Legio III Gallica Roman Standard

Legio III Gallica was created by Gaius Julius Caesar in 49‑48 BC for the civil war against Pompey, enlisting veterans from the provinces of Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul.

It fought in all of Caesar’s main campaigns, distinguishing itself at Dyrrhachium, Pharsalus and Munda. After Caesar’s murder it passed under Mark Antony, with whom it took part in the Parthian campaign of 36 BC, the only legion explicitly mentioned by Plutarch. After Actium (31 BC) it was incorporated into Augustus’s army and sent to Syria, where its emblem, the bull, became familiar along the eastern limes.

In the 1st century AD it played a leading role in Corbulo’s Armenian wars against the Parthians and was later transferred to Moesia on the Danube. In 69, the Year of the Four Emperors, III Gallica supported Vespasian and contributed decisively to the second battle of Bedriacum, where its legionaries’ characteristic salute to the rising sun was noted. In the 3rd century, stationed at Emesa, it proclaimed Elagabalus emperor, but shortly afterwards also took part in the revolt of Verus, which led to its temporary disbandment. Re-formed by Severus Alexander and sent back to Syria, it is still attested in the 4th century with detachments in Egypt, testifying to a very long operational history in the service of Rome.