Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix Roman Vexillum

The Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix was created by Emperor Trajan in 105 AD for the Dacian campaigns, along with the II Traiana Fortis. The name  Ulpia refers to Trajan's  gens (Marcus Ulpius Traianus), while  Victrix ("victorious") was the nickname obtained for the bravery shown in the Dacian wars. The number "thirty" indicates that, at the time of its foundation, the imperial army already had twenty-nine operational legions.

Its first known deployment was at Brigetio, in Upper Pannonia, on the middle Danube, from where units of the legion took part in the final phase of the conquest of Dacia. After the Danubian and Sarmatian wars, the XXX was transferred to the Rhine: from 122 AD it had a stable base in Colonia Ulpia Traiana (Xanten), in Lower Germany, a key stronghold of the limes and a center of intense building and administrative activity.

In the 3rd century, the legion followed Alexander Severus in the campaign against the Sasanids and then in interventions on the Rhine front. It participated in conflicts against the Franks and in the events of the Gallic Empire, siding with Postumus and suffering heavy losses when Aurelian restored imperial unity in 274. It survived, as a frontier legion, until the collapse of the Rhine limes at the beginning of the 5th century.