiness), Tiberius' counter-insurgency campaign and its accompanying scorched earth strategy turned out to be effective. After the aforementioned battle, Aulus Caecina Severus and Marcus Plautius Silvanus joined Tiberius and a huge army was assembled. Velleius Paterculus reported that they brought five legions (three from Moesia and two from the province of Asia, respectively). Tiberius had five legions (three in Pannonia and two in Dalmatia). The legions were not at full strength as Velleius Paterculus mentioned that there were seventy cohorts (ten legions at full complement would have had 100 cohorts ). There were fourteen troops of cavalry, as well as 10,000 reservists, many volunteers, and

5328-535: The Romans referred to generically as " barbarians ". In 406 a group of Alans and Goths led by Radagaisus invaded Italy. The group included women and children and is estimated to have been 90,000–100,000 strong, of whom more than 20,000 were fighting men. For six months they devastated northern Italy, capturing and sacking several cities. After concentrating his forces, Stilicho caught the Goths while they were besieging Florentia (modern Florence ) and defeated them at

5439-544: The Romans, given that they had previously served in Roman-trained auxiliary military units. However, they did not have a regular army and relied largely upon guerrilla tactics, avoiding pitched battles. There were only three major battles in the area of Sirmium ( Sremska Mitrovica , in modern Serbia ), in nearby northern Moesia, and a number of minor battles in Dalmatia. Much of the Roman war effort instead involved counter-insurgency operations. In AD 6, Tiberius

5550-499: The Thracian cavalry. There had not been such a large army gathered in a single location since the time of the Roman civil wars. Tiberius decided to escort the newly arrived armies back because the army was too large to be manageable. He then returned to Siscia at the beginning of a very hard winter. In AD 8, the Dalmatians and the Pannonians, ravaged by famine and disease, wanted to sue for peace but were prevented from doing so by

5661-495: The Vandals and their allies had broken into Gaul, where Constantine had control of the army and was claiming the imperial throne. Sending a large Western Roman force to the east would have left Italy open to invasion by one or both of these groups and so the offensive was cancelled. Instead a small army led by Sarus the Goth was sent west to put down Constantine's revolt while Stilicho's main army waited on events. Sarus defeated

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5772-407: The Visigoths deep in Italy and unopposed, Olympius's influence ended and a new chief minister, Jovius , entered into peace negotiations but Honorius continued to refuse to reach an agreement with Alaric. The Visigoths in retaliation continued to roam across Italy and extort vast sums from the city of Rome. Alaric elevated his own emperor, the senator Priscus Attalus , to no avail. On 24 August 410

5883-401: The Visigoths entered Rome and pillaged the city for three days. In spring or summer 409 Apollinaris was replaced as praetorian prefect by Decimus Rusticus and Constans was sent back to Hispania. Either before Constans left Arles or while he was travelling Gerontius rebelled, proclaiming his client Maximus as emperor. Maximus was an important figure in his own right, but it was clear he

5994-510: The Visigoths were running out of patience with Stilicho. They moved from Epirus (modern Albania) to Noricum (modern Austria) and demanded a payment of 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg) of gold on pain of their invading Italy. Honorius and the Roman Senate were prepared to resist, but Stilicho persuaded them to approve the payment to allow him to concentrate on the situation in Gaul. He had assembled an army at Ticinum with which to do this. It

6105-459: The Visigoths. It is also likely he was counting on support from Allobich. When he reached the River Po he heard, wrongly, that Allobich was dead, which caused him to abandon his mission and withdraw to Arles. Meanwhile, Constans, with an army commanded by a general named Justus, attempted to subdue Gerontius. He failed, although no details are known, and returned to Arles in spring 410. At about

6216-509: The army commanded by Justinianus in a pitched battle , killing Justinianus. Constantine personally moved against Sarus, but was besieged in Valence . Nebiogastes attempted to negotiate and was killed by Sarus. Another army, led by Gerontius and Edobichus and largely made up of freshly recruited Franks and Almannics , arrived to relieve Valence after a week of siege. Sarus was forced to retreat into Italy. Central control had deteriorated to

6327-430: The citadel, most of them dying in the trap. The people in the citadel had to escape to subterranean chambers in the night. Germanicus then seized Seretium and then the other places fell easily. However, other Dalmatians revolted. Cassius Dio also wrote that there was famine in Italy largely due to the war. However, most of the grain was imported from Egypt , the province of Africa , Sicily , and Sardinia . Therefore, it

