Legio XIII Gemina

I finally got around to looking up the 13th Legion or, more properly, the Legio XIII Gemina. This is the official title of the 13th Legion, of HBO’s Rome fame. The Legion was formed by Julius Caesar for the campaign in Gaul sometime around 57 BCE and was with Caesar at Alesia.

The 13th was in fact the sole Legion with Caesar when he crossed the Rubicon in 48 BCE. The legion, as Livy put it, with which Caesar assaulted the world. It was also with him at Pharsalus. After the defeat of Pompey the legion was pensioned off and decommissioned.

The 13th was reformed in 41 BCE by Octavian for a campaign in Sicily against Sextus Pompeius the son of Pompey the Great. One article claims that soldiers of the 13th saved Octavian’s life in Sicily. The 13th is also rumored to have been with Octavian at Actium.

Well, well, that’s encouraging. We can start off next season with Octavian reforming the 13th Legion and having Vorenus take command. I’m trying to imagine Pullo as a Centurion. Nah, it would never work.

After Actium the 13th got its title “Gemina” when it was reinforced from other disbanding legions. The legion appears to have remained active along the northern border of the Empire, primarily in the province of Dacia, until around 400 CE, when it appears to have simply dissolved as pay and supplies stopped coming from Rome. The symbol of the 13th was the Lion. History is silent about the fate of the Eagle of the 13th Legion.