Legio VI ''Herculia'' was a

Roman legion The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period of t ...

levied by Diocletian in the end of the 3rd century, and was still in service at the beginning of the 5th century. The

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became her ...

of the legion refers to

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted th ...

, to whom Diocletian's colleague,

Maximian Maximian ( la, Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus; c. 250 – c. July 310), nicknamed ''Herculius'', was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then '' Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his ...

(also known as ''Herculius'', "the man like Hercules"), was devoted and identified. In the tetrarchs provincial reforms, the province of Pannonia Inferior was divided into two, the northern part became Pannonia Valeria and the southern part became Pannonia Secunda. However the two legions of the province were stationed in the north at Brigetio and

Aquincum Aquincum (, ) was an ancient city, situated on the northeastern borders of the province of Pannonia within the Roman Empire. The ruins of the city can be found today in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary. It is believed that Marcus Aurelius w ...

leaving the southern province without any legions stationed there. The tetrarchs levied two more legions, Legio VI Herculia and Legio V Iovia. The VI ''Herculia'' had her permanent camp in ''

Teutoburgium Dalj ( sr-Cyrl, Даљ, hu, Dálya, german: Dallia, la, Teutoburgium) is a village on the Danube in eastern Croatia, near the confluence of the Drava and Danube, on the border with Serbia. It is located on the D519 road, south of its intersecti ...

'' (near modern

Vukovar Vukovar () ( sr-Cyrl, Вуковар, hu, Vukovár, german: Wukowar) is a city in Croatia, in the eastern region of Slavonia. It contains Croatia's largest river port, located at the confluence of the Vuka and the Danube. Vukovar is the seat of ...

) and an advanced ''

castellum A ''castellum'' in Latin is usually: * a small Roman fortlet or tower,C. Julius Caesar, Gallic War; 2,30 a diminutive of (' military camp'), often used as a watchtower or signal station like on Hadrian's Wall. It should be distinguished from ...

'' in ''Onagrinum''. They also protected the imperial residence of Diocletian in ''

Sirmium Sirmium was a city in the Roman province of Pannonia, located on the Sava river, on the site of modern Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous provice of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyrians an ...

'' which was also the provincial capital of the province and the

Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum The praetorian prefecture of Illyricum ( la, praefectura praetorio per Illyricum; el, ἐπαρχότης/ὑπαρχία �ῶν πραιτωρίωντοῦ Ἰλλυρικοῦ, also termed simply the Prefecture of Illyricum) was one of four ...

. The ''

Notitia Dignitatum The ''Notitia Dignitatum'' (Latin for "The List of Offices") 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 few surviving documents of ...

'' locates the legion still in Illyricum at the beginning of the 5th century. It is possible that some men from this legion and from the V ''Iovia'' formed the Herculians and Jovians, the new imperial bodyguard of Diocletian. If this identification is correct, VI ''Herculia'' men had the appellative ''Martiobarbuli'', since they were expert in throwing small darts, ''martiobarbuli'', carried by five in the inside of their shields.

Vegetius Publius (or Flavius) Vegetius Renatus, known as Vegetius (), was a writer of the Later Roman Empire (late 4th century). Nothing is known of his life or station beyond what is contained in his two surviving works: ''Epitoma rei militaris'' (also ...

, '' De Re Militari'', book i.

References

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{{Roman Legion} 06 Herculia Military units and formations established in the 3rd century

See also

References

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