Legio III Gallica

Third Legion Gallica
Legio III Gallica
Legio Tertia Gallica
Map of the Roman empire in AD 125, under emperor Hadrian, showing the Third Legion Gallica, stationed at Syria province from 30 BC to the 4th century
Active49 or 48 BCE until the 4th century
CountryRoman Republic (closing years) and Roman Empire
TypeRoman legion
Two bulls, symbol of the III Gallica, bearing the legion standard LEG III GAL. Coin of Elagabalus, who became emperor with the decisive support of this legion.

Legio III Gallica (lit. Third Legion "Gallic") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. The cognomen Gallica suggests that its earliest recruits came from veterans of the Gallic legions of Gaius Julius Caesar, a supposition supported by its emblem, a bull, a symbol associated with Caesar.[1] The legion was based for most of its existence at Raphanea, Roman Syria, and was still active in Egypt in the early 4th century.

  1. ^ H.M.D. Parker, The Roman Legions (1957), pp.264f