Legio IV Macedonica Roman Vexillum

Legio IV Macedonica was created by Gaius Julius Caesar in 48 BC, enrolling Italian legionaries for the civil war against Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. It immediately fought at Dyrrhachium and especially at Pharsalus, where Caesar defeated Pompey, and from then on it was associated with his name. After the conflict ended, the legion was stationed in Macedonia, from which it derived its cognomen Macedonica.

Octavian, the future Augustus, used the legion first against Caesar's assassins at Philippi (42 BC), then against Mark Antony at Actium (31 BC), making it one of his most trusted units. He later transferred it to Hispania Tarraconensis for the Cantabrian Wars, to garrison the new Roman dominion in the West. In the early imperial age, the IV Macedonica was then deployed on the Rhine, in the Germanic area, participating in the defense of the Limes and intervening in the disturbances of the 1st century AD.

During the "Year of the Four Emperors" (69 AD), the legion supported Vitellius against Otho and Vespasian, a choice that determined its political end. In 70 AD, Vespasian disbanded it, reusing its veterans to found Legio IV Flavia Felix, a new unit loyal to the Flavian dynasty.