Ancient Roman Terracotta Legio XIIII Gemina, part of a Tegula. - 160 mm (No Reserve Price)

Very rare brick from a legionary camp of the 14th Roman Legion.
100% original.
From a very old Viennese collection which I acquired more than 30 years ago.
All items have been checked for authenticity.

Size: 160 x 120 mm.

No export license required.
Insured parcel delivery.

Sale and delivery only within the European Union!





The origins of Rome’s Fourteenth Legion most likely go back to 57 BCE, when Julius Caesar was campaigning in Gaul. His account of the fighting against the Nervii hints at the legion’s presence that same year. A few years later, in early 53 BCE, the unit was wiped out by the Eburones under Ambiorix, but it was quickly rebuilt. The reformed legion likely distinguished itself at the siege of Alesia in 52 BCE.

During Caesar's conflict with Pompey, the legion served in Hispania and fought at Ilerda in 49 BCE. The following spring it moved across the Adriatic to Dyrrhachium in modern Albania and was almost certainly involved at Pharsalus, where Caesar's victory forced Pompey's flight. Afterward, the soldiers were returned to Italy for discharge, although many rejoined Caesar for his African campaign in 46 BCE.

A legion bearing the same number reappears after 41 BCE. It may have been newly raised—its emblem, the Capricorn, fits Octavian's astrological sign—or it may represent a reorganization of the earlier unit. In any case, Octavian employed it in the struggle against Sextus Pompeius, whose control of Sicily endangered Rome's grain supply.

Following Sextus Pompeius’ defeat by Agrippa in 35 BCE, tensions between Octavian and Mark Antony escalated and culminated at Actium in 31 BCE. Octavian's veterans were settled in Ateste, and the Fourteenth—now reinforced with troops from Antony's dissolved forces and known as the “Twin Legion”—was transferred to Illyricum. A short period in Aquitania or Transpadane Gaul is possible but not certain.

In 6 CE, Tiberius planned a massive two-pronged invasion of the Marcomanni in Bohemia using eight legions from the Balkans and additional units from the Rhine. The Fourteenth was among these forces, but the whole enterprise collapsed when a major uprising broke out in Pannonia, tying the legions down for three years.

Rome then suffered its devastating defeat in the Teutoburg Forest in 9 CE. As the army was reorganized afterward, the Fourteenth was moved to Mainz in Germania Superior alongside the Sixteenth Legion. Tombstones from Mainz and nearby Wiesbaden, such as that of Gnaeus Musius, confirm the legion's presence and commemorate its standard-bearers and rank-and-file soldiers.

In 21 CE, part or all of the legion assisted in crushing a rebellion in Gaul led by Julius Sacrovir and Julius Florus, who opposed Roman taxation. Nearly two decades later, the Fourteenth took part in Caligula's Rhine campaign. Although ancient accounts downplay this conflict, archeology shows significant Roman activity east of the river. Caligula even named a new legion the Fifteenth, possibly as a gesture to the Fourteenth. His successor, Galba, continued operations against the Chatti around 40–41 CE.

The legion took part in Claudius' invasion of Britain in 43 CE, operating alongside II Augusta, IX Hispana, and XX Valeria Victrix. It was stationed at Leicester early on and later engaged various tribes, including the Cornovii, Deceangi, and Brigantes. It eventually moved to Lincolnshire and may have been sent temporarily to Strasbourg.

Throughout the 50s CE, the Fourteenth fought against several Welsh tribes from its base at Viroconium. Its determined resistance during Boudicca’s revolt in 60 CE earned it the honorary title Martia Victrix—Nero reportedly regarded it as his finest legion. Although Nero planned a campaign against Parthia and sent the legion eastward in 67, his suicide in 68 ended the operation. Galba, his successor, ordered the Fourteenth to remain on the Balkan frontier.

Civil was erupted in 69 CE. The legion sided with Otho, but it arrived too late for the first Battle of Cremona; only a detachment fought and was defeated. Vitellius, surprisingly lenient, returned the Fourteenth to Britain. It remained neutral when Vitellius later clashed with Vespasian, although the next year it joined Cerialis' forces in suppressing the Batavian revolt. After marching through Nervian territory and fighting decisively at Xanten, the legion did not go back to Britain but was stationed again at Mainz with I Adiutrix. There it rebuilt the fortress damaged during the revolt.

Over the following decades, the Fourteenth participated in various campaigns east of the Rhine, including Domitian’s Germanic war and construction projects like the Rhine bridge and the fort at Wiesbaden. An inscription from the bathhouse at Wiesbaden confirms their involvement.

In 89 CE, the legion backed the rebellion of Saturninus against Emperor Domitian, alongside XXI Rapax. When the revolt failed, XXI Rapax was transferred away. A few years later, in 92 CE, XXI Rapax was destroyed by Dacians, and the Fourteenth was sent to Pannonia to fill its place. From bases at Osijek and then Vindobona (Vienna), it fought against Sarmatians and Suebi. These conflicts continued into Nerva's reign and escalated under Trajan during the Dacian Wars (101–106 CE), after which veterans of the Fourteenth were settled in the new provincial capital, Sarmizegetusa.

After 117/118 CE, the legion was permanently based at Carnuntum on the Danube, where it remained for over 300 years. Detachments served in North Africa under Antoninus Pius, in the Parthian War of Lucius Verus, and throughout Marcus Aurelius' Marcomannic Wars, during which Carnuntum served as the imperial headquarters.

In 193 CE, after the murder of Emperor Pertinax, Septimius Severus was proclaimed emperor at Carnuntum. The Fourteenth strongly supported him, marching with him to Rome to depose Didius Julianus. Parts of the legion later fought against Pescennius Niger and perhaps took part in Severus’ Parthian campaigns that ended with the capture of Ctesiphon in 198 CE.

Evidence from the third century is sparse, but the legion likely remained militarily active, often alongside X Gemina. It took part in conflicts during the reigns of Gordian III and Philip the Arab, supported the usurper Regalianus in the 260s, and later won several honorary titles (Pia Fidelis I–VI) for its loyalty to Emperor Gallienus in his struggle against the Gallic Empire. After Gallienus' death, the Fourteenth shifted his allegiance to the Gallic emperor Victorinus.

During the late fourth century, Carnuntum again became a central base during Roman campaigns against the Marcomanni under Emperor Valens (not Valerian). The legion appears to have endured at its Danube post until the frontier collapsed around 430 CE.

Over its long history, the legion used several symbols, most notably the Capricorn—and earlier an eagle—although by the late third century the Capricorn had become its sole emblem.




Very rare brick from a legionary camp of the 14th Roman Legion.
100% Original
From a very old Viennese collection which I acquired more than 30 years ago.
Everything has been checked for authenticity.

Size 160 x 120 mm

No export license required.
Insured parcel shipping.

Sales and shipping only within the European Union!