6438-838: The civilian administration in Hispania (modern Spain and Portugal). The central Roman authorities did not respond to the Germanic invasion, and Constantine's forces got the better of at least one confrontation with the Vandals. Constantine also negotiated agreements with the Germanic groupings of the Franks , Alamanni and the Burgundians , thus securing the line of the Rhine. The main Vandal force and their allies moved into northern Gaul (modern Belgium). The Western Roman emperor, Honorius, and his commander-in-chief Stilicho were in conflict with

6549-498: The country as possible at once. In Dio's opinion, at this time they did not accomplish anything worthy of note, except for Germanicus defeating the Mazaei, a Dalmatian tribe. In an earlier passage he noted that in this year the country was ravaged and that the rebels did not defend it. They withdrew to mountain fortresses from which they launched raids whenever they could. Therefore, even though there were no spectacular battles (by which

6660-434: The country, and finally besieged him at Adetrium, near Salona. This was on a rock and was surrounded by steep ravines. Tiberius held on until Bato was forced to seek terms. However, Bato could not persuade his comrades to accept a truce. Tiberius advanced against the fortress, keeping part of his force in reserve and sending the rest forward in a square formation. The rugged terrain stretched the advancing troops. On seeing this,

6771-429: The emperor Augustus) undertook military campaigns in the region. He defeated the Iapydes and then pushed into southern Pannonia, where he seized the city of Segesta (which later, as a Roman town, was called Siscia ). He then turned on the Dalmatians and captured Promona (to the northeast of modern Drniš , Croatia ) on the coast, the main city of the Liburnians, which had been seized by the Dalmatians. After that he took

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6882-403: The events can be found in: Constantine III (usurper) Constantine III ( Latin : Flavius Claudius Constantinus ; died shortly before 18 September 411) was a common Roman soldier who was declared emperor in Roman Britain in 407 and established himself in Gaul . He was recognised as co-emperor of the Roman Empire from 409 until 411. Constantine rose to power from within

6993-416: The extent that Sarus needed to buy his passage through the Alpine passes from the brigand Bagaudae , who controlled them. With this success Constantine established control over most of Gaul and the Alpine passes into Italy. By May 408 Constantine had captured Arles and made it his capital, taking over the existing imperial administration and officials, and appointing Apollinaris as chief minister (with

7104-500: The field army of Roman Britain and was acclaimed emperor in early 407. He promptly moved to Gaul (modern France), taking all of the mobile troops from Britain, with their commander Gerontius , to confront bands of Germanic invaders who had crossed the Rhine the previous winter. With a mixture of fighting and diplomacy Constantine stabilised the situation and established control over Gaul and Hispania (modern Spain and Portugal), establishing his capital at Arles . The sitting emperor of

7215-416: The fighting and on one occasion two legions from the Roman province of Asia were also involved. Through most of the war it was the five legions stationed in Illyricum (three in Pannonia and two in Dalmatia) which were engaged in this war, which covered a very large area. In addition, there were irregular emergency units levied in Italy. The rebels had an efficient military organisation which paralleled that of

7326-476: The first settlement between Octavian and the Roman Senate formalised Octavian's absolute rule, bestowing the title of Augustus on him and making him the first Roman emperor . It also made arrangements about the provinces of the empire. Most provinces remained senatorial provinces, whose governors were chosen by the Senate from among the senators, while the frontier provinces became imperial provinces, whose governors were appointed by Augustus. The province of Illyricum

7437-557: The flames or the river below. Cassius Dio did not specify what caused the fire. The nearby towns surrendered voluntarily. Germanicus rejoined Tiberius, and sent Gaius Vibius Postumus to subdue the other districts. Bato promised to surrender if he and his followers would be pardoned. Tiberius agreed and then asked him why his people had rebelled. According to Cassius Dio, he replied: "You Romans are to blame for this; for you send as guardians of your flocks, not dogs or shepherds, but wolves." The Romans, aside from committing atrocities during

