View source for Legio IX Hispana

{{short description|Roman legion}}
{{redirect|9th Legion|the Polish regiment|9th Legions' Infantry Regiment}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name                     = Legio IX Hispana
| image                         = Roman Empire 125.png
| caption                       = Map of the Roman empire in AD&nbsp;125, under emperor [[Hadrian]], showing the IX Hispana's last attested location at ''Noviomagus Batavorum'' on the Rhine ([[Nijmegen]], Netherlands)
| dates                         = Before 58&nbsp;BC to sometime in the AD 2nd&nbsp;century
| country                       = [[Roman Republic]] and [[Roman Empire]]
| type                          = [[Roman legion]] ([[Marian reforms|Marian]])
| role                          = Infantry assault
| size                          = {{circa|5,400}}
| garrison                      = [[Hispania Tarraconensis]]&nbsp;41–{{circa|13&nbsp;BC}}<br>? [[Pannonia]] AD&nbsp;9–43<br>[[Eboracum]] ([[Roman Britain|Britannia]]) 71–{{circa|121}}<br>? [[Nijmegen|Noviomagus]] ([[Germania Inferior]]) {{circa|121}}–133/134
| ceremonial_chief              = 
| nickname                      = The Lost Legion
| mascot                        = [[Bull]]
| battles                       = {{Unbulleted list|[[Gallic Wars]] (58–51&nbsp;BC)|[[Cantabrian Wars]] (29–19&nbsp;BC)|[[Roman conquest of Britain]]|[[Boudican revolt]]|[[Battle of Mons Graupius]]}}
| notable_commanders            = {{Unbulleted list|[[Julius Caesar]]|[[Quintus Petillius Cerialis]]|[[Gnaeus Julius Agricola]]}}
}}

'''Legio IX Hispana''' ("9th [[Hispania|Hispanian]] Legion"),<ref name = "ritterling">{{cite book |first=E. |last=Ritterling |section=Legio (64) |title=Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft |volume=Band&nbsp;XII |series=Halbband&nbsp;XXIV |year=1925 |at=cols. 1664–1670}}</ref> also written as '''Legio VIIII Hispana''',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.livius.org/articles/legion/legio-viiii-hispana/ |title=Legio&nbsp;VIIII Hispana - Livius |website=livius.org}}</ref> was a [[Roman legion|legion]] of the [[Imperial Roman army]] that existed from the 1st&nbsp;century BC until at least AD&nbsp;120. The legion fought in various provinces of the late [[Roman Republic]] and early [[Roman Empire]]. The nickname "Hispana" was gained when it was stationed in Hispania under [[Augustus]]. It was stationed in Britain following the [[Roman invasion of Britain|Roman invasion in AD&nbsp;43]]. The legion disappears from surviving Roman records after {{circa|AD&nbsp;120}} and there is no specific account of what happened to it.{{refn|
name=Campbell-2018|
{{cite book
 |last=Campbell |first=Duncan B.
 |title=The Fate of the Ninth: The curious disappearance of one of Rome's legions
 |year=2018
 |publisher=Bocca della Verità Publishing / Kindle Direct Publishing
 |isbn=978-1-791-76833-1
 }}
:''see also'' Campbell (2010){{refn|name=Campbell-2010}} – free magazine article
}}

The unknown fate of the legion has been the subject of considerable research and speculation. One theory (per historian [[Theodor Mommsen]]) was that the legion was wiped out in action in northern Britain soon after AD&nbsp;108, the date of the latest datable inscription of the Ninth found in Britain, perhaps during a rising of northern tribes against Roman rule. This view was popularised by the 1954 novel ''[[The Eagle of the Ninth]]'' in which the legion is said to have marched into [[Caledonia]] (modern-day Scotland), after which it was "never heard of again".

