Legio II Augusta ( Second Legion "Augustus'") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army that was founded during the late Roman Republic. Its emblems were the Capricornus, Pegasus, and Mars. It may have taken the name "Augusta" from a victory or reorganization that occurred during the reign of Augustus.

thumb|One of the emblems used was the [[Capricornus]]

In Republican service

The Legio II, Sabina was a Roman military unit of the late Republican era, which may have been formed by Julius Caesar in the year of the consulate of 48 BC and coincide, in this case, with the Legio II. Enlisted to fight against Pompey, they took part in the subsequent Battle of Munda of 45 BC.

Alternatively it could be the Legio II, formed by the consul, Gaius Vibius Pansa in 43 BC and recruited in Sabina, hence its nickname. If this theory is true, then it probably participated in the subsequent battle of Philippi of 42 BC on the side of the triumvirate, Octavian and Marc Antony.

After the defeat of the Republicans, Legio II swore allegiance to Octavian and with the same remained until the Battle of Actium of 31 BC, after which it seems to have been dissolved in the years between 30 and 14 BC (sent on leave were between 105,000 and 120,000 veterans) and some of its soldiers may have been integrated into the new Legio II Augusta. This war would definitively establish Roman power in Hispania. While the legion was in Hispania, they along with the Legio I Germanica helped build the Colonia Acci. and from 66 it was possibly at Glevum.

During the uprising of queen Boudica, its praefectus castrorum Poenius Postumus, who was then its acting commander (possibly because its legatus and tribunes were with the governor Suetonius Paulinus), contravened Suetonius' orders to join him and so later committed suicide. George MacDonald calls in no. 12 in the 2nd edition of his book The Roman Wall in Scotland. It has been scanned and a video produced.

|image2=Romanwallinscotl00macduoft raw 0371Cochno2.png|caption2=RIB 2204. Distance Slab of the Second Legion George MacDonald calls in no. 14 in the 2nd edition of his book The Roman Wall in Scotland.

It has been scanned and a video produced.

|image3=Stèle-Legio II Augusta-Strasbourg.jpg|caption3=Funerary stele of Caius Largennius a soldier from Lucca, Etruria found in Strasbourg<br />(Musée archéologique de Strasbourg)

Attested members

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|- style="vertical-align: top;"

! Name

! Rank

! Time frame

! Province

! Soldier located in

! Veteran located in

! Source

|-

| Caius Largennius

| miles

|1st century

| Germania

| Argentoratum ?

| Argentoratum

| 60px

|-

| Gaius Caetronius Miccio

| legatus legionis

| c. 34–36

| Germania Superior

|

|

|

|-

| Lucius Antistius Rusticus

| tribunus

| c. 69

| Britannia

|

|

|

|-

| Gnaeus Julius Agricola

| tribunus

|58-61

| Britannia

|

|

|

|-

| Gaius Fabius Agrippinus

| tribunus

| before 140

| Britannia

|

|

|

|-

| Publius Septimius Geta

| tribunus

| c. 170s

| Britannia

|

|

|

|-

| Julius Marcellinus

| centurio

| praefectus castrorum

| legatus legionis

| c. 141-c. 144

| Britannia

|

|

|

|-

| Fronto Aemilianus Calpurnius Rufilanus

| legatus legionis

| between 185 and 190

| Britannia

|

|

|

|-

| Lucius Julius Julianus

| legatus legionis

| end 2nd century

| Britannia

|

|

| ,

|-

| Tiberius Claudius Paulinus

| legatus legionis

| early 3rd century

| Britannia

|

|

|

|-

| Vitulasius Laetinianus

| legatus legionis

| between 253 and 259

| Britannia

|

|

|

|-

| Titus Flavius Postumius Varus

| legatus legionis

| 3rd century

| Britannia

|

|

|

|-

| Lucius Valerius Geminus

|

| AD&nbsp;43-66

| Britannia

|

| Alchester

|

|-

| Flavius Quadratus

| aquilifer

| 1st century BCE

| Hispania

| Olisipo

|

| = HEp 11, 2001

|-

| Titus Flavius Rufus

| centurio

|2nd century

| Italia, Moesia, Dacia

|

| Dacia

| = ILS 2082,

|}

  • In his fantasy novel Grail, the author Stephen R. Lawhead states that the legion was ensnared by the black magic of the witch Morgan le Fay, doomed to perpetually wander the mists of Lyonesse.
  • Lindsey Davis' character Marcus Didius Falco and his best friend Lucius Petronius Longus both served in the legion during Boadicea's Revolt in AD 60/61, while they were teenagers (probably 19–20 years old). Marcus and Lucius only refer to their service in asides, due to the bad memories of the Revolt and the boredom in a cold, unfriendly country. The scenes of carnage and destruction in Londinium left a deep impression on both of them, with neither keen to return to Britannia. Their internal references also hint that their disgraced prefect, Postumius, did not commit suicide, but instead was executed by the legionaries for his refusal to march to Governor Suetonius's aid during the Revolt, but the legionaries swore an oath never to speak of this to outsiders. Novels that most directly refer to their service in Britain are The Silver Pigs, The Iron Hand of Mars, A Body in the Bath House and The Jupiter Myth.
  • It is also the Legion in which Optio Quintus Licinius Cato and Centurion Lucius Cornelius Macro serve during the first five books of the Eagles of the Empire series by Simon Scarrow. The books also cover Vespasian's career as commander of the legion and the invasion of Britain.
  • The story of the legion's role in Boadicea's Revolt and the subsequent suicide of its acting commander features in Imperial Governor, George Shipway's 1968 novel about Gaius Suetonius Paulinus.
  • The II Legion features in Adrian Goldsworthy's novel series, beginning with Vindolanda, about a fictitious centurion of the legion.

See also

  • List of Roman legions
  • Roman legion

References

Further reading

  • livius.org account
  • LEGIO SECVNDA AVGVSTA , British 1st - 2nd century AD ~ Roman Living History Society
  • LEGIO SECVNDA AVGVSTA FACEBOOK PAGE, Facebook Page for British 1st - 2nd century AD ~ Roman Living History Society
  • LEGIO SECVNDA AVGVSTA (NL) Dutch 1st - 2nd century AD ~ Roman Living History Society
  • Second Legion Augusta (NZ), New Zealand re-enactment group
  • Richard Stillwell, ed. Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, 1976: "Abonae (Sea Mills, Bristol), England"
  • Capricorn Rising: Astrology in Ancient Rome: Poetry, Prophecy and Power, article by David Wray. assistant professor of classics, University of Chicago.