Legio II Augusta

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de:Legio II Augusta no:Legio II Augusta es:Legio II Augusta Legio II Augusta was a Roman legion, levied by Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus in 43 BC, and still operative in Britannia in 4th century. Its emblem was the Capricorn.

It was originally raised by Octavian and consul Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus in 43 BC, to fight against Mark Anthony; II Augusta fought in the battle of Philippi and in the battle of Perugia. At the beginning of Augustus rule, in 25 BC, this legion was relocated in Hispania, to fight in the Cantabrian Wars, which definitively established Roman power in Hispania, and later camped in Hispania Tarraconensis. With the annihilation of Legio XVII, XVIII and XIX in the battle of the Teutoburg Forest (9 AD), II Augusta moved to Germania, possibly in the area of Mainz. After 17 AD it was at Argentorate (modern Strasbourg).

The legion participated in the Roman invasion of Britain in 43. The future Emperor Vespasian was the legion's commander at the time and led the campaign against the Durotriges tribe. Although it was recorded as suffering a defeat at the hands of the Silures in 52, the II Augusta proved to be one of the best legions, even during the uprising of queen Boudica. After the defeat of Boudica, the legion was dispersed over several bases; from 66 to around 74 it was stationed at Glevum (modern Gloucester), and then moved to Isca Silurum (modern Caerleon), building a stone fortress that the soldiers occupied until the end of the 3rd century. The legion also had connections with the camp at Alchester in Oxfordshire.

In 122, II Augusta helped to build Hadrian's Wall.

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The legion in fiction

In his fantasy novel Grail, the author Stephen R. Lawhead states that the legion was ensnared by the black magic of the witch Morgan le Fay, doomed to perpetually wander the mists of Lyonesse.

Lindsey Davis' character Marcus Didius Falco and his sidekick Petronius Longinus both served in the legion during the Boudicca uprising in 60/61 AD, while they were little more than boys (probably 19/20 years old). Marcus or Petro have only referred to their service in asides, due to the bad memories of the uprising and the boredom in a cold, unfriendly country. The scenes of carnage and destruction in Londinium left a deep impression on both of them, with neither keen to return to Britain. Novels that most directly refer to their service in Britain are The Silver Pigs, A Body in the Bath House and The Jupiter Myth.

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