Under the Republic The Twelfth legion, as it is perhaps better known, fought in the
Battle against the Nervians, and probably also in the
Siege of Alesia. The Twelfth fought at the
Battle of Pharsalus (48 BC), when Caesar defeated Pompey. After Caesar won the civil war, the legion was named
Victrix, and enlisted in 43 BC by
Lepidus and
Mark Antony. Mark Antony led the Twelfth, renamed
XII Antiqua during his campaign against the
Parthian Empire. During the latest part of
Augustus' principality, XII
Fulminata served in
Syria, camping at
Raphana.
Under the Empire Against the Parthians From his eastern
Parthian Empire in present-day
Iran and
Iraq, King
Vologeses I in 58 AD invaded
Armenia, a client kingdom of Rome. Emperor
Nero ordered
Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, the new
Legate of
Cappadocia, to manage the matter. Corbulo ordered Legion
IV Scythica from
Moesia, and along with the
III Gallica and
VI Ferrata defeated the
Parthians, restoring
Tigranes VI to the Armenian throne. In 62 AD, the XII
Fulminata joined the IV
Scythica, now commanded by the new Legate of Cappadocia,
Lucius Caesennius Paetus. Both legions were defeated by the
Parthians and
Armenians at the
battle of Rhandeia; after surrendering, the legions were shamed and removed from this theater of war.
First Jewish–Roman War In 66, after a
Zealot revolt had destroyed the Roman garrison in
Jerusalem, the XII
Fulminata, with
vexillationes of IV
Scythica and VI
Ferrata, were sent to restore Roman authority. After
Cestius Gallus' withdrawal from the siege of the
Temple Mount, XII
Fulminata was ambushed and defeated by
Eleazar ben Simon in the
Battle of Beth Horon, losing its
aquila. However, XII
Fulminata fought well in the last part of the war, and supported its commander
T. Flavius Vespasian in his successful bid for the imperial throne. At the end of the war, XII
Fulminata and
XVI Flavia Firma were sent to guard the
Euphrates border, camping at
Melitene.
Defending the Eastern frontier in
Gobustan, Baku, Azerbaijan, left by Legio XII Fulminata; the easternmost Roman inscription ever found In 75 AD, the XII
Fulminata was in the
Caucasus, where Emperor
Vespasian had sent the legion to support the allied kingdoms of Iberia and Albania. An inscription presumably from this period has been found in modern-day
Azerbaijan which reads: Some historians argue that the settlement of
Ramana near
Baku was possibly founded by the Roman troops of Lucius Julius Maximus from Legio XII Fulminata in circa 84-96 AD and derives its name from the
Latin Romana. Facts that strengthen this hypothesis include: a military-topographical map of the
Caucasus published in 1903 by Russian administrators, which refers to the town as "Romana"; various Roman artifacts found in
Absheron region; and records that old(er) inhabitants referred to their town as
Romani. The legion was probably in
Armenia during
Trajan's campaign of 114 AD, that ended with the annexation of the Kingdom of Armenia. In 134, the threat of the
Alans was subdued by the governor of
Cappadocia,
Arrian, who defeated the invaders with the aid of XII
Fulminata and
XV Apollinaris. in Rome. The Twelfth probably fought in the
Parthian campaign of Emperor
Lucius Verus, in 162–166, if a mixed unit of XII and XV controlled for some time the newly conquered
Armenian capital
Artaxata. Emperor
Marcus Aurelius commanded the XII
Fulminata in his
campaign against the
Quadi, a people inhabiting an area in modern-day
Slovakia, and an episode of a miraculous rain and lightning saving a Twelfth subunit from defeat is reported by the sources. At this time, most of the Twelfth was composed chiefly of Christians. There was a belief that this had led to the emperor issuing a decree forbidding the persecution of the Christians, but this seems to have been based on a forgery. In 175, the legion was in Melitene, when
Avidius Cassius revolted; the Twelfth, having been loyal to the Emperor, obtained the cognomen
Certa Constans, "surely constant". After the death of Emperor
Pertinax, 193, XII
Fulminata supported the governor of
Syria,
Pescennius Niger, who was in the end defeated by Emperor
Septimius Severus. When the Eastern frontier of the Empire was moved from the Euphrates to the
Tigris, the Twelfth stayed in the reserve, possibly as a punishment for its support of Severus' rival. The region around Melitene was one of the first in which Christian faith spread.
Polyeuctes is a martyr under
Valerian who was a soldier of the Twelfth. The
Sassanid Empire was a major threat to the Roman power in the East. King
Shapur I conquered the base of the XV
Apollinaris,
Satala (256), and sacked
Trapezus (258). Emperor
Valerian moved against Shapur, but was defeated and captured. The defeat caused the partial collapse of the Empire, with the secessionistic
Gallic Empire in the West and
Palmyrene Empire in the East. It is known that the XII
Fulminata was under the command of
Odaenathus, ruler of the Palmyrene Empire, but also that Emperor
Gallienus awarded the legion with the cognomen
Galliena. After these episodes, the records of the
Fulminata are scarce. The Palmyrene Empire was reconquered by
Aurelian; Emperor
Diocletian defeated the Sassanids and moved the frontier to Northern
Mesopotamia. The Twelfth, which probably took part to these campaigns, is recorded guarding the frontier of the Euphrates in Melitene, at the beginning of the 5th century (
Notitia Dignitatum). == Attested members ==