Octavianus (later Emperor Augustus) raised XV
Apollinaris in order to end the occupation of
Sicily by
Sextus Pompeius, who was threatening
Rome's grain supply. After the
Battle of Actium, where the legion probably gained its epitaph
Apollinaris, By the year 9 the legion was headquartered in Pannonia, in the town of Carnuntum. There the unit stayed until sent to
Syria and possibly
Armenia by
Nero in 61 or 62, these territories
newly conquered from the
Parthians. After the conclusion of the war with Parthia, the legion was sent to
Alexandria but soon found itself engaged in the fierce fighting of the
First Jewish Revolt, capturing the towns of
Jotapata and
Gamla. It was the Fifteenth that captured the Jewish general later to become famous as the historian
Josephus. During this period the legion was commanded by
Titus, who would later become Emperor. After the suppression of the revolt, the legion returned to Carnuntum and rebuilt its fortress. Elements of the XVth fought in the
Dacian Wars although the main body of the legion remained in Pannonia. In 115, war with Parthia
broke out again and the legion was sent to the front, reinforced with elements of the
XXX Ulpia Victrix. The legion fought in Mesopotamia, which was conquered by the Romans. After the conflict was over the unit stayed in the east with a new headquarters at
Satala in northeastern
Cappadocia, with elements stationed at
Trapezus on the Black Sea and at
Ancyra, modern-day Ankara. From this base the XVth helped repulse an invasion of
Alans in 134. By 162, Rome and Parthia
were at war once more; the campaign, led by Emperor
Lucius Verus was successful, and the legion occupied the Armenian capital
Artaxata. In 175, the general
Avidius Cassius rebelled against Emperor
Marcus Aurelius, but the Fifteenth remained loyal and earned the additional title
Pia Fidelis. The history of the legion after this point involves more conjecture. As a unit stationed in the Middle East, it is almost certain to have taken part in later campaigns against Parthia, including the
sack of its capital Ctesiphon by the Romans in 197, and in wars against the new
Sassanid power that arose in Persia thereafter, though there is no direct record of this. At the beginning of the 5th century, the legion reappears in history: it is still quartered at Satala and Ancyra, though having lost its post at Trapezus somewhere along the way, and is under the command of the
Dux Armeniae. An inscription possibly relating to this legion was found in a cave in eastern
Uzbekistan, perhaps carved by soldiers captured by the
Parthians and dispatched to their eastern frontier as border guards. == Attested members ==