An ''aquila'' (; ) was a prominent symbol used in

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

, especially as the standard of a Roman legion. A legionary known as an '' aquilifer'', the "eagle-bearer", carried this standard. Each legion carried one eagle. It represents the Eagle of Jove ( Aëtos), being Jove the "Father of the Roman state". The eagle had quasi-religious importance to the Roman soldier, far beyond being merely a symbol of his legion. To lose a standard was seen as extremely grave, shameful and dishonorable, and the Roman military went to great lengths both to protect a standard and to recover one if it were to be lost. For example, after the annihilation of three legions in the Teutoburg Forest, the Romans spent decades retaliating for the defeat while also attempting to recover the three lost eagles. No legionary eagle standards are known to have survived. However, other Roman eagles, either symbolizing imperial rule or used as funerary emblems, have been discovered.

History

The ''signa militaria'' were the Roman military ensigns or standards. The most ancient standard employed by the Romans is said to have been a handful ('' manipulus'') of straw fixed to the top of a spear or pole. Hence the company of soldiers belonging to it was called a '' maniple''. The bundle of hay or fern was soon succeeded by the figures of animals, of which Pliny the Elder (''H.N.'' x.16) enumerates five: the eagle, the wolf, the ox with the man's head, the horse, and the boar. Pliny attributes to the consul Gaius Marius the setting aside of the four quadrupeds as standards and the retention of the eagle (''Aquila'') alone after the devastating Roman defeat at the Battle of Arausio against the Cimbri and Teutons in 104 BC. It was made of

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

, or bronze, with upwards stretched wings, but was probably of relatively small size, since a standard-bearer ('' signifer'') under Augustus is said in circumstances of danger (the Teutoburgerwald battle) to have wrenched the eagle from its staff and concealed it in the folds of his tunic above his girdle. Pliny's claim is refuted by sources showing late republican and early imperial legions with other animal symbols such as bulls and wolves. Even after the adoption of Christianity as the Roman Empire's religion; the eagle continued to be used as a symbol by the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

and the early

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

although far more rarely and with a different meaning. In particular the

double-headed eagle The double-headed eagle is an Iconology, iconographic symbol originating in the Bronze Age. The earliest predecessors of the symbol can be found in Mycenaean Greece and in the Ancient Near East, especially in Mesopotamian and Hittite Empire#icon ...

, despite strongly linking back to a Pagan symbol, became very popular among Christians.

Lost ''aquilae''

*Battles where the Aquilae were lost, units that lost the Aquilae and the fate of the Aquilae: **73–71 BC – five Aquilae were lost over the course of the Third Servile War, recovered upon the defeat of

Spartacus Spartacus (; ) was a Thracians, Thracian gladiator (Thraex) who was one of the Slavery in ancient Rome, escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major Slave rebellion, slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Historical accounts o ...

in 71 BC. **53 BC – the defeat of Marcus Licinius Crassus at the Battle of Carrhae by the Parthians. Several Legions (returned in 20 BC). **49–45 BC – loss of Aquilae from legions of Aulus Gabinius and Publius Vatinius to the Dalmatians during Caesar's Civil War. Res Gestae Divi Augusti, 29 (returned in 23 BC). ** 45 BC – loss of Aquilae in Spain during Caesar's Civil War. (returned in about 25 BC during the Cantabrian Wars). **40 BC – defeat of Decidius Saxa by a combined Roman–Parthian force under Quintus Labienus near Antioch. Several Legions (at least one Aquila was returned in 20 BC). **36 BC – the defeat of Oppius Statianus by the Parthians during Antony's Parthian War. Two Legions (returned in 20 BC). **(19 BC – degradation of a legion during the Cantabrian Wars by removal of the name "Augustan Legion". The actual reason is unknown) **17 BC – defeat of Marcus Lollius by Germanic tribes in Gallia in the Clades Lolliana. Legio V Macedonica (returned in 16 BC) **9 – Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in Germania. Legio XVII, Legio XVIII, and Legio XIX (two recaptured by Germanicus in 15 and 16, the last recaptured by Publius Gabinius Secundus in 41). **66 – First Jewish–Roman War. Legio XII Fulminata (fate uncertain). **70 – destruction of Legio XV Primigenia during the Revolt of the Batavi near Xanten. (fate unknown) **86 – defeat of Cornelius Fuscus in the First Battle of Tapae during Domitian's Dacian War. Legio V Alaudae or Praetorian Guard (recaptured during Trajan's Dacian Wars in 101 or 102). **(132 – disputed loss of Legio XXII Deiotariana or Legio IX Hispana in the Bar Kochva Revolt) **161 – defeat of Marcus Sedatius Severianus by the Parthians at Elegeia in Armenia. Possibly the Legio IX Hispana or Legio XXII Deiotariana.Duncan B Campbell
The fate of the Ninth: The curious disappearance of Legio VIIII Hispana
, ''Ancient Warfare''

