okamido

Which Legion/s had a greater affect on the history of the Roman Republic/ Empire, and thus a greater affect on the history of Europe as a whole?

Legio III Galica
-Fought for Caesar during the Civil War including Pharsalus and Munda.

-Was instrumental in the defense of Antony's retreat from his Parthian Campaign, fighting a rear-guard that staved off another possible "Carrhae".

-One of the Legions that marched with Corbulo, striking fear into Parthia.

-Was instrumental in defeating Vitellus during the Year of Four Emperors.

-Saved, and then spared the life of the man that would become St. Paul on at least two seperate occasions.

Legio VI Ferrata
-Fought for Caesar during the Gallic Campaign, then for Pompey during Civil War.

-After Pharsalus, rejoined Caesar and was instrumental in him securing of Egypt.

-One of Corbulo's Legions in the East.

Legio X
-Caesar's own, acted as his bodygaurd, always his pick to fight first.

-Was handpicked to be placed on horseback to accompany Caesar in his negotiations with the German King Ariovstus.

-Saved the day at the Battle against the Nervii when, after crossing a river to defeat the Atrebates, they recrossed that same river and hit the Nervii from behind as they were about to overwhelm the XII and VII Legions.

Legio XIIII Gemini(Martia Victrix)
-Accompanied Germanicus in his quest for revenge against Arminius for Teutobeurg.

-One of the Legions that invaded Britain for Claudius.

-Defeated Caratacus at Severn.

-Defeated Boudicca.

Legio XVII, XVIII, XVIIII
-The destructions of these Legions at Teutoburg and the effect that had on Rome.

xander.XVII

Sincerely I am indecided between Legio III and X(3rd and 10th) because both had fought many battle and done fantastic war expeditions but ultimately I chose the Legio III.
One thing also, but Does'nt exist another Legio III called Parthica? O ,as probably as I think, I am in wrong?

Chookie

I consider the loss of the XVII, XVIII and XVIIII legions at Tuetoberg the single event which had the most long-lasting effect on Roman history.

okamido

There is, levied by Septimius Severus for eastern operations in 197 ce. There was also 3rd Augusta & 3rd Cyrenaica.

okamido

That was why I added them despite being wiped out, because their defeat was a watershed moment for the Empire.

Whyte

If you allow me to participate in a bit of conterfactual history and try to imagine what would have happened if the legions would have performed differently...

I am having hard time making up my mind between Legio X and the legions lost at Teutoburg.

The case for Tenth:
If Caesar would have had his command butchered against the Nervii, he likely would have been discredited back in Rome, and been very vulnerable to accusations levied by his political opponents... And that is assuming he doesn't die in that battle. So, lets imagine Gaul is never conquered, Caesar is exiled in ignomy or something, never amounting to much. What then? Well, IMHO, the SPQR was a goner anyway, so sooner or later, another strongman would have sparked off civil war and claimed the dictatorship. After all, Marius and Sulla had their day, before. No reason why another wouldn't arise instead. What about Gaul? Would this strongman conquer Gaul, or would the Gauls forge a nation of their own like they seemed to be about to under Vercingetorix? I think, given Roman Imperialism, they would have crushed even unified Gaul eventually, having the Mediterranean world to draw from. So, in the end, I believe that even without Julius Caesar, the end result wouldn't have been much different. A lot different in the details, but generally a lot similar. (Wow, I totally changed my mind from my first kneejerk 'Caesar dies! History totally rewritten!' -reaction.)

The Legions at Teutoburg:
So what if the legions crush Arminius and the Cherusci? Given that Germania was being pacified out to Elbe before the uprising, perhaps this would have allowed the Romans to keep hold of Germania? Would there have been other uprisings, which might have been successful? Perhaps. But if we assume that a victory at Teutoburg would have encouraged the Romans to try and hold on to Germania, and allowed them to pacify the country... The Elbe - Danube border has been quoted as a lot shorter and defensible than Rhein - Danube border. Maybe with the addition of the Dacia, the border might have shifted to Vistula, even? The addition of the Germans to the Roman Empire would have been a huge effect on Europe. Perhaps the shorter, more defensible borders would have made the Empire more stable and wealthy than it was. No Marcomanni wars for Marcus Aurelius to fight! Would the addition of German manpower, with the less need for border defense there, allowed Trajan to hang on to the Mesopotamian conquests? That would certainly have made Rome much stronger against the Sassanids as well. Would the Roman Empire have existed to modern times?

Of course, everything could have gone wrong at some point later on, and the history would have 'reverted' to what we are familiar with, but the potential of the Germania being incorporated to the Roman Empire seems pretty tantalizing to me. I am going to vote for XVII, XVIII and XVIIII (should this be XIX instead, or is IX notation a later invention?).

Edit: Huh. So much for trying to be the first one to answer. :P

Penske666

Xander, Legions sometimes have more than one name Legio IX for instance have both Macedonia and Hispana (my favourite legion )

They dont seem very successful in battle though and vanish pretty quickly!

gaius valerius

Woooooooooooooooooow... that is a longshot and very a-historical.

okamido

AHHHH..just play along