Info. on Legio II Parthica

[Commilito]

Well, i decided to get off my butt and start attempting to rebuild the costume of a soldier serving the Legio II Parthica cica 210-250 (when all the cool stuff happened, like their battle with the Praetorians)

Basically, I need some information on the shield device of them. I know that their Legion emblem was a centuar, but does anyone know what they used as a shield blazon? Any info at all would help a lot.

Also, in my Osprey book Imperial Legionary 210-263, the plates by Angus Mcbride of the soldiers around 215-263 shows they wearing a belt that looks a lot like this:

Is this accurate? I know Angus Mcbride can sometimes take an idea and run with it a little too far, so I was wondering if anyone else thinks this style of belt would be appropriate.

All help would be appreciated. Thanks!

[TFLAVIUSAMBIORIX]

I really don't think we have much info on the shield design of the Legio II Parthica at this time, however, there are the dura europos sheilds from the 3rd century, both with highly sylized and artsy motifs.

also, some legionaries were moving toward the trend of oval shields at this time, if not most.

I can't see enough detail on the buckle, it has a tongue right?


neat era to reenact, you will have fun.

[Flavius Promotus]

Commilito,

do you mean "Legionary AD 161-284" ? If yes, don't trust the Angus McBride images too much. They look flashy and impressing, but if you want to go for accuracy, better look somewhere else.

Like for example...

James, Simon, 2004, Excavations at Dura-Europos, Final Report VII: The Arms and Armour and other military equipment, London.

(ISBN: 0-7141-2248-3)

It is EXPENSIVE, but perhaps you can find a library which has this book.
I like it very much! There may be a few passages which could be disputed, but I usually call it the 'King James Bible'

As far as I know, some of the gravestones of the Legio II Parthica from Apamea are also depicted (including the lanciarius).

Equipment: a Dura style rectangular shield is not too difficult to make (with the exception of the painting), but a dished oval shield might have been more appropriate (I have got a rectangular :oops: ). Hard to get one, though.

Shield blazon: if you do not want to spend too much energy on the design, copy the painting you can find on the Dura rectangular (or at least some of the decorative elements) and replace the lion with a centaur...
You might also create your own design by mixing up the decorative elements from the rectangular shield with the ones from the 'Troy' shield or the 'Homeric' shield. (apart from the human images, their decorative elements are very similar, anyway).
Just to warn you, the painting is a royal pain in the prymna ! :x

Good paintings of the shield designs can be found in James (see above), but even better ones are in the old Dura-Europos final reports.

Belt: you should ask Caius Tarquitius!
Most common would be a ring buckle belt, which is not too difficult to make, but if you want a square buckle belt, you should take a look at the online catalogue of Holger Ratsdorf.

Hope that helps :wink:

[Commilito]

ah.

Thank you everyone!
I was hoping that the legion had a blazon other than the centuar...that will be really hard to paint. I guess if all else fails and i can't find a copy of that "bible" I'll just take motifs and symbols from the legionary coins of II parthica and put those on the shield.

Thanks all!

[Flavius Promotus]

if all else fails and i can't find a copy of that "bible" I'll just take motifs and symbols from the legionary coins of II parthica and put those on the shield

why not ? I did the same with III Italica's stork

[Graham Sumner]

Hello Commilito

You might also like to try and find the following

'Apamea in Syria: The winter quarters of Legio II Parthica', J.C. Balty. 1993. Bruxelles.

Plate 4 Funerary stele of Septimius Viator shows an oval shield with a simple cross design.

'Legio II Parthica: A third century Legion', P.Holder. Military Illustrated Magazine No.48 May 1992.

Shows two reconstructed Legionaries with shield blazons based on designs depicted on a black and white mosaic at the legionary bath-house excavated at the Legions base at Alba in Italy. The colours of all three shield designs would however be hypothetical.

Graham.

[Nathan Ross]

The shields from the Apamea stelae and the Alba 'legionary' bathhouse are also mentioned in this article:

[url:17qafff9]http://www.ne.jp/asahi/luke/ueda-sarson/MIR-Shields.html[/url]

It seems that the Apamea designs were very simple, and not unlike the examples from the Piazza Armerina mosaics. Elsewhere on the same site, we have the interesting comparison of the aforementioned Alba mosiacs (which were probably connected to the Legio II Parthica camp) with later shields illustrated in the Notitia Dignitatum. With reference to II Parthica being the 'bodyguard' unit of the Severan emperors, and the Notitia's 'Domestici Pedites' shield, the site's author Luke Ueda-Sarson says:

Interestingly, if you take away the angels holding the image in the shield of the pedites unit (an obviously Christian embellishment), you have essentially the very same shield pattern shown in a mosaic in the 'legionary' bathouse at Alba just outside Rome. This would indicate the unit concerned has a continuous history as a bodyguard unit stretching back to the end of the second century AD.

Here is the shield in question:



A very classy looking design, I think. The author's remark about the 'angels' being Christian is possibly misplaced - there are plenty of 'angels' and other winged types, often bearing heads, wreaths etc, on Roman military art of the period, notably the Dura shields.

I haven't actually seen pictures of the Alba mosaics themselves, or the reconstructions based on them - perhaps Graham or somebody else could post images from the articles mentioned above (one of which, I notice, was co-authored by himself along with Mr Holder!)?

[Graham Sumner]

Hello Nathan

As requested I have asked Jasper to post a copy of the painting from Military Illustrated.

Please remember it was painted in 1992 well before my own research into Roman tunics etc... and that the design on the bath house mosaic was originally in black and white.

Graham.

[Praefectusclassis]

As requested:

[Graham Sumner]

Thanks for that Jasper

And you have earned yourself an extra Karma point for posting the image within five minutes of me actually e-mailing it to you!!!

Graham.

[Nathan Ross]

Thanks Graham and Jasper - Great picture! The style is quite recognisable from the Osprey 'Military Costume' books.

OK, about these shields - the design is indeed fairly similar to the Domestici Pedites. No sign of angels, though, which is a shame... Depending on the level of detail and the fineness of the original mosaic, of course, might it be possible that the central 'circular chequerboard' pattern of the left hand shield (which looks a bit op-art if you stare at it too long hock: ) is an attempt by the mosaic artist to render something like the pattern of linked 'heart shapes' on the ND design?

[Robert Vermaat]

I'd say they look alike, but that's also a trap because a lot of the shields in the ND 'look' alike, but really are different.
The largest difference between these shields, I'd say, is that the II Parthica shield is yellow with a dark rim, and the Scholae shield is dark with a yellow rim.
And those who know their ND shield art therefore also know that's not just a trifle matter of colours which could easily be exchanged.

[Nathan Ross]

The largest difference between these shields, I'd say, is that the II Parthica shield is yellow with a dark rim, and the Scholae shield is dark with a yellow rim.

Ah, but the red and yellow shield in the illustration is 'dark' with a 'light' rim! - since the mosaic was in black and white, the 'dark' red could just as easily have been blue or black...

[Robert Vermaat]

The largest difference between these shields, I'd say, is that the II Parthica shield is yellow with a dark rim, and the Scholae shield is dark with a yellow rim.

Ah, but the red and yellow shield in the illustration is 'dark' with a 'light' rim! - since the mosaic was in black and white, the 'dark' red could just as easily have been blue or black...

Indeed it could've been, but on that shield, the centre portion is very different...
Same thing - the designs look alike, but aren't exactly simlar.
Mind you, I'm not saying that you're wrong! I just wanted to draw attention to the fact that apparently, very differing units could have shield designs that look extremely similar, but bear no relation to each other.