Legio XVII ("Seventeenth Legion") was a
legion of the
Imperial Roman army. It was founded by
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
around 41 BC. The legion was destroyed in the
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (September 9, 9). The legion's symbol and ''cognomen'' are unknown.
This legion was probably created to deal with
Sextus Pompey, the last opponent of the
second triumvirate, garrisoned in Sicily and threatening
Rome's grain supply.
Following the defeat of Antony and
Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...
in the
battle of Actium (31 BC), the legion was stationed in Gaul. In the end of the 1st century BC, the Seventeenth was sent to the Germania
provinces in the Rhine and was stationed in Castra Vetera (
Xanten
Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel.
Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the wo ...
). In AD 5, the provinces were pacified and
Publius Quinctilius Varus
Publius Quinctilius Varus ( Cremona, 46 BC – Teutoburg Forest, AD 9) was a Roman general and politician under the first Roman emperor Augustus. Varus is generally remembered for having lost three Roman legions when ambushed by Germanic tribe ...
was assigned governor and commander of the Germania army.
On September 9,
Arminius, leader of the
Cheruscan allies, reported a rebellion in the Rhine area. Without suspecting the information received, Varus took his three legions, the XVII along with
XVIII and
XIX, and headed west. On 9 September, near modern
Osnabrück, the
Cheruscii led by Arminius ambushed the governor's army. All three legions were destroyed in what is known as the
battle of the Teutoburg Forest and their
eagle standards lost. The eagle standards were recovered by the Romans in later years.
After its destruction, the Romans never used this legion number again.
See also
*
List of Roman legions
This is a list of Roman legions, including key facts about each legion, primarily focusing on the Principate (early Empire, 27 BC – 284 AD) legions, for which there exists substantial literary, epigraphic and archaeological evidence.
When Au ...
External links
livius.org account of Legio XVII
{{DEFAULTSORT:Legio Xvii
17
40s BC establishments
1st-century BC establishments in the Roman Republic
9 disestablishments
Military units and formations established in the 1st century BC