Legio IV (or IIII) Martia was a
legion of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
, part of the
Late Roman army
In modern scholarship, the Later Roman Empire, "late" period of the Roman army begins with the accession of the Emperor Diocletian in AD 284, and ends in 480 with the death of Julius Nepos, being roughly coterminous with the Dominate. During th ...
. Its genesis is uncertain, but it probably existed in the time of
Diocletian
Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...
, and certainly in the time of ''
Notitia Dignitatum
The (Latin for 'List of all dignities and administrations both civil and military') is a document of the Late Roman Empire that details the administrative organization of the Western and the Eastern Roman Empire. It is unique as one of very ...
''. That document places the legion at
Betthorus
Betthorus was a Roman legionary fortress on the Limes Arabicus. It is located in today's (from ''Legio''), Karak Governorate, Jordan,Al Lajjun in Mapcarta north-east of Al Karak. The place is in proximity to the spring , in a wadi of the same n ...
, modern El-Lejjun in
Jordan
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
, under the command of the
Dux Arabiae. The place was in the civil jurisdiction of
Palaestina Tertia.
The legion also had a fortress at
Adhruh near
Petra
Petra (; "Rock"), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu (Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: or , *''Raqēmō''), is an ancient city and archaeological site in southern Jordan. Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit systems, P ...
.
[G. Lankester Harding, 1959, ''The Antiquities of Jordan'', p. 50.] It was removed when the defence of the area was assigned to the vassal state of the Ghassanids around 530.
See also
*
List of Roman legions
References
04 Martia
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