Caesar's Legion: The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar's Elite Tenth Legion and the Armies of Rome

L E G I O N

:

THE EPIC SAGA OF

JULIUS CAESAR’S ELITE

TENTH LEGION AND

THE ARMIES OF ROME

STEPHEN DANDO-COLLINS

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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C A E S A R ’S

L E G I O N

:

THE EPIC SAGA OF

JULIUS CAESAR’S ELITE

TENTH LEGION AND

THE ARMIES OF ROME

STEPHEN DANDO-COLLINS

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Copyright © 2002 by Stephen Dando-Collins. All rights reserved Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 750-4744. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012, (212) 850-6011, fax (212) 850-6008, email: [email protected].

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

This title is also available in print as ISBN 0-471-09570-2. Some content that appears in the print version of this book may not be available in this electronic edition.

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:

Atlas

v

Author’s Note

xv

i

Staring Defeat in the Face

1

ii

Impatient for Glory

6

iii

Savaging the Swiss, Overrunning the Germans

13

iv

Conquering Gaul

24

v

Invading Britain

30

vi

Revolt and Revenge

50

vii

Enemy of the State

65

viii

Broken Promises

76

ix

The Race for Durrës

90

x

A Taste of Defeat

98

xi

The Battle of Pharsalus

113

xii

The Sour Taste of Victory

130

xiii

The Murder of Pompey the Great

138

xiv

The Power of a Single Word

144

xv

The North African Campaign

149

xvi

Caesar’s Last Battle

165

xvii

Mark Antony’s Men

179

xviii

Philippi and Actium

183

xix

In the Name of the Emperor

195

xx

Knocked into Shape by Corbulo

205

xxi

Orders from the Emperor

217

xxii

Objective Jerusalem

224

iii

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iv

c o n t e n t s

xxiii

The End of the Holy City

238

xxiv

Masada

258

xxv

Last Days

265

appendix a

The Legions of Rome, 30 b.c.–a.d. 233

269

appendix b

The Reenlistment Factor

273

appendix c

The Uniqueness of the Legion Commands

277

in Egypt and Judea

appendix d

The Naming and Numbering System of the

281

Roman Legions

appendix e

The Title “Fretensis”

285

appendix f

Imperial Roman Military Ranks and Their

287

Modern-Day Equivalents

appendix g

Sources

291

Glossary

303

Index

309

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AT L A S

:

1. “The West,” First Century b.c.

2. Britain and Gaul, 58–50 b.c.

3. “The East,” First Century b.c.

4. Spain, First Century b.c.

5. Southern Italy, the Balkans, Greece, and Asia, First Century b.c.

6. The Middle East, First Century a.d.

v

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N

NORTH

SEA

BRITAIN

GERMANY

Boulogne

Rhine R.

ENGLISH CHANNEL

GAUL

MACEDONIA

BAY OF

BISCAY

CISALPINE

GAUL

THESSALY

TRANSALPINE

ILL

Ravenna

GAUL

Piacenza

YRICUM

Rubicon R.

ADRIA

THRACE

Duro R.

Narbonne

Rimini

Marseilles

TIC SEA

NEARER

Lérida

Corfinium

Durrës

SPAIN

Rome ✰

Tarragona

TYRRHENIAN Capua

ANIA

Apollonia

Tagus R.

ITALY

Farsala

SEA

FARTHER

Brindisi

SARDINIA

Corfu

LUSIT

SPAIN

Vibo

Balearic

Actium

Seville

Córdoba

Isles

MarsalaMessina

Athens

Munda

Utique

Reggio IONIAN

Cádiz

ACHAEA

El Rocadillo

SICILY

SEA

Bône

Guadalquivir R.

Sousse

Constantine

Ruspina

EPIRUS

CRETE

Thapsus

MAURETANIA

NUMIDIA
Bagradas R.

Civil War battle or siege

AFRICA

Civil War raid

“The West,” First Century B.C.

©2001 by D. L. McElhannon

CYRENAICA

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Southern Britain

Colchester

N

NORTH

CATUVELLAUNI

SEA

amesR

Th

.

