Legio II Adiutrix
This legion was raised initially in the Narbonne area of France and was granted the honorific title “pia fedilis” (“pious and faithful”) by the emperor Vespasian. It was posted to Britain in 70AD and was based in Chester. It was one of 4 legions that invaded Scotland with Agricola in 79 AD. The legion was moved to the Danube in 86 AD to help fight in the Dacian wars and Hadrian served with it.
With minor interruptions, the Legio II Adiutrix became the permanent garrison of Budapest (Aquincum). The greatest number of military constructions in Aquincum is connected with the name of this legion. The 2nd-3rd century legionary fortress is the best-known of the several times rebuilt ones. The architectural design and inside structure of the ground plan of the legionary fortress were in accordance with rules in effect everywhere in the empire.
The head of the close to 6000-man legion became the governor of Lower Pannonia in AD 106 and Aquincum became the capital of the province. The first legatus Augusti was Hadrian, the later emperor. The buildings of the provincial administration were located in the northeast part of the military town, in front of the palace.
The Civil Town was built 2 km north of the legionary fortress, in the area of today’s Aquincum Museum. The settlement was granted the rank of a municipium around AD 120, during the rule of Hadrian. Both the Civil Town and the Military Town were raised to the rank of colonia by Septimius Severus in AD 194. A new province, Valeria, was organized from the eastern part of lower Pannonia in AD 296 under Diocletian. Aquincum became the seat of its military administration
References
- https://www.livius.org/articles/legion/legio-ii-adiutrix/
- https://m.facebook.com/LegioIIAdiutrix/ ( a reenactment group based in Budapest where the Legion was posted)
