'Legio II ''Adiutrix Pia Fidelis''' (''supporter'', ''faithful and loyal''), was a
Roman legion levied by emperor
Vespasian in
70, from Roman navy marines in
Ravenna. There are still records of II ''Adiutrix'' in the
Rhine border in the beginning of the
4th century. The legion's symbols were a
Capricorn and
Pegasus.
The first assignment of II ''Adiutrix'' was in
Germania Inferior, where the
Batavian rebellion was at its peak. After the defeat of the rebels, II ''Adiutrix'' followed general
Cerealis to
Britain to deal with another rebellion led by Venutius. During the next years, the legion was to stay in the British Islands to subdue the rebel tribes of
Scotland and
Wales, with base camp probably at
Chester.
In
87, the legion was recalled to the continent to participate in the
Dacian wars of emperor
Domitian. Between
94 and
95, still in Dacia, later emperor
Hadrian served as military tribune in the II ''Adiutrix''.
After
Trajan's Dacian wars of
101-
106, the legion was located in Aquincum (modern
Budapest), which would be its base camp for the years to come. Despite this, the legion or
subunits of it took part in:
★
Lucius Verus campaign against the
Parthian Empire (162-166)
★
Marcus Aurelius campaign against the
Marcomanni (171-173)
★
Caracalla campaign against the
Alemanni (213)
★
Gordian campaign against the
Sassanid Empire (238)
In
193, II ''Adiutrix'' supported emperor
Septimius Severus during his struggle for the purple.
See also
★
List of Roman legions
★
Roman legion
External links
★
livius.org account of Legio II Adiutrix
★
Familia Gladiatoria - Hungary, Hungarian reenactment group