7548-463: The horror of the populace. Concentrating on the threat from Constans, Gerontius weakened his garrisons in the Pyrenean passes and in autumn 409 much of the barbarian force entered Hispania. Eventually Gerontius was able to reach a modus operandi with some of these groups whereby they supplied him with military forces, which enabled him to take the offensive against Constantine. From 408 Saxon pirates raided Roman Britain extensively, undeterred by

7659-508: The imposition of Roman rule in Wales. But the legion suffered defeat, resulting in Valens’ replacement as legate In AD 60 or 61 the Twentieth helped put down the revolt of queen Boudica , after outflanking the Ordovices it took part in the second Roman invasion of Anglesey which destroyed the Celtic Druids and their religious practices . In AD 66, the legion was transferred to the much more passive Viroconium ( Wroxeter ). It may also have occupied Gloucester ( Glevum ) at this time. In

7770-447: The knowledge of the large new army assembling at Ticinum (modern Pavia) with the intention of shortly engaging Constantine encouraged them to persist and even to attempt to seal the Pyrenean passes. Constantine feared that Honorius's cousins would organise an attack from that direction while troops under Sarus and Stilicho attacked him from Italy in a pincer manoeuvre . He struck first, at Hispania. Constans and Gerontius's army forced

7881-413: The legion have been identified in surviving inscriptions. 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 (special edition) 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

7992-478: The legion. Although understrength, they managed to defeat the rebels led by Bato of the Daesitiates . In one battle the legion cut through the enemy lines, was surrounded, and cut its way out again. After the disaster of Varus in AD 9, XX Valeria Victrix moved to Germania Inferior and was based at Oppidum Ubiorum , then moved to Novaesium at the site of modern Neuss during Tiberius' reign. The legion

8103-603: The legions involved with the construction of Hadrian's Wall , and the discovery of stone altars commemorating their work in Caledonia suggests that they had some role in building the Antonine Wall . The legion probably went on campaign in 196 under Decimus Clodius Albinus into Gaul , and would have suffered heavy losses in Gaul before returning to Britain. During the Carausian Revolt , which established

8214-936: The main power in the Western Empire and generalissimo . He was broadly able to recover the situation for the central authorities and to enable reconstruction. Gaul was pacified, the rebellion in Armorica was quashed and the area brought back under Roman control, the barbarians in Hispania were in large part subdued and the Visigoths were settled on land in Aquitaine as Roman allies. Roman rule never returned to Britain after Constantine stripped its defences. In 417 Constantius married Honorius's sister, Galla Placidia . On 8 February 421, Honorius made Constantius co-emperor under himself. Constantius reigned only seven months, dying on 2 September. Honorius then ruled alone until his death in 423, whereupon Constantius's son, Valentinian III , assumed

8325-430: The rebels could reach Rome in ten days if drastic action was not taken. He assigned command of the war to Tiberius. The Roman army was organized into several divisions to evade the united forces of the rebels. Outposts were placed to prevent them from breaking through to Rome, as well as to disrupt their supply lines. In Cassius Dio's version, at first, Bato the Daesitiate had very few followers. However, once he defeated

8436-404: The rebels knew Roman military tactics and spoke Latin. The rebels divided their forces into three parts. One was to invade Italy, which was not far from Nauportus (a Roman fort in present-day Slovenia ); one had already entered the Roman province of Macedonia (present-day Greece ); and the third fought in their home territories. They executed their plan swiftly, massacring Roman civilians and

8547-435: The rebels, who had no hope of being spared by the Romans and so continued to resist. Tiberius had pursued a policy of scorched earth to starve the Pannonians. Cassius Dio also noted that there were grain shortages in Rome the previous year and that later in this year the famine abated. It is not known how widespread this famine was and whether it touched other Mediterranean areas, including Dalmatia and Pannonia, and thus had been

8658-508: The same time Constantine returned from his abortive invasion of Italy. Given the difficulties the Visigoths were creating in Italy, Gerontius was considered a greater threat than Honorius. Edobichus was again sent north to raise troops from the Franks while Constans returned to confront Gerontius with a fresh army. Events are again unclear, but it seems likely that Gerontius was simultaneously advancing on Arles. The two armies clashed and Constans

