Legio XIII Gemina

Legio XIII Gemina, the Thirteenth Twin Legion, was a legion of the Roman Army under both the Republic and the Empire. Julius Caesar levied it in 57 BC for his campaign against the Belgae, and it served in the Gallic Wars, including the battle against the Nervians and the siege of Gergovia. It was the legion with which Caesar crossed the Rubicon in January 49 BC, opening the civil war against Pompey; it fought at Dyrrhachium and Pharsalus and was recalled for Thapsus and Munda before Caesar disbanded it and settled its veterans on farmland in Italy. Augustus reconstituted the legion in 41 BC to deal with the rebellion of Sextus Pompeius in Sicily, and it took the cognomen Gemina after being reinforced with veterans from other legions. Its symbol was the lion, and a thirteenth legion of the same name is still recorded in the fifth century.