Arch of Constantine

Arch of Constantine showing carvings of ''aquila''

Ancient imagery

File:Emblem of 20th Legion Roof tile, Deva Victrix (Chester, UK), The Grosvenor Museum (8394899150).jpg, File:Yorkshire Museum, York (Eboracum) (7685208580) 2.jpg, Memorial to Lucius Duccius Rufinus, a standard-bearer of the Ninth Legion, Yorkshire Museum, York File:Return of the Roman military standards.jpg, Detail of the central breastplate relief on the statue of Augustus of Prima Porta shows the return of the Aquilae lost to the Parthians. The return of the eagles was one of Augustus's notable diplomatic achievements. File:Lens - Inauguration du Louvre-Lens le 4 décembre 2012, la Galerie du Temps, n° 058.JPG, The '' Praetorians Relief'' showing an aquila from the destroyed Arch of Claudius in Rome. File:AtticN4Det.jpg, Detail from the Arch of Constantine in Rome File:072 Conrad Cichorius, Die Reliefs der Traianssäule, Tafel LXXII.jpg, "The Reliefs of Trajan's Column by Conrad Cichorius. Plate number LXXII: Arrival of Roman troops (Scene XCVIII); The emperor sacrifices by the Danube (Scene XCIX); Trajan receives foreign embassies" (Aquila at the upper left) Image:Denarius Mark Anthony-32BC-legIII.jpg,

Denarius The ''denarius'' (; : ''dēnāriī'', ) was the standard Ancient Rome, Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the ''antoninianus''. It cont ...

minted by Mark Antony to pay his legions. On the reverse, the ''aquila'' of his Third legion. File:Tetradrachm of Pescennius Niger with aquila.jpg, Tetradrachm minted in 193 by

Pescennius Niger Gaius Pescennius Niger (c. 135 – 194) was a Roman usurper from 193 to 194 during the Year of the Five Emperors. He claimed the imperial throne in response to the murder of Pertinax and the elevation of Didius Julianus, but was defeated by a ...

with an aquila on the reverse File:Aureus of Septimius Severus, AD 193.jpg, Aureus minted in 193 by

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...

, to celebrate XIIII ''Gemina Martia Victrix'', the legion that proclaimed him emperor File:Augusto, aureo con tempio di marte ultore.JPG, Roman Coin showing the ''aquila'' in the Temple of Mars the Avenger in Rome File:Germanicus Dupondius 19 2010354.jpg, Coin showing Germanicus holding an Aquila File:Caligola,_emissione_bronzea,_37-41_ca._adlocui.JPG, Coin of Emperor Caligula showing several ''Aquilae'' at the left. Image:Sestertius Philip 247-lv lxiii.jpg, Sestertius minted in 248 by Philip the Arab to celebrate the province of

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ro ...

and its legions, V ''Macedonica'' and XIII ''Gemina''. Note the eagle and lion, symbols on the reverse, respectively of legio V and legio XIII.

References

External links

Picture of Aquila on tomb sculpture at Livis.org

The Roman Eagle: A Symbol and its Evolution
* {{Cite NIE, wstitle=Eagle (standard), display=Eagle. A military standard, adopted by the Romans, short=x Ancient Roman military standards Eagles in popular culture Heraldic eagles Imperial Eagle Iconography