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Short description

Legio XI Claudia Pia Fidelis (faithful and loyal Claudian legion) was a Roman legion. XI Claudia dates back to the two legions (the other was the XIIth) recruited by Julius Caesar to invade Gallia in 58 BC, and it existed at least until early 5th century.

Description

Legio XI Claudia Pia Fidelis (faithful and loyal Claudian legion) dates back to the two legions (the other was the XIIth) recruited by Julius Caesar to invade Gallia in 58 BC, and it existed at least until early 5th century, guarding lower Danube in Durostorum (modern Silistra, Bulgaria).

The emblem of this legion is not recorded; it could have been, as were all Caesar's legions, the bull, possibly the she-wolf lactating the twins.

The XIth and XIIth legions were levied by Caesar for his Helvetii campaign in 58 BC. The legion fought in the Battle against the Nervians, and probably fought at the Siege of Alesia too. During the civil war, the Eleventh legion fought for Caesar at the Battle of Dyrrhachium and at Pharsalus. The legion was disbanded in 45 BC, and its veterans were offered lands at Bojano, which received the name of Bovianum Undecumanorum, "Bovianum of the members of the eleventh". Following Augustus' rise to power the XIth was reconstituted in 42 BC by him (at the time known as Octavian), to fight in the civil war against the assassins of Caesar. The XIth fought in the Battle of Philippi, and then was sent back to Italy to quell a revolt at Perugia. It was probably involved with the fight against Sextus Pompeius, who had seized Sicilia.

In 32 BC, the XIth fought for Octavian against Mark Antony, in the civil war which ended with the Battle of Actium and Octavian's victory. The Eleventh was sent to the Balkans, but after a major defeat at the Battle of Teutoburg Forest (AD 9), Augustus redistributed the legions on the Northern frontier, sending the XIth to Burnum, Dalmatia (modern Kistanje), together with the VIIth.

In 42, the governor of Dalmatia, Lucius Arruntius Camillus Scribonianus, revolted against Emperor Claudius. The Eleventh and the Seventh sided with the Emperor and put down Scribonianus' rebellion. Claudius awarded each of the two loyal legions with the title Claudia Pia Fidelis. In the Year of the Four Emperors (69), the XI, the VII (which had moved from Burnum in 58) and XIV Gemina sided with Otho. A subunit of the Eleventh moved to participate in the Battle of Cremona between Otho and his opponent Vitellius, but arrived late on the battlefield, and was sent back to Dalmatia by the victorious Vitellius. When the commander of the Eastern army, Vespasian, claimed the purple, the XIth sided with him, fighting in the Second Battle of Bedriacum, which marked the beginning of the rule of Emperor Vespasian. The following year, 70, Claudia was led by Cerialis to quell the Batavian rebellion; after the rebellion was put down, the Claudia was moved to Vindonissa, in the province of Germania Superior, to replace XXI Rapax, while IV Flavia Felix moved to Burnum.

Towards the end of the 1st century, Claudia fought on the eastern bank of the Rhine (73/74); it also took part in Domitian's campaign against the Chatti in 83.

During the clash between Emperor Gallienus and the Emperor of the Gallic Empire Postumus, XI Claudia fought for the former, receiving the titles Pia V Fidelis V and Pia VI Fidelis VI ("Five/Six times faithful and loyal"). While still camped in Durostorum, some vexillationes of the Eleventh fought around the Empire: in 295, a mobile subunit is in Egypt, while in 298 another is in Mauretania.