02-20-2004, 09:30 PM
Interesting that the first mention of Ferrata shold be the Beneventum colonists - 41BC fits for those veteran troops demobilised after Phillippi. The odd thing is that this colony was the same one as Octavian was supposed to have used to form VI Victrix a few years later!<br>
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What evidence is there, then, that a legion called VI Ferrata went to the east with Antony? I've read this in several places now - is it a sort of process of elimination?<br>
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I'm supposing the assumption to be that since Octavian didn't name his own legio VI Ferrata, that name, and more importantly the insignia, Aquila and so on of the old legion must have been taken by Antony - to designate, surely, a legion of freshly recruited men! Thus Keppie's argument (that Antony's VI Ferrata was the 'true Caesarian legion', and Octavian's VI Victrix merely a duplicate) must be wrong...<br>
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Rusty - on your site you mention that "the remainder of Legio VI Ferrata was taken by Antony to the East where it garrisoned Judea. (Life in Ancient Rome, Adkins and Adkins)... Legio VI fought in the Parthian War in 36 BC. (Life in Ancient Rome, Adkins and Adkins)"<br>
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I've found the Adkins book, but it doesn't give any references for the statement - do you know of an original source for the presence of Ferrata in the east (especially the Judean garrison?). As far as I can discover, the only verifiable legions for Antony's eastern campaign are III Gallica (mentioned by Tacitus) and V Alaudae (another assumption - they were Antony's 'bodyguard' legion!) - plus possibly the four named legions from his Actium coin series. I've read in Adkins and elsewhere that Ferrata and X Equestris went with Antony, and that his XII Antiqua were 'really' XII Fulminata, but this never seems to be substantiated - any clues? <p></p><i></i>
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What evidence is there, then, that a legion called VI Ferrata went to the east with Antony? I've read this in several places now - is it a sort of process of elimination?<br>
<br>
I'm supposing the assumption to be that since Octavian didn't name his own legio VI Ferrata, that name, and more importantly the insignia, Aquila and so on of the old legion must have been taken by Antony - to designate, surely, a legion of freshly recruited men! Thus Keppie's argument (that Antony's VI Ferrata was the 'true Caesarian legion', and Octavian's VI Victrix merely a duplicate) must be wrong...<br>
<br>
Rusty - on your site you mention that "the remainder of Legio VI Ferrata was taken by Antony to the East where it garrisoned Judea. (Life in Ancient Rome, Adkins and Adkins)... Legio VI fought in the Parthian War in 36 BC. (Life in Ancient Rome, Adkins and Adkins)"<br>
<br>
I've found the Adkins book, but it doesn't give any references for the statement - do you know of an original source for the presence of Ferrata in the east (especially the Judean garrison?). As far as I can discover, the only verifiable legions for Antony's eastern campaign are III Gallica (mentioned by Tacitus) and V Alaudae (another assumption - they were Antony's 'bodyguard' legion!) - plus possibly the four named legions from his Actium coin series. I've read in Adkins and elsewhere that Ferrata and X Equestris went with Antony, and that his XII Antiqua were 'really' XII Fulminata, but this never seems to be substantiated - any clues? <p></p><i></i>
Nathan Ross
