What No One Says About the Lost Roman Legion (The Ninth Legion)
Channel: Celtic History Decoded
Date: 17/09/2023

Please support this channel on Patreon and get ad-free videos and other benefits: https://www.patreon.com/historydecoded

Please Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/CelticHistory 

Check out my merch store and please help support this channel - https://celtic-history-decoded.creator-spring.com/ - Full terms and conditions can be found on Spring’s website. 

Please donate through PayPal using this link: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=QFB9ZECHZJDF6 – chdecoded@gmail.com 

Subscribe to Celtic History Decoded: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCS3M_uNHH2iOJkpGhkO2SA?sub_confirmation=1

Follow Celtic History Decoded on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/celtichistorydecoded/ 

Subscribe to World History Decoded – https://www.youtube.com/@worldhistorydecoded

What No One Says About the Lost Roman Legion (The Ninth Legion)

The disappearance of the Ninth legion of the Roman army has been widely discussed, but there is a fascinating element of the story that is often omitted. Before this, a little context is needed. 

The ninth legion existed from before 58 BC until sometime in the 2nd century AD, with the last concrete evidence of their existence dated to 108 AD when they helped build a Roman fortress in modern York. What is clear is that the ninth legion did not exist during the reign of the emperor Septimius Severus (r. 193–211 AD). So between 108 AD and the reign of Severus, the ninth legion vanishes from history. 

This quick synopsis does lead to an important question that a few people commented on in my last video on the subject: namely, was it unusual for a Roman legion to disappear? Well it was not that unusual for Roman legions to be wiped out in battle, such as at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD, when Germanic tribes ambushed the Roman army, essentially destroying three Roman legions in a crushing defeat. What separates this event from the disappearance of the Ninth legion is that we know that the Roman legions at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest were wiped out in battle, whereas the Ninth legion literally just vanishes from history.

One of the main theories of why the 9th legion disappeared from history was that they were sent north to quash a rebellion in modern Scotland and were picked off and wiped out by the Caledonians. Some argue that this is the most likely outcome, and I would put myself in this camp, while others argue that there was a more mundane explanation for their disappearance: such as they were simply moved out of Britian to another corner of the Empire and their demise wasn’t recorded. Please let me know your thoughts below.

The element of the story that is often omitted however, or not discussed in any detail at least, is described in a book by the Roman historian Tacitus called Agricola and Germany, written in the 1st century AD. 

Sources:

Celtic History Decoded - What Happened to the Lost Roman Legion? The Ninth Legion (Legio IX Hispana) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox1X0suojUY 

Tacitus – Agricola and Germany (Oxford University Press: 2009) p.19-20. 

Legio IX Hispana https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legio_IX_Hispana 

What happened to Legio IX Hispana? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9hyV7mX2Lk 

Dr Miles Russell, The Roman Ninth Legion's mysterious loss https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12752497 

History Extra, What happened to Britain’s lost Roman legion? https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/what-happened-to-britains-lost-roman-legion/ 

The Mystery of the Ninth Legion, The Ancient/Dan Snow's History Hit
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-mystery-of-the-ninth-legion/id1042631089?i=1000523361416 

Timeline - The Mystery Of The Vanished Roman Legion | The Ninth | Timeline https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK45PRm4zTo 

Celtic History Decoded - The Truth About Hadrian’s Wall, Rome's False Northern Frontier (History Documentary)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogxw-rbePh8 

Nick Hodgson - The End of the Ninth Legion, War in Britain and the Building of Hadrian's Wall The End of the Ninth Legion, War in Britain and the Building of Hadrian's Wall | Britannia | Cambridge Core 

Battle of Mons Graupius https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mons_Graupius

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-the-Teutoburg-Forest 

Universal Pictures - The Eagle Official Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0KKCGsqs8I 

Gnaeus Julius Agricola https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnaeus_Julius_Agricola 

#romanempire #caledonia #history