An aquila (; ) was a prominent symbol used in ancient Rome, especially as the standard of a Roman legion. A legionary known as an aquilifer, the "eagle-bearer", carried this standard. Each Roman legion carried one eagle. It represents the Eagle of Jove (Aëtos), being Jove the "Father of the Roman state".
The eagle had quasi-religious importance to the Roman soldier, far beyond being merely a symbol of his legion. To lose a standard was seen as extremely grave, shameful and dishonorable, and the Roman military went to great lengths both to protect a standard and to recover one if it were to be lost. For example, after the annihilation of three legions in the Teutoburg Forest, the Romans spent decades retaliating for the defeat while also attempting to recover the three lost eagles.
No legionary eagle standards are known to have survived. However, other Roman eagles, either symbolizing imperial rule or used as funerary emblems, have been discovered.
History
The
signa militaria were the Roman military ensigns or standards.
[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)] 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.
[The ox is sometimes confusingly described as a Minotaur. See Festus, s.v. Minotaur.][Theodore Mommsen, History of Rome, vol. 3, p. 459.] 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.
[Florus Epitome, book II XXX,38] 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.
[Frontinus Stratagems 2.5.34]
-
53 BC – the defeat of Marcus Licinius Crassus at the Battle of Carrhae by the Parthian Empire. Several legions (returned in 20 BC).
-
49–45 BC – loss of aquilae from legions of Aulus Gabinius and Publius Vatinius to the Dalmatae during Caesar's Civil War.
[Res Gestae Divi Augusti, 29] (returned in 23 BC).
-
45 BC – loss of aquilae in Spain during Caesar's Civil War.
-
40 BC – defeat of Decidius Saxa by a combined Roman–Parthian force under Quintus Labienus near Antioch.
[Cassius Dio 47, 35–36] Several legions (at least one aquila was returned in 20 BC).
-
36 BC – the defeat of Oppius Statianus by the Parthian Empire 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".
[ Cassius Dio, 54.11] The actual reason is unknown)
-
17 BC – defeat of Marcus Lollius by Germanic tribes in Gallia in the Clades Lolliana. Legio V Macedonica
[ Velleius Paterculus, Vell. II – 97] (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
[ Tacitus Annales 1, 60] and 16,[ Tacitus, ann. 2,25] the last recaptured by Publius Gabinius Secundus in 41[ Cassius Dio 60,8,7]).
-
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.
[Tacitus, De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae, 41.] Legio V Alaudae or Praetorian Guard (recaptured during Trajan's Dacian Wars in 101 or 102[Dion Cassius, Histoire romaine, livre LXVIII, 9, 3.]).
-
(132 – disputed loss of Legio XXII Deiotariana or Legio IX Hispana in the Bar Kochva Revolt
[Peter Schäfer (2003) The Bar Kokhba War Reconsidered: New Perspectives on the Second Jewish Revolt Against Rome Mohr Siebeck p 118])
-
161 – defeat of Marcus Sedatius Severianus by the Parthian Empire at Elegeia in Armenia.
[Cassius Dio LXXI.2] Possibly the Legio IX Hispana or Legio XXII Deiotariana.[Duncan B Campbell, The fate of the Ninth: The curious disappearance of Legio VIIII Hispana", Ancient Warfare]
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, 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 Roman 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.
See also
Further reading
-
Signa Militaria", by James Yates, in the public domain A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (pp. 1044–1046)
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Kai M. Töpfer: Signa Militaria. Die römischen Feldzeichen in Republik und Prinzipat, Mainz, Verlag Schnell + Steiner 2011,
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The Eagle of the Ninth, a novel by Rosemary Sutcliff
External links
