Legions of the Crisis

[Marcus Minucius Audens]

During the Roman Crisis of the third century, the Romans never fielded more that thirty-three legions at any one time. However, over the entire era there existed a total of thirty-six of those formations. Their designations are listed below:

>> I Adiutrix; >> II Adiutrix; >> XV Appolinaris; >> II Augusta;

>> VII Claudia; >> XI Claudia; >> III Cyrenaica; >> III Augusta;

>> VI Ferrata; >> XVI Flavia; >> X Fretensis; >> XII Fulminata;

>> III Gallica; >> VII Gemina; >> X Gemina; >> XIII Gemina;

>> XIV Gemina; >> I Illyricorum; >> I Isaura; >> II Isaura;

>> III Isaura; >> II Italica; >> IV Italica; >> V Macedonia;

>> IV Martia; >> I Minerva; >> I Parthica; >> III Parthica;

>> XX Primigenia; >> IV Sythica; >> II Triana; >> XXX Ulpia;

>> XX Valeria Victrix; >> VI Victrix; II Parthica; >> Praetorian.


The first major grouping of horse units into what amounted to all-cavalry legions also took place during the crisis. Those formations were the; Equites Dalmatae; Equites Mauri; and Equites Scutarii.

The battle kit of the classic Roman heavy infantry legionnaire was the:

>> javelin; >> rectangular shield;
>> short sword; >> helmet.

The crisis of the third century spelled the end of that Roman army and the start of its replacement by a new, heavily Germanized force, that eventually came to amount to little more than a fuedal mob.

Respectfully Submitted;
Marcus Audens