This theory fell out of favour among modern scholars as successive inscriptions of IX Hispana were found in the site of the legionary base at [[Nijmegen]] (Netherlands), suggesting the Ninth may have been based there from {{circa|AD&nbsp;120}}, later than the legion's supposed annihilation in Britain.{{refn|name=Campbell-2018}}{{rp|at=ch.&nbsp;11}} The Nijmegen evidence has led to suggestions that IX&nbsp;Hispana was destroyed in later conflicts of the 2nd&nbsp;century. Suggestions include the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]] (AD&nbsp;132–135) or [[Marcus Aurelius]]'s [[Roman–Parthian War of 161–166|war against Parthia]] (AD&nbsp;161–166) in [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]].{{refn|name=Campbell-2018}}{{rp|at=ch.&nbsp;12}} However, some scholars<ref name=Hodgson-2021>
{{cite journal
 |last=Hodgson|first=N.
 |year=2021
 |title=The End of the Ninth Legion, War in Britain and the Building of Hadrian's Wall
 |journal=Britannia
 |volume=52 |pages=97–118
 |doi=10.1017/S0068113X21000015
}}
</ref> 
have ascribed the Nijmegen evidence to a mere detachment of IX Hispana, not the whole legion.

In any event, it is clear that the IX&nbsp;Hispana did not exist during the reign of the emperor [[Septimius Severus]] (r. AD&nbsp;193–211), as it is not included in two identical but independent lists of the 33 legions existing in this period.

== Republican army (to 30&nbsp;BC) ==
The origin of the legion is uncertain, but a 9th legion seems to have participated in the siege of [[Ascoli Piceno|Asculum]] during the [[Social War (90–88&nbsp;BC)|Social War]] in 90&nbsp;BC.<ref name=Keppie-1984>
{{cite book
 |title=The Making of the Roman Army, from Republic to Empire
 |first=Lawrence |last=Keppie
 |location=London, UK
 |publisher=Batsford
 |year=1984
 |pages=68, 133, 208 
 |isbn=0-7134-3651-4
}}
</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p= 68}}

When [[Julius Caesar]] became governor of [[Cisalpine Gaul]] in 58&nbsp;BC, he inherited four legions, numbered VII, VIII, IX, X, that were already based there. The Ninth (IX) may have been quartered in Aquileia "to guard against attacks from the Illyrians".<ref name=Keppie-1984/>{{rp|style=ama|p= 208}} Caesar created two more legions (XI and XII), using all six for his attack on the [[Helvetii]] initiating the [[Gallic wars]].

The Caesarian Ninth Legion fought in the battles of [[Dyrrhachium]] and [[Battle of Pharsalus|Pharsalus]] (48&nbsp;BC) and in the African campaign of 46&nbsp;BC. After his final victory, Caesar disbanded the legion and settled the veterans in the area of [[Picenum]].<ref name=Keppie-1983>
{{cite book
 |title=Colonisation and veteran Settlement in Italy, 47–14&nbsp;BCE
 |first=Lawrence |last=Keppie
 |location=London, UK
 |publisher=British School at Rome
 |year=1983
 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/colonisationvete0000kepp/page/54 54]
 |isbn=0-904152-06-5
 |url=https://archive.org/details/colonisationvete0000kepp/page/54
}}
</ref>

Following Caesar's assassination, Caesar's ally [[Publius Ventidius Bassus|Ventidius Bassus]] made attempts to recreate the 7th, 8th, and 9th&nbsp;legions, but "it is not clear that any of these survived even to the time of Philippi".<ref name=Keppie-1984/>{{rp|style=ama|p= 133}}
[[Augustus|Octavian]] later recalled the veterans of the Ninth to fight against the rebellion of [[Sextus Pompeius]] in Sicily. After defeating Sextus, they were sent to the province of [[Macedon]]ia. The Ninth remained with Octavian in his war of 31&nbsp;BC against [[Mark Antony]] and fought by his side in the [[Battle of Actium]].

