Aquila (Roman)

History

Main article: Insignia#Ancient Rome

The signa militaria were the Roman military ensigns or standards. The most ancient standard employed by the Romans is said to have been a handful (manipulus) of straw fixed to the top of a spear or pole. Hence the company of soldiers belonging to it was called a maniple. The bundle of hay or fern was soon succeeded by the figures of animals, of which Pliny the Elder (H.N. x.16) enumerates five: the eagle, the wolf, the ox with the man's head, the horse, and the boar. Pliny attributes to the consul Gaius Marius the setting aside of the four quadrupeds as standards and the retention of the eagle (Aquila) alone after the devastating Roman defeat at the Battle of Arausio against the Cimbri and Teutons in 104 BC. It was made of silver, or bronze, with upwards stretched wings, but was probably of relatively small size, since a standard-bearer (signifer) under Augustus is said in circumstances of danger (the Teutoburgerwald battle) to have wrenched the eagle from its staff and concealed it in the folds of his tunic above his girdle. Pliny's claim is refuted by sources showing late republican and early imperial legions with other animal symbols such as bulls and wolves.

Even after the adoption of Christianity as the Roman Empire's religion; the eagle continued to be used as a symbol by the Holy Roman Empire and the early Byzantine Empire although far more rarely and with a different meaning. In particular the double-headed eagle, despite strongly linking back to a Pagan symbol, became very popular among Christians.

Lost ''aquilae''

• Battles where the aquilae were lost, units that lost the aquilae and the fate of the aquilae:
  • 73–71 BC – five aquilae were lost over the course of the Third Servile War, recovered upon the defeat of Spartacus in 71 BC.
  • 53 BC – the defeat of Marcus Licinius Crassus at the Battle of Carrhae by the Parthians. Several legions (returned in 20 BC).
  • 49–45 BC – loss of aquilae from legions of Aulus Gabinius and Publius Vatinius to the Dalmatians during Caesar's Civil War. (returned in 23 BC).
  • 45 BC – loss of aquilae in Spain during Caesar's Civil War. (returned in about 25 BC during the Cantabrian Wars).
  • 40 BC – defeat of Decidius Saxa by a combined Roman–Parthian force under Quintus Labienus near Antioch. Several legions (at least one aquila was returned in 20 BC).
  • 36 BC – the defeat of Oppius Statianus by the Parthians during Antony's Parthian War. Two legions (returned in 20 BC).
  • (19 BC – degradation of a legion during the Cantabrian Wars by removal of the name "Augustan legion". The actual reason is unknown)
  • 17 BC – defeat of Marcus Lollius by Germanic tribes in Gallia in the Clades Lolliana. Legio V Macedonica (returned in 16 BC)
  • 9 – Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in Germania. Legio XVII, Legio XVIII, and Legio XIX (two recaptured by Germanicus in 15 and 16, the last recaptured by Publius Gabinius Secundus in 41).
  • 66 – First Jewish–Roman War. Legio XII Fulminata (fate uncertain).
  • 70 – destruction of Legio XV Primigenia during the Revolt of the Batavi near Xanten. (fate unknown)
  • 86 – defeat of Cornelius Fuscus in the First Battle of Tapae during Domitian's Dacian War. Legio V Alaudae or Praetorian Guard (recaptured during Trajan's Dacian Wars in 101 or 102).
  • (132 – disputed loss of Legio XXII Deiotariana or Legio IX Hispana in the Bar Kochva Revolt)
  • 161 – defeat of Marcus Sedatius Severianus by the Parthians at Elegeia in Armenia. Possibly the Legio IX Hispana or Legio XXII Deiotariana.

Arch of Constantine

Arch of Constantine showing carvings of aquila

Present

In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte would recover the eagle as a symbol of his house and emblem of the Grande Armée.

The House of Bernadotte also has the eagle as its emblem.

The Great Seal of the United States and several federal agencies (CIA, NSA, Department of Defense etc.) also depict the Eagle of Jove but as a bald eagle.