8769-854: The senior officers and officials of the Western Empire. The troops mutinied, slaughtering Stilicho's supporters but respecting the person of the Emperor. Stilicho sought sanctuary, then surrendered and was executed on 22 August. Olympius reversed the policy of making a massive payment to the Visigoths and the native parts of the Army of Italy started slaughtering Goths, especially their fellow soldiers and their wives and children. The latter, living in Italian cities, sometimes overtly as hostages for their husbands' and fathers' good behaviour, were easy targets. Those Goths who could fled north and joined Alaric, greatly increasing his fighting strength. Alaric promptly crossed

8880-616: The situation under control. At the same time there was a small rebellion in Dalmatia. The Dentheletae , together with the Scordisci , who lived in present-day Serbia at the confluence of the Rivers Savus (Sava), Dravus ( Drava ), and Danube , attacked the Roman province of Macedonia . A civil war broke out in Thrace . In 15 BC the Romans conquered the Scordisci and annexed Noricum and conducted other operations in other parts of

8991-589: The six-novel series Soldier of Rome: The Artorian Chronicles by James Mace. Legio XX Valeria Victrix is mentioned in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ’s short story "Through the Veil". Great Illyrian revolt The Bellum Batonianum ( Latin for War of the Batos ) was a military conflict fought in the Roman province of Illyricum in the 1st century CE, in which an alliance of native peoples of

9102-435: The struggle soon because many Romans had fallen, the Breuci called on their allies to join them. Cassius Dio did not specify whether Severus broke a siege of the city or prevented the enemy from reaching it. The Drava was to the northwest of Sirmium and the Romans from Moesia must have come from the east or the south. Thus, if Caecina Severus did break a siege of Sirmium, he would have pursued the retreating Breuci until they made

9213-588: The terms of capitulation. Germanicus turned his attention to the last holdouts in Arduba, a strongly fortified town with a river around its base. Within the town, there was tension between rebel deserters who wanted to carry on the fight and the inhabitants who wanted peace, which eventually developed into violence. The women reportedly helped the deserters because, contrary to their men, they did not want to suffer servitude. The deserters were defeated and surrendered. The women took their children and threw themselves into

9324-550: The throne. Constantine III is also known as Constantine II of Britain. He has been associated with the Constantine found in Geoffrey of Monmouth 's popular and imaginative Historia Regum Britanniae , who comes to power following Gracianus Municeps 's reign. Geoffrey's Constantine, through his son Uther Pendragon , becomes the grandfather of the legendary King Arthur . Other sources explicitly state that Constantine III

9435-454: The title of praetorian prefect ). Heros was installed as a pliant archbishop of Arles in spite of local opposition. Constantine commenced minting large quantities of good quality coins at Arles, possibly using bullion seized from Sarus's loot during his hasty retreat, and made a show of being an equal of both the Western and Eastern Emperors. Constantine's oldest son had entered

9546-466: The totally inadequate force which Constantine had left. The locals organised their own defences, so successfully that they defeated the Saxons in 409. Distressed that Constantine had failed to defend them, the Roman inhabitants of Britain rebelled and expelled his officials, accepting that henceforth they would have to look to their own defence. Inspired by the example of Roman Britain, later that year

9657-481: The troops guarding the Rhine abandoned him to support yet another claimant to the imperial throne, the Gallo-Roman Jovinus , surrendered to Constantius along with his surviving son Julian. Despite a promise of safe passage, and Constantine's assumption of clerical office, Constantius imprisoned the former soldier and had him and Julian beheaded in either August or September 411. His head was mounted on

9768-512: The two regions of Illyricum, Dalmatia and Pannonia , revolted against the Romans. The rebellion began among native peoples who had been recruited as auxiliary troops for the Roman army . They were led by Bato the Daesitiate , a chieftain of the Daesitiatae in the central part of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina , and were later joined by the Breuci , a tribe in Pannonia led by Bato

9879-542: The war, split Illyrian tribes into different groups from the ones they had previously composed. The administrative civitates of the Osseriates , Colapiani , and Varciani were probably created from the Breuci . Other members of tribes were probably sold as slaves or deported to different locations, such as the Azali . Detailed and critical commentaries of the sources is given in: Useful historical narratives of

9990-540: The writing of Velleius Paterculus (as noted above). They were defeated by Rhoemetalces and his brother Rhascyporis. Dio did not mention any action by the Romans there. Therefore, it is unknown how the Roman governor of this province dealt with the situation; it is also unknown how the previous invasion was dealt with. It might have involved raids, rather than an occupation. Cassius Dio wrote that in AD 7, Augustus sent Tiberius' nephew Germanicus to Illyricum because Tiberius’ lack of activity made him suspicious that Tiberius

