Legio de Scuteus

The Legio de Scuteus was a legion in the service of the Reman Republic and, later, a mercenary unit.
The legion was founded in the 140BCE as part of the mass mobilisation the Republic saw under Consul Gnaeus Cervilius Otho. Named 'Legion of Shields', the legion was placed under the control of Legate Julius Demecius Veranthus and sent to the north of the Republic.
The legion took part in multiple incursions into the lands of the Fen Boroughs, flitting between temporary forts before finally finding a permanent home in the fortress of Castrum Faricium in 211CE.
The Scuteus was downgraded to a half-legion in the early 4th Century amid the financial troubles caused by the collapse of the Kingdom of Horelia, a valuable trading partner of the Reman Republic. After this, it functioned exclusively as a garrison legion until the Great Gap.
After the Gap, the Legio de Scuteus had regained its former stature and now stood among Reme's finest. It was one of the three personal legions of the city of Reme, along with the Legio de Turmenus and the Legio de Hortensius.
The Scuteus performed its new duties until the onset of the Vardano-Reman Religious Wars. When the rebellions began to break out, the Scuteus was the legion entrusted with the defence of Reme - the Turmenus and Hortensius were sent to quell rebellions in the western reaches of the Republic.
When the Republic finally collapsed in 654, Legate Emerus Waldenius Celdens took control of the city of Reme. He founded the city-state of Urbus Rema and made the Legio de Scuteus its standing army. This period of the legion's history lasted until 660, when the city rebelled and expelled the Legio de Scuteus by force.
The legion wandered for the next several months before finding a new stronghold in Lorion. Here they stayed until 662 when they were defeated and forced out by the armies of the King of Lapeda. Again they wandered and stayed in the city of Ars Mons until, again, they were forced out in 665. This time by Antolijus Sannas and the Auxilia Agrimenta.
Severely weakened and demoralised, the legion began to act as mercenaries. They rented out their services to any who would pay, and ended up fighting in the Battle of Moccara in 667. By this point it is recorded they were composed of only one thousand men by the end of the battle.
The legion was in the service of the Sheikh of Thutan after Moccara, and here they remained until their historical record peters out in the mid-670's. It is known that their banner - a shield crossed by lightning bolts - is now the banner of the Kingdom of Bala'ad during its Fehwid dynasty, though exactly how this came to occur is unknown.
Category:Organisations
Category:Reme