09 Julius Caesar 9th Spanish Roman Legion T-shirt

Recruited from Spaniards, the exact date of this Legion's founding is uncertain, as by 58 BC they were already amongst Julius Caesar's older Legions when he first invaded Gaul. The Legion served with distinction throughout the Gallic Wars and aided in establishing the well-known fact over the years that Spanish troops were some of the toughest in the entire Roman Army. After the Battle of Pharsalus in 48, the troops were given their pensions and land, although most of them would still serve under Caesar in Africa. Octavian re-enlisted the Legion in 42, and it helped earn victory against Caesar's assassins at Philippi, and then against the rebel pirate Sextus Pompeius. After the Battle of Actium in 31, the Legion was sent to Hispania Tarraconensis, where it again distinguished itself in the large war against the Cantabrians. It was afterwards stationed in Pannonia for many years, where it was when Augustus died in 14 AD. In 43 AD, it invaded Britain under Emperor Claudius, and although it suffered heavy losses during the revolt of Queen Boudicca in 60, the Legion's commander (Quintus Cerialis) continued his career regardless, which makes it likely that the Legion had behaved most honorably. It then garrisoned Roman Britain's northern frontier, and it was under Cerialis' command that the Legion fought against the Brigantes in 78. Units of the Legion also fought against the Germanic Chatti in 83, and under Trajan during his Dacian Conquests. In 108-9 it built a stone fortress in York, and its activities in 117-18 have suggested that it was part of the basis for the famous 1954 Rosemary Sutcliff novel, "Eagle of the Ninth". Like most Caesarian units, its emblem was the bull.