== Imperial Roman army (30&nbsp;BC – AD&nbsp;130?) ==
{{see also|Imperial Roman army}}

[[File:Yorkshire Museum, York (Eboracum) (7685208580) 2.jpg|thumb|Memorial to Lucius Duccius Rufinus, a standard bearer of the Ninth Legion (LEG VIIII), in the [[Yorkshire Museum]], York]]

With Octavian, whom the Senate later titled [[Augustus]], established as sole ruler of the Roman world, the legion was sent to Hispania to take part in the large-scale [[Cantabrian Wars|campaign against the Cantabrians]] (25–19&nbsp;BC). The nickname Hispana ("stationed in Hispania") is first found during the reign of Augustus and probably originated at that time.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}

After this, the legion was probably part of the imperial army in the [[Rhine]] borderlands that was campaigning against the Germanic tribes. Following the abandonment of the eastern Rhine area (after the disastrous [[Battle of the Teutoburg Forest]] in AD 9), the Ninth was relocated in [[Pannonia (Roman province)|Pannonia]].

=== Britain (AD 43 – at least 108) ===

In AD 43, the legion most likely participated in the [[Roman invasion of Britain]] led by the emperor [[Claudius]] and general [[Aulus Plautius]], because they soon appear amongst the provincial garrison. In AD 50, the Ninth was one of two legions that defeated the forces of [[Caratacus]]. Around the same year, the legion constructed a fort, [[Lindum Colonia]], now [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]]. Under the command of [[Caesius Nasica]] they put down the first revolt of [[Venutius]], king of the [[Brigantes]] tribe, between 52 and 57.

The Ninth suffered a serious defeat at the [[Battle of Camulodunum]] under [[Quintus Petillius Cerialis]] in the rebellion of [[Boudica]] (61), when most of the foot-soldiers were killed in a disastrous attempt to relieve the besieged city of [[Camulodunum]] (Colchester). Only the cavalry escaped. The legion was later reinforced with [[legionary|legionaries]] from the Germania provinces. When Cerialis returned as governor of Britain ten years later, he took command of the Ninth once more in a successful campaign against the [[Brigantes]] in 71–72, to subdue north-central Britain. Around this time they constructed a new fortress at [[York]] ([[Eboracum]]), as shown by finds of tile-stamps from the site.<ref>
{{cite journal
 |last=Wright |first=R.P.
 |year=1978
 |title=Tile-Stamps of the Ninth Legion found in Britain
 |journal=Britannia
 |volume=9 |pages=379–382
 |doi=10.2307/525953
 |jstor=525953
|s2cid=162574877
 }}
</ref>

The Ninth participated in [[Gnaeus Julius Agricola|Agricola]]'s invasion of [[Caledonia]] (modern Scotland) in 82–83. According to Tacitus, the legion narrowly escaped destruction when the Caledonians beyond the Forth launched a surprise attack at night on their fort. The Caledonians "burst upon them as they were terrified in their sleep". In desperate hand-to-hand fighting the Caledonians entered the camp, but Agricola was able to send cavalry to relieve the legion. Seeing the relief force, "the men of the Ninth Legion recovered their spirit, and sure of their safety, fought for glory", pushing back the Caledonians.<ref>
{{cite book
 |first=Herbert W. |last=Benario
 |year=2006
 |title=Tacitus – Agricola, Germany, and dialogue on orators
 |publisher=Hackett Publishing
 |page=42
}}
</ref>
The legion also participated in the decisive [[Battle of Mons Graupius]].

The last attested activity of the Ninth in Britain is during the rebuilding in stone of the legionary fortress at [[York]] (Eboracum) in 108. This is recorded in an inscribed stone tablet discovered in 1864, now displayed in the [[Yorkshire Museum]] in York.{{refn|
name=Campbell-2010|
{{cite magazine
 |first=D.B. |last=Campbell
 |year=2010
 |title=The fate of the Ninth: The curious disappearance of the VIIII&nbsp;Legio Hispana
 |magazine=Ancient Warfare
 |volume=IV  |issue=5  |pages=48–53
 |url=https://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/schrijfsels/wp-content/uploads/legacy/2064/fateoftheninth.pdf
}}
:''see also'' Campbell (2018){{refn|name=Campbell-2018}} – expanded paperback version
}}

