Has anybody ever heard of this legion?

[marcus ulpius quadratus]

The XXIV or XXIIII Nikopolic Fortis was a Roman legion created by Gaius Julius Caesar, in 49 BC, for his civil war against Pompeii Magna

[Peroni]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legio_XXIV_...lic_Fortis

[marcus ulpius quadratus]

Salve Peroni,
Wikipedia is where i found out about this Legion aswell I am looking for more infomation on the XXIIII Nikopolic Fortis legion other than the brief paragraph mentioned.
Thank you for taking the time to respond

[D B Campbell]

Very astute of the Wikipedia author to pick such an anonymous legion as Caesar's Twenty-Fourth! I notice that no evidence is cited (because there isn't any). I'm not sure what he/she thinks "Nikopolic" means; Nikopoios ("victory-enabling") would have been more believable. But not quite!

[Nathan Ross]

There seem to be a few of these invented legions turning up on Wikipedia. Try XXIV Rapax Victrix for example hock: . This one also appears on the Wiki page for Titus Pullo (n.b. Pullo was not in XI Claudia either, but at least that's a real legion...!)

As for the extraordinary-sounding 'Nikopolic Fortis', it may be just another flight of fantasy, although the Wikipedia page does reference Stephen Dando-Collins' Legions of Rome - supposedly 'The Definitive History of Every Imperial Roman Legion' :roll: - could it be that Dando-Collins ran out of legions and decided to add a few made up ones of his own? :-?

[Paullus Scipio]

I don't suppose this enigmatic "Nikopolic Fortis" Legion is supposed to have been based in Egypt, by any chance?*

Nikopolis (lit: 'Victory-town') was a double legion base there from the reign of Claudius until at least c. 119 AD in Hadrian's reign, housing L. III Cyrenaica and L.XXII Deiotariana. Prior to Claudius' reign, Nicopolis ( modern Kasr Kayasira = Castris Caesaris) had housed a single Legion, and prior to that it had been a camp of Octavian in 30 BC, when Octavian had defeated Anthony in a final encounter.....

* I see, somewhat belatedly, that it is supposedly named for a town called Nicopolis in Thrace.....

[Epictetus]

That wikipedia page says Tacitus' Annals is a source (but no passage citation, of course). I did every word serach I could think of and didn't find anything about this legion.

[Nathan Ross]

I did every word serach I could think of and didn't find anything about this legion.

Don't bother - you never will!

I just had a glance at the Dando-Collins in a bookshop - it contains nothing on this 'legion', and the page reference on wikipedia actually relates to I Adiutrix. Collins does, of course, provide a lot of invented 'facts', but totally fictional legions are not amongst them!

Does wikipedia have some mechanism to prevent people adding any old rubbish to its pages? It would seem to defeat the point of an online encyclopedia otherwise...

[jackmcauliffe]

Collins does mention the XXIV and XXIIIII (or XXV)in his book Caesars Legion, a book on the X Legion. It is a wonderful read if anything, I would not classify it as the end all be all factual history of the tenth however it does a great chronology of Caesar's life during this time.

[Gaius Colletti]

Aside from most of the that Wiki page about the Niko Fortis legion sounding like BS, the ending just summed up all the BS with barbarians being afraid to fight the "crabby legion" lol

[marcus ulpius quadratus]

Salve Omnes

Thank you all for your kind thoughts & replies.
As most of you have found that any credible reference to L.XXIV/XXIIII simply does not exist as like you I have found no reference in Tacitus 'Annuls'
As Regarding Dando Collins if his book is, as it claims to be the 'Definative History of Every Roman Legion' why does he relate to the 'otherwise unknown L.X Equestris (10th'Equestris Legion)?(P155 ) As having researched other books, sites etc I thought L.X Equestris was accepted as being from 58bc after Caesar employed members of his favourite legion (Legio X) as a cavalry escort