Ancient imagery

File:Emblem of 20th Legion Roof tile, Deva Victrix (Chester, UK), The Grosvenor Museum (8394899150).jpg| File:Yorkshire Museum, York (Eboracum) (7685208580) 2.jpg|Memorial to Lucius Duccius Rufinus, a standard-bearer of the Ninth Legion, Yorkshire Museum, York File:Return of the Roman military standards.jpg|Detail of the central breastplate relief on the statue of Augustus of Prima Porta shows the return of the Aquilae lost to the Parthians. The return of the eagles was one of Augustus's notable diplomatic achievements. File:Lens - Inauguration du Louvre-Lens le 4 décembre 2012, la Galerie du Temps, n° 058.JPG|The Praetorians Relief showing an aquila from the destroyed Arch of Claudius in Rome. File:AtticN4Det.jpg|Detail from the Arch of Constantine in Rome File:072 Conrad Cichorius, Die Reliefs der Traianssäule, Tafel LXXII.jpg|"The Reliefs of Trajan's Column by Conrad Cichorius. Plate number LXXII: Arrival of Roman troops (Scene XCVIII); The emperor sacrifices by the Danube (Scene XCIX); Trajan receives foreign embassies" (aquila at the upper left) Image:Denarius Mark Anthony-32BC-legIII.jpg|Denarius minted by Mark Antony to pay his legions. On the reverse, the aquila of his Third Legion. File:Tetradrachm of Pescennius Niger with aquila.jpg|Tetradrachm minted in 193 by Pescennius Niger with an aquila on the reverse File:Aureus of Septimius Severus, AD 193.jpg|Aureus minted in 193 by Septimius Severus, to celebrate XIIII Gemina Martia Victrix, the legion that proclaimed him emperor File:Augusto, aureo con tempio di marte ultore.JPG|Roman Coin showing the aquila in the Temple of Mars the Avenger in Rome File:Germanicus Dupondius 19 2010354.jpg|Coin showing Germanicus holding an aquila File:Caligola,_emissione_bronzea,_37-41_ca._adlocui.JPG|Coin of Emperor Caligula showing several aquilae at the left. Image:Sestertius Philip 247-lv lxiii.jpg|Sestertius minted in 248 by Philip the Arab to celebrate the province of Dacia and its legions, V Macedonica and XIII Gemina. Note the eagle and lion, symbols on the reverse, respectively of Legio V and Legio XIII.

References

References

1. (2013-10-29). "Roman eagle found by archaeologists in City of London".
2. Yates, James, "Signa Militaria" in Smith, William, ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'', John Murray, London, 1875, pp. 1044–1046 (http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Signa_Militaria.html)
3. The ox is sometimes confusingly described as a [[Minotaur]]. See [[Sextus Pompeius Festus. Festus]], s.v. Minotaur.
4. Theodore Mommsen, ''History of Rome'', vol. 3, p. 459.
5. Florus Epitome, book II XXX,38
6. Taylor, Michael J. (2019). "Tactical reform in the late Roman republic: the view from Italy". Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte.
7. Frontinus ''[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Frontinus/Strategemata/2*.html#5 Stratagems]'' 2.5.34
8. [[Res Gestae Divi Augusti]], 29
9. Cassius Dio 47, 35–36
10. [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/54*.html Cassius Dio, 54.11]
11. [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/vell2.html#97 Velleius Paterculus, Vell. II – 97]
12. [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Annals_(Tacitus)/Book_1#60 Tacitus Annales 1, 60]
13. [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Annals_(Tacitus)/Book_2#25 Tacitus, ann. 2,25]
14. [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/60*.html#8 Cassius Dio 60,8,7]
15. [[Tacitus]], ''[[De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae]]'', [[:s:Vie d’Agricola (Panckoucke)#41. 41]].
16. [[Dion Cassius]], ''Histoire romaine'', [http://remacle.org/bloodwolf/historiens/Dion/livre68.htm livre LXVIII], 9, 3.
17. Peter Schäfer (2003) The Bar Kokhba War Reconsidered: New Perspectives on the Second Jewish Revolt Against Rome Mohr Siebeck {{ISBN. 3-16-148076-7 p 118
18. Cassius Dio LXXI.2
19. Duncan B Campbell, [https://www.academia.edu/856165/The_fate_of_the_Ninth_The_curious_disappearance_of_Legio_VIIII_Hispana The fate of the Ninth: The curious disappearance of Legio VIIII Hispana]", ''Ancient Warfare''
20. Wise, Terence. (2012). "Flags of the Napoleonic Wars (1): Colours, Standards and Guidons of France and her Allies". Osprey Publishing.
21. Johnson, Dorothy. (2006). "Jacques-Louis David: New Perspectives". University of Delaware Press.
22. "Eagles". Napoleon Guide.