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Lately I have been studying first century Judea. I am interested to know if there is any credible evidence which places a specific Legion in Jeruselam around 33 AD. I have read that legion six was stationed there and I have also heard that legion two may have been there.
Thoughts?
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Legion X Fretensis is reported to have been in Syria, and may have sent parts of its auxilia to Jerusalem around that time. The Bible mentions the "Italian Cohort", though whether that is an Official Cohort or not is not clear from context. Paul (Saul of Tarsus) is escorted out of town by a contingent of 200 soldiers with 70 cavalry and 200 spearmen (Acts 23:23). Those sound more like auxilia than typical legionaries (but of course, the 200 "soldiers" is not clear--could be legionary troops.
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)
Saepe veritas est dura.
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Just to add to Demetrius' excellent answer, it should be made clear that no legions were stationed in Judea before the First Jewish War. After the fall of Masada (73 AD), Legion X Fretensis was stationed in or near the ruins of Jerusalem.
Before the revolt the Syrian governor occassionally sent legionary forces into the country to reinforce the local auxiliaries or just as a show of force.
As for legion "two" you'll have to be more specific since numbers were often shared with other legions. In the imperial period there are five legions using the numeric two concurrently. But to distinguish themselves they had unique titles. They are:
II Adiutrix
II Augusta
II Italica
II Parthica
II Traiana
I checked their histories and none set foot in first century Judea. Some weren't even created until the 2nd century AD.
As for legion "six" there were two legions with that number.
VI Ferrata (the "iron" or "ironclad" legion)
VI Victrix (the "victorious" legion)
Legion VI "Ferrata" was one of the four Syrian legions. It participated in the First Jewish War.
Legion VI "Victrix" was the only Spanish legion and at the time of the First Jewish War it was busy in proclaiming their own govenor emperor (Galba). Vespasian then stationed them in Germany.
Hope that helps.
~Theo
Jaime
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Theo... where does one find that kind of information? I would like to research your resources.
Patrick
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Are y'all aware of any vendors selling 28mm, 54mm, or 1/35 scale sized focused on Roman and Jewish models
to portray Legions in Jerusalem under Pilate? Both for collecting and wargaming?
I forgot to add anyone located a vendor with minature "Ark of the Covenant" model?
Thank You,
David Ward
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Should we start another thread about miniature soldiers?
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)
Saepe veritas est dura.
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Yes -- My apologies for pulling us off topic.
:oops:
Narukami
David Reinke
Burbank CA