=== Germania Inferior (108? – 130?)===

Several inscriptions attesting IX&nbsp;Hispana have been found in the site of the legionary fortress on the lower [[Rhine river]] at ''Noviomagus Batavorum'' ([[Nijmegen]], Netherlands). These include some tile-stamps (dated 104–120); and a silver-plated bronze pendant, found in the 1990s, that was part of a ''[[Phalera (military decoration)|phalera]]'' (military medal), with "LEG HISP IX" inscribed on the reverse.<ref>AE (1996) 1107</ref> In addition, an altar to [[Apollo]], dating from this period, was found at nearby ''Aquae Granni'' ([[Aachen]], Germany), erected in fulfillment of a vow, by Lucius Latinius Macer, who describes himself as ''[[primus pilus]]'' (chief centurion) and as  ''[[praefectus castrorum]]'' ("prefect of the camp", i.e. third-in-command) of IX Hispana.<ref>AE (1968) 323</ref> (it was commonplace for chief centurions, on completion of their single-year term of office, to be promoted to ''praefectus castrorum'').

The archaeological evidence thus appears to indicate that elements of IX Hispana were present at Noviomagus sometime after AD 104 (when the previous incumbent legion, [[Legio X Gemina|X Gemina]], was transferred to the Danube) and that IX was probably replaced by a detachment of legion [[Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix|XXX Ulpia Victrix]] not long after AD 120.<ref name=Willems-Enckevort-2009>
{{cite journal
 |author1=Willems  |author2=Enckevort
 |name-list-style=amp
 |year=2009
 |title=Ulpia Noviomagus
 |journal=Journal of Roman Archaeology
 |series=supp. series
 |volume=73 |page=56
}}
</ref>
Less clear is whether the whole IX legion was at Nijmegen or simply a detachment. The evidence for the presence of senior officers such as Macer convinced several scholars that the Ninth Legion as a whole was based there between 121 and 130.{{refn|name=Campbell-2018}}{{rp|at=ch.&nbsp;11}} It may have been both: first a detachment, later followed by the rest of the legion: a ''vexillatio Britannica'' ("British detachment") is also attested at Nijmegen in this period.<ref name=Willems-Enckevort-2009/> However, it is unclear whether this detachment was drawn from the IX Hispana (and its attached [[Auxilia|auxiliary regiments]]) alone, or from a mix of various British-based units.

== Theories about the Ninth's disappearance ==
{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | direction = vertical
 | width = 320
 | image1 = Roman tegula with Legio IX Hispana stamp YORYM 2014 141.JPG
 | caption1 =A stamp of the Ninth legion from the fortress at [[Caerleon]] in south Wales.
 | image2 = Fragment of Legio IX Hispana Tablet YORYM 1998 21.jpg
 | caption2 = The last definite attestation to the Legion is a stone inscription from Eboracum dated 108. The inscription reads:<br>{{small|'The Emperor Caesar, son of the divine Nerva, Nerva Traianus Augustus, Germanicus, Dacicus, pontifex maximus, in his twelfth year of tribunician power, five times acclaimed Imperator, five times consul, father of his country, made this gateway by agency of the Ninth Legion Hispana'}} ([[Yorkshire Museum]], York)}}

The Nijmegen finds, dating to c. 120, were (as of 2015) the latest records of Legion IX found. The Ninth was apparently no longer in existence after 197. Two lists of the legions survive from this era, one inscribed on a column found in Rome (CIL VI 3492) and the other a list of legions in existence "today" provided by the contemporary Greco-Roman historian [[Dio Cassius]], writing c. 210–232 (''Roman History'' LV.23–24). Both these lists date from after 197, as both include the 3 ''Parthica'' legions founded by Septimius Severus in that year. Both lists provide an identical list of 33 legions. Neither includes a "IX Hispana". It thus appears that IX Hispana disappeared sometime in the period 120–197.

