LEGIO X EQUESTRIS "devoted to Venus" was LEVIED by JULIUS CAESAR

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Marc Antony, m int moving with Antony, 32-31 BC. Silver Denarius (3.27 gm.; 16 mm.). Obv.: ANT AVG III VIR R P C, Galley right. Rev.: LEG X Legionary eagle between two standards. Crawford 544/24. Sydenham 1228. Sear, Imperators 361. Legio X Equestris (Latin: "Tenth legion 'mounted'" - Equestris ), a Roman legion, was levied by Julius Caesar in 61 BC when he was the Governor of Hispania Ulterior. The Tenth was the first legion levied personally by Caesar, and was consistently his most trusted. The name Equestris was applied after Caesar mounted legionaries from the Tenth on horses as ruse to parley with the German King Ariovistus in 58 BC. Legio X was famous in its day and throughout history, because of its portrayal in Caesar´s Commentaries and the prominent role the Tenth played in his Gallic campaigns. Its soldiers were discharged in 45 BC. Its remnants were reconstituted, fought for Mark Antony and Octavian, disbanded, and later merged into X Gemina.Founding: Whenc Julius Caesar arrived as Governor in the province of Baetica or Hispania Ulteror (Farther Spain), as it was in 61 BC, he immediately decided to subdue the West and Northwest areas (modern day Portugal). He already had two legions based in the province, the 8th and 9th legions, which had been enlisted by Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great) in 65 BC. Caesar needed a third legion for his planned campaign and so he immediately enlisted a new legion, the 10th legion. Although enlisted in March, the legion took as its emblem the bull, an emblem which proved popular with other legions such as Legio V Alaudae ( Larks ), Legio XI, Legio XII Victrix, Legio XIII Gemina. The campaign in the summer of 61 BC was very successful and the 10th legion showed itself to be brave and loyal to Julius Caesar. Gallic Wars: The Tenth played a crucial part in the Gallic Wars, fighting under Caesar in virtually every battle. At the beginning of the Gallic campaign, Caesar brought the 10th legion from Spain (with the 7th, 8th and 9th legions). Almost immediately, in the summer of 58 BC the legion fought in two major actions, the defeat of the Helvetii tribes, preventing their migration from Switzerland to France and then repulsing the incursion of the German King Ariovistus, king of the Suebi Germans. Prior to battle, Ariovistus suggested a peace conference but insisted that each side should only be accompanied by mounted troups. This condition immediately made Julius Caesar wonder if the loyalty of his mounted Gallic cavalry had been interfered with, so he dismounted a group of Gauls and arranged for legionaries from the 10th legion to ride accompanying him to the peace conference. In this way the legion earned its nickname equestris (mounted). One of the legionaries jokingly said that Caesar was better than his word: he had promised to make them foot guards, but now they appeared as knights. Legio X saved the day in the Battle against the Nervians in 57 BC. Together with the IXth, the Xth defeated the Atrebates, moved against the Belgians on the other side of the river and captured the enemy camp. From that position, the Tenth could see how desperate the situation was for the XII Victrix as well as the VII. So, it quickly charged downhill, crossed the river, and attacked the Nervii from the rear, trapping them so that there was little hope of survival. End of the legion: In 45 BC the legion was disbanded, and the veterans obtained lands in Narbonne, southern Gaul. During the civil war that followed Caesar's assassination, the Legio X was reconstituted by Lepidus (winter 44/43), and fought for the triumvirsuntil the final Battle of Philippi. The veterans obtained lands near Cremona, and an inscription reports that the name of the legion at the time was Veneria , "devoted to Venus", the mythical mother of gens Julia The Tenth later followed Mark Antony in Armenia, during his Parthian campaign. During Antony´s civil war, the legion fought for Mark Antony until the defeat in the Battle of Acti... read more

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