10101-410: Was a common soldier, not an officer, and early in 407, possibly February, his fellows acclaimed him as emperor. The modern historian Francisco Sanz-Huesma differs and proposes that Constantine was a skilled politician who engineered the three acclamations with the (successful) intention of eventually raising himself to imperial power. Early coins of Constantine call him "Flavius Claudius Constantinus",

10212-469: Was a man named Marcus , whom they appointed emperor. After a short period, unhappy with his performance, they killed him and appointed Gratian . He also failed to meet the troops' expectations and was killed after four months. On 31 December 406 several tribes of barbarian invaders, including the Vandals , Sueves and Alans crossed the Rhine , perhaps near Mainz , and overran the Roman defensive works in

10323-543: Was a shortage of grain. Velleius Paterculus wrote that the rebel forces in Pannonia who faced Tiberius were not happy with the size of their forces. They were worn down and brought to the verge of famine (presumably due to ravaging), could not withstand his offensives, and avoided pitched battles. They went to the Claudian Mountains (a mountain range in Pannonia, in Varaždin County in northern Croatia) and took

10434-523: Was a stronghold of the House of Theodosius , but, on Constantine's initial landing on the continent, Honorius's relatives and partisans there had been either unwilling or militarily unable to oppose his assumption of control. When Sarus seemed on the verge of ending Constantine's revolt, two members of Honorius's family – Didymus and Verinianus  – rebelled and overthrew Constantine's regime in Hispania. When Sarus withdrew to Italy,

10545-551: Was about to launch the second campaign against the Marcomanni in Germania . Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus , the governor of Illyricum, had planned to join him with most of his army, and ordered the local tribes to provide auxiliary contingents. However, when these troops gathered, they rebelled under the leadership of a Daesitiate tribal chieftain named Bato and defeated a Roman force sent against them. Although this war

10656-497: Was attacked by fresh local forces. Lepidus defeated them, ravaged the fields, and burnt houses, later reaching Tiberius. This campaign ended the war. Two Dalmatian tribes, the Pirustae and Daesitiatae, who had been almost unconquerable because of their mountain strongholds, the narrow passes in which they lived, and their fighting spirit, were almost exterminated. Cassius Dio, instead, wrote that Tiberius returned to Rome. Germanicus

10767-433: Was constituted out of both Dalmatia and the newly conquered southern Pannonia, and, despite being a frontier province, was designated as a senatorial province. From 14 BC to 10 BC there were a series of rebellions in southern Pannonia and northern Dalmatia which Roman writers referred to as Bellum Pannonicum (the "Pannonian War"). What little is known about these events comes chiefly from brief accounts by Cassius Dio and

10878-528: Was controlled by Gerontius. They set up court at Tarraco (modern Tarragona ). Gerontius was concerned that he would not be able to withstand the military force Constantine could bring to bear and so attempted to incite the barbarians who had entered Gaul late in 406 against Constantine. These had been quiescent in the north of the territory, but now set off across Gaul for the rich territories of Aquitaine and Narbonensis (modern south-west and southern France). They spread devastation across these areas, much to

10989-477: Was defeated. He fell back to the north with what was left of his command, hoping to be reinforced by Edobichus. But Gerontius caught him at Vienne , probably early in 411, defeated his army and killed Constans. Gerontius's army then marched on Arles and besieged Constantine. In 411 Honorius appointed a new general, Constantius , who took the Army of Italy over the Alps into Gaul in another attempt to suppress Constantine. Constantius arrived at Arles while Gerontius

11100-483: Was intentionally delaying the war so as to remain under arms as long as possible. Augustus seems to have been displeased with what he must have considered a passive strategy. However, Tiberius was very active and was conducting a war of attrition and counter-insurgency operations. This strategy later proved to be the right one. Germanicus was given a force of freemen and freedmen. Some of the latter were requisitioned from their masters, who were compensated. In Rome there

11211-530: Was one of the four with which Claudius invaded Britain in 43 AD. It was also one of the legions that defeated Caratacus at the Battle of Caer Caradoc , after which, from the AD 50s, it was encamped at Camulodunum , with a few units at Kingsholm in Gloucester . Around AD 55 under The command of Manlius Valens it moved to Usk , in an unsuccessful attempt to pacify the Silures , a tribe very resistant to