The traditional theory is that the Ninth was destroyed in a war on Britain's northern frontier against the indigenous Celtic tribes. According to the eminent 19th-century German classicist [[Theodor Mommsen]], "under Hadrian there was a terrible catastrophe here, apparently an attack on the fortress of Eboracum [York] and the annihilation of the legion stationed there, the very same Ninth that had fought so unluckily in the Boudican revolt."{{refn|name=Campbell-2010}} He suggested that a revolt of the [[Brigantes]] soon after 108 was the most likely explanation. Mommsen cited as evidence the Roman historian [[Marcus Cornelius Fronto]], writing in the AD 160s, who told the emperor [[Marcus Aurelius]]: "Indeed, when your grandfather Hadrian held imperial power, what great numbers of soldiers were killed by the Jews, what great numbers by the Britons".<ref>Fronto ''Parthian War'' 2, 220</ref> The emperor [[Hadrian]] (r. 117–138) visited Britain in person around AD 122, when he launched the construction of [[Hadrian's Wall]] because, according to one Roman source,  "the Britons could not be kept under Roman control".<ref>''Scriptores Historiae Augustae'' Hadrian, 5, 1</ref> It is plausible that Hadrian was responding to a military disaster.<ref>
{{Cite book
 |first1=D. |last1=Breeze
 |name-list-style=amp
 |first2=B. |last2=Dobson
 |title=Hadrian's Wall
 |edition=4th
 |year=2000
 |publisher=Penguin Books
 |location=Harmondsworth
 |page=25
 |isbn=0-14-027182-1
}}
</ref>
However, there is no archaeological evidence of it around 120.

Mommsen's thesis was published long before the first traces of IX Hispana were found at Nijmegen. As a result of these, and of inscriptions proving that two senior officers, who were deputy commanders of the Ninth in c. 120, lived on for several decades to lead distinguished public careers, led to the Mommsen theory falling out of favour with many scholars. These now suggest later conflicts in other theatres as possible scenes of IX Hispana's demise:
# The [[Bar Kokhba Revolt|Second Jewish Revolt]] against the Romans in [[Judea (Roman Province)|Judea]] that broke out in 132. It was reported that the Romans suffered heavy casualties in this war, whose start-date fits neatly with the estimated time of IX Hispana's departure from Nijmegen (120–130). In this scenario, the Ninth may have been dispatched to Judea to reinforce the locally based legions, but was heavily defeated by Judean forces and the remnants of the unit disbanded. However, another legion, [[Legio XXII Deiotariana|XXII Deiotariana]], normally based in Egypt, is actually documented in Judea at this time and its surviving datable records also cease c. 120. It is possible that both legions were destroyed by the Judeans, but if so this would rate as the worst Roman military disaster since the [[Battle of the Teutoburg Forest]] (AD 9) when 3 legions were lost.
# The emperor Marcus Aurelius' Parthian War (161–166) against King [[Vologases IV]]. According to Greco-Roman historian [[Cassius Dio]], a  Parthian army led by the general Chosroes surrounded and annihilated an unspecified Roman legion in [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]]. This led to the suicide of its commander, the governor of [[Cappadocia (Roman province)|Cappadocia]], [[Marcus Sedatius Severianus]].<ref>Dio LXXI. 2</ref> At this time, there were two legions permanently stationed in Cappadocia, the [[Legio XII Fulminata|XII Fulminata]] and the [[Legio XV Apollinaris|XV Apollinaris]]. Both these units are attested as operational well beyond AD 200, so neither could have been the legion destroyed by the Parthians. The theory that the Ninth was the lost legion has the drawback that there is a complete lack of evidence that the Ninth was present in the East in the period 130–160. Some scholars argue that the legion referred to by Dio was the XXII Deiotariana, but if so, the latter could not have been annihilated by the Judeans thirty years earlier.