North

Foreland

Medway R.

South

KENT

Stour R.
Foreland

CANTIACI

Isle of Wight

Boulogne

BRITAIN

NORTH

Area of Inset

SEA

USIPETES

Colchester

Rhine R

Dover

.

Strait

TENCTHERI

Isle of Wight

NERVII EBURONES

ENGLISH CHANNEL

Boulogne

SUEBI

Tongres

ATREBATES

Seine R.

Sambre R.

Trier

SENONES

Moselle R.

Paris

TREVERI

VENETI

Sens

CARNUTES

Orléans

Alesia

GAUL

Dijon

Bourges

Bibracte

Besançon

BAY OF

BISCAY

BITURIGES

HELVETII

Saône R.

Geneva

Gergovia

Vienne

AVERNI

Va

Uxellodunum

r R.

Rhóne R.

Pyrenees Mountains

Marseilles

Narbonne

MEDITERRANEAN

SEA

NEARER

SPAIN

Britain and Gaul, 58–50 B.C.

©2001 by D. L. McElhannon

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SYRIA

GENE

JUDEA

Antioch

Jerusalem

ADOCIA

Zela

US

CK

Pelusium

SEA

CAPP

COMMA

BLA

PONTUS

Nile

CILICIA

Delta

CYPR

. L. McElhannon

N

BITHYNIA

SEA

ASIA

xandria

EGYPT

RHODES

Ale

MEDITERRANEAN

©2001 by D

CE

COS

Philippi

SEA

LESBOS

AEGEAN

arsala

AICA

THRA

Larisa

F

CRETE

CEDONIA

Actium

SEA

CYREN

IONIAN

MA

Durrës

Apollonia

Corfu

B.C.

Buthroton

YRICUM

ggio

ILL

inium

TIC SEA

Brindisi

Re

iboV

Corf

ADRIA

Y

Y

enna

AL

✰

v

IT

Messina

UL

SICIL

Ra

Thapsus

SEA

Ruspina

Rimini

Sousse

GA

Rome

ge

TYRRHENIAN

Carthage

CISALPINE

R.

Marsala

s

” First Century

a d ra

Utique

g

Ba

AFRICA

UL

GA

Site of battle or sie

Site of raid

NUMIDIA

“The East,

TRANSALPINE

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ge

N

B.C.

ar battle or sieW

vil

Ci

Segre R.

Lérida

Cinca R.

Spain, First

Century

PYRENEES MTS

arragonaT

er

Riv

AIN

Ebro

AIN

er

Munda

Riv

NEARER SP

Córdoba

ABRIAN MTS

r

El Rocadillo

CANT

er

lquivi

iv

THER SP

da

R

a

ville

o

u

r

R

G

Se

ur

D

eiv

A

R

F

us g aT

Cádiz

ANIA

LUSIT

. L. McElhannon

©2001 by D

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Trieste

Southern Italy, the Balkans,

ILL

Greece, and Asia,

YRICUM

First Century B.C.

Site of battle or siege

N

Site of raid

ADRIATIC

Site of amphibious landing

SEA

IT

THRACE

ALY

Durrës

Philippi

MACEDONIA

Brindisi

Kavalla

TYRRHENIAN

Apollonia

PUGLIA

Thessalonika

Oricum

Véroia

SEA

BITHYNIA

Buthrotum

Larisa

EPIR

CORFU

THESSALY

US

LESBOS
Mytilene

Messina

Vibo

Farsala

Actium

AEGEAN

Delphi

ASIA

SEA

Reggio

ACHAEA

Athens

SICILY

Strait of

Messina

COS

MEDITERRANEAN

RHODES

IONIAN

SEA

SEA

CRETE

©2001 by D. L. McElhannon

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SEA

BLACK

PONTUS

Artaxata

Volandum

Aras R.

urat R.

BITHYNIA

M

Mt.

Rhandeia

Ararat

CAPPADOCIA

ARMENIA

Tigranocerta

COMMAGENE

ASIA

Zeugma

Carrhae

CILICIA

Cyrrhus

Euphr

✰

ate

Antioch