Posted on 03/16/2011 4:28:52 AM PDT by decimon
The disappearance of Rome's Ninth Legion has long baffled historians, but could a brutal ambush have been the event that forged the England-Scotland border, asks archaeologist Dr Miles Russell.
One of the most enduring legends of Roman Britain concerns the disappearance of the Ninth Legion.
The theory that 5,000 of Rome's finest soldiers were lost in the swirling mists of Caledonia, as they marched north to put down a rebellion, forms the basis of a new film, The Eagle, but how much of it is true?
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Hadrian's Wall was designed to keep invaders out of Roman territory as well ensuring that potential insurgents within the province had no hope of receiving support from their allies to the north. From this point, cultures on either side of the great divide developed at different rates and in very different ways.
The ultimate legacy of the Ninth was the creation of a permanent border, forever dividing Britain. The origins of what were to become the independent kingdoms of England and Scotland may be traced to the loss of this unluckiest of Roman legions.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
They all died from Legionnaires' disease
“There are plenty of amateur archeologist out there”
Heck, one of the most famous archeologist of all time, Heinrich Schliemann—who may or may not have discovered Troy, was an amateur. So were the kids (and their dog) who found the Lascaux caves.
Not familiar with this particular legion, IX Hispania. Sometimes a legion would get disbanded for fighting on the losing side of a Roman civil war, or backing the wrong horse in one of the later dynastic struggles. I wonder if a new emperor might just order the name of such a legion "stricken" from all record? According to the article there are a few tidbits surviving in the Netherlands, so maybe the censors missed a few?
That was more or less true of all ancient armies this side of Phillip II of Macedon & his more famous son, Alexander the Great.
Roman forces would have been handled tactically by long-serving professional centurions.
Also, ancient armies were pretty much a one-shot affair. Once a legate released a unit into combat the only move that he had left was to release his reserves, if he had any. A decision that was probably also influenced by his "first spear" centurion.
Heaven forbid!
Oh BOY!!! Can’t wait for this one! Just now off my “300” high...
Hope it doesn’t stink...
ping
>Someone was watching “Centurian”, weren’t they?<
CENTURION? Great movie. I watched the bad Jonah Hex and Inglorious Bastards’ and couldn;t believe that it’s the same actor in Michael Fassbender playing both an English-Germany spy and the Irish thug in Hex, yet he played the lead role superbly.
On another note, I read an article years ago that traces of the Ninth were not mysteriously lost but they were secretly re-assigned to even far away as the Middle East.
Watch CENTURION from last year, I recommend it. Supposedly the Eagle’ was ripped off from Centurion, and the producers of both movies tried to sue each other.
Will do - thnx
True enough. I guess handing supreme command out by accident of birth is even less rational than giving it to the winner of corrupt elections.
There were other supremely talented ancient military leaders, obviously, such as Hannibal, Africanus and Caesar, but their rise to command was in all cases at least as much the result of political factors as of military effectiveness.
OTOH, military talent was also a fast track to political success.
True enough. We also have to keep in mind when deciding "Chicken or Egg" was the extent to which the King/Emperor was exaggerating his own military prowess after-the-fact. Perhaps claiming credit for what others had done?
Not really. Centurion is the disappearance event in 117AD. The Eagle is a "15 years after" recovery of The Legion's eagle, based on a Childrens/Young Adult novel Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliffe (Which I thoroughly reccomend)
And just to be curmugeonly, I think the definative film adaption was probably the 1977 BBC minseries - brilliant adaption.
bump for later
Still is, come to think of it.
Look at the number of American presidents who were elected based on their military success.
bfl
Notably, none since Eisenhower.
You are forgetting the ‘cursa honorum’ which was a career ladder for young Roman nobles to become Senators and politicians.
The cursus honorum began with ten years of military duty in the Roman cavalry (the equites) or in the staff of a general who was a relative or a friend of the family. The ten years of service were intended to be mandatory in order to qualify for political office, but in practice, the rule was not always rigidly applied.
A more prestigious position was that of a military tribune. In the early Roman Republic, 24 men at the age of around 20 were elected by the Tribal Assembly to serve as a commander in the legions, with six tribunes to each and command rotating among them. Tribunes could also be appointed by the consuls or by military commanders in the field as necessary. After the reforms of Gaius Marius in 107 BC, the six tribunes acted as staff officers for the legionary Legatus and were appointed tasks and command of units of troops whenever the need arose.
So most accomplished politicians in the Republic had quite a bit of military service with the legions as part of their training and qulaification for higher office.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we had the same sort of requirements? I think we are down to only a few Senators with military service (Kerry, McCain, and the guy from VA.), probably the fewest in our history.
It is a great book - Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff. I used it in the homeschool.
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