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https://doi.org/10.52064/vamz.57.2.2
Legio XI Claudia Pia Fidelis – Militaria of the Burnum troop wavering in the year 42
Helga Sedlmayer
*
* Dopisni autor.
Sažetak
Burnum was the hotspot of a political crisis in the Roman Empire in 42 AD. For a brief period of five days, an insurrection against the Iulian-Claudian imperial house was supported by the 11th Legion stationed there. When the soldiers realized the obvious deception used to foment this rebellion, their desire for revenge led to the manslaughter of several of their superiors. This violation of the regulations against higher ranks was rigidly punished as a capital crime by the provincial governor, newly appointed by Emperor Claudius. The convicted legionaries were executed in front of the headquarters. At almost the same time, however, the troops had also been given the honorific title Claudia Pia Fidelis for their loyalty, professed so quickly to the emperor. The emphasis on this pietas was thus eclipsed by the guilty verdicts’ causa capitis of a dubious interpretation of the law. After all, the soldiers sentenced to death had turned against the high traitors of the imperial house (adversus Claudium auctores occiderant).
It is therefore hardly surprising that the site of the executions in the area of the principia was subjected to a complete transformation within a few years, between 42 and 51/52 AD, in the course of a large-scale building programme under Claudius. The terrain was completely changed in its appearance by a mighty levelling; the place was practically sealed. As relics of these structural measures, an abundant spectrum of militaria has been deposited in the backfill. As bronze fragments show, what ended up in the fill is likely to have been waste and metal supplies from a fine forge. Also found among the military gear was a well-preserved belt fitting with niello decoration. On the basis of this significant find, the rich repertoire of belts with niello decoration worn by legionaries of the 11th Legion from Burnum up to the Rhine region via Vindonissa is presented.
Ključne riječi
Burnum, legio XI, Claudian period, insurrection, military gear, niello-decorated belts
Hrčak ID:
328470
URI
Datum izdavanja:
31.12.2024.
Posjeta: 576 *