11322-510: Was outside the city. Many of Gerontius's troops deserted to Constantius and Gerontius retreated to Hispania with the remainder. There, in a hopeless position, Gerontius committed suicide. Constantius's army took over the siege. Meanwhile, Edobichus raised troops in northern Gaul among the Franks and Alamanni, combined them with those of the Army of Gaul still loyal to Constantine and marched to Constantine's assistance. Constantius defeated this force in an ambush. Constantine, his hopes fading after

11433-455: Was overlooked in terms of resources and patronage. Such revolts were usually short-lived; Constantine was uncommon in both establishing a lasting power base and in successfully exporting his rebellion to the mainland. Constantine moved quickly: he appointed two officers already in Gaul (modern France) as generals, Justinianus and Nebiogastes , instructing them to seize Arles and the passes which controlled traffic to and from Italy. He crossed

11544-597: Was probably part of the large Roman force that fought in the Cantabrian Wars in Hispania from 25 to 19 BC. The legion then moved to Burnum in Illyricum at the beginning of the Pannonian uprising ( Bellum Batonianum ) in AD 6. It is recorded operating against the Marcomanni in AD 6 in the army of Tiberius . In Illyria they were led by the governor of Illyricum, Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus , who may have given his clan ( gens ) name Valeria to

11655-503: Was routed and the allied cavalry fled. The legions suffered casualties, but they then rallied and won the day. Cassius Dio's version does not mention Plautius Silvanus; instead, the two Batos went to wait for the arrival of Caecina Severus. They attacked him unexpectedly when he was encamped near the Volcaean marshes, but Severus repulsed the attack. Following this battle the Roman army was divided into detachments to overrun as many parts of

11766-501: Was sent to quash the revolt, but was defeated and withdrew to Arles. Meanwhile, Constantine invaded northern Italy, but his plan failed and he also pulled back to Arles. In 410 Constans was sent to Hispania again. Gerontius had strengthened his army with Germanic tribesmen and defeated Constans; the latter retreated north and was defeated again and killed at Vienne early in 411. Gerontius then besieged Constantine in Arles. Honorius appointed

11877-466: Was stronger in open battle, but he was defeated in an ambush. Velleius Paterculus wrote that Messallinus was surrounded by 20,000 men and had only one legion at only half its normal strength (roughly 2,500 men), yet he routed the enemy and was awarded a triumphal decoration (ornamenta triumphalia) and a place in the procession during Tiberius’ Pannonian triumph. Presumably Valerius Messallinus was then sent to defend Salona. According to Cassius Dio, Bato

11988-569: Was suffering raids by the Scoti , Saxons and Picts . Sometime between 396 and 398 Stilicho is said by contemporary poet and speech writer Claudian to have ordered a campaign against the Picts , probably a naval campaign intended to suppress their seaborne raids on the east coast of Roman Britain. He may also have ordered campaigns against the Scoti and Saxons. Other interpretations suggest it went badly, or that troops defending Roman Britain defeated

12099-408: Was the only occasion on which the different peoples in the province of Illyricum united against the Romans. The main tribes which contributed to the alliance were the Daesitiatae , Breuci , Dalmatae , Andizetes , Pannonians , Pirustae , Liburnians , and Iapydes (the latter two fighting under an unknown leader). The Dalmatians were led by Bato the Daesitiate , while the Breuci were led by Bato

12210-529: Was to leave for the east while Honorius remained in Ravenna , the capital of the Western Empire. But a rift between him and Honorius was obvious. The Roman establishment, led by the senior bureaucrat Olympius , worked to oppose Stilicho by spreading rumours that he wished to travel east to depose Theodosius and set his own son on the throne. On 13 August Honorius was formally reviewing the army about to set out from Ticinum against Constantine. With him were many of

12321-407: Was unable to take the well-fortified Splonum by storm. However, when a parapet of the wall fell, the inhabitants panicked, abandoning that part of the wall and fleeing to the citadel, where they eventually surrendered. At Raetinum the inhabitants set a slow-burning fire. When the Romans entered the town they did not notice it and then found themselves surrounded by the flames and pelted from the wall of

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