Several scholars continue to argue that destruction in Britain is the most likely scenario for the Ninth's disappearance. Russell argues that "by far the most plausible answer to the question 'what happened to the Ninth' is that they fought and died in Britain, disappearing in the late 110s or early 120s when the province was in disarray".<ref name = "mil">
{{cite magazine
 | first = Miles | last = Russell
 | pages = 40–45
 | magazine = BBC History Magazine
 | date = May 2011|title=What Happened to Britain's Lost Roman Legion?
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite book
 | first = Miles | last = Russell
 | title = Bloodline: The Celtic Kings of Roman Britain
 | pages = 180–185
 | year = 2010
 | publisher = Amberley
 | isbn = 978-1848682382
}}
</ref>
Such scholars criticise the assumptions of those who extrapolate from inscription evidence, arguing that it is easy to confuse evidence about different persons with the same name. It is highly unlikely that if the legion continued in existence up to the Armenian war of 161, no records at all later than c. 120 would be known. Keppie<ref name=kaw/> says that "no inscriptions recording the building activities of the legion or the lives and careers of its members have come from the East", suggesting that if the legion did leave Britain, it ceased to exist very soon afterwards.<ref name=kaw/> Russell argues that "there is no evidence that the Ninth were ever taken out of Britain." He has claimed that the tile stamps found at Nijmegen cannot be dated to the period after 120, but "all seem to date to the AD&nbsp;80s, when detachments of the Ninth were indeed on the Rhine fighting Germanic tribes."<ref name=mil/> Keppie also says that the tiles cannot be securely dated, but suggests that they date from c. 105 during a temporary absence of the legion from Britain.<ref name=kaw>
{{cite book
 |first=Lawrence |last=Keppie
 |section=The fate of the Ninth Legion: A problem for the Eastern Provinces?
 |title=Legions and Veterans: Roman Army papers 1971–2000
 |pages=247 ff
}}
</ref>
However, Keppie does not support the theory that the legion met its end in Britain. He suggests that the legion may have been withdrawn from York around 117 to take part in the [[Trajan#War against Parthia|war in Parthia]] at the end of Trajan's reign. Keppie suggests that it was the legion's absence elsewhere that encouraged a native uprising, obliging Hadrian to send the [[Legio VI Victrix]] to Britain.<ref name=kaw/>

The fate of the Ninth remains the subject of vigorous debate among scholars.{{refn|name=Campbell-2010}} [[Sheppard Frere|Frere]] noted that "further evidence is needed before more can be said".<ref>
{{cite book |last=Frere |first=Sheppard |url=https://archive.org/details/britanniahistory0000frer_g6r4/page/124/mode/2up |title=Britannia: A History of Roman Britain |publisher=[[Routledge|Routledge & Kegan Paul]] |year=1987 |isbn=0-7102-1215-1 |edition=Third, extensively revised |publication-place=London and New York |page=124 |author-link=Sheppard Frere}}
</ref>

== Known members ==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
! Name
! Rank
! Time frame
! Province
! Source
|-
| [[Publius Cornelius Lentulus Scipio]]
| [[legatus legionis]]
| c. 22
| [[Africa (Roman province)|Africa]]
| {{CIL|5|4329}} = ILS&nbsp;940
|-
| [[Caesius Nasica]]<ref name=Birley-1981>
  {{cite book
    |first=Anthony |last=Birley
    |title=The Fasti of Roman Britain
    |place=Oxford, UK
    |publisher=Clarendon Press
    |year=1981
    |pages=231, 234, 238, 269–271 ff, 274 ff, 276 ff
  }}
</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p= 231}}
| legatus legionis
| c. 50
| [[Roman Britain|Britannia]]
| [[Tacitus]], ''[[Annales (Tacitus)|Annales]]'', XII.40
|-
| [[Quintus Petillius Cerialis]]<ref name=Birley-1981/>{{rp|style=ama|p= 231}}
| legatus legionis
| 59–61
| Britannia
| Tacitus, ''[[Agricola (book)|Agricola]]'' 7, 8, 17; ''Annales'' XIV.32
|-
| [[Gaius Caristanius Fronto]]<ref name=Birley-1981/>{{rp|style=ama|p= 234}}
| legatus legionis
| c. 76–79
| Britannia
| ILS 9485
|-
| [[Lucius Aninius Sextius Florentinus]]<ref name=Birley-1981/>{{rp|style=ama|p= 238}}
| legatus legionis
| 118–122/123
| Britannia
| {{CIL|3|87}}
|-
| [[Lucius Duccius Rufinus]]
| [[standard-bearer]]
| 71-125
| Britannia
| Tombstone, {{RIB|673}}

|-
| [[Titus]]<ref name=Birley-1981/>{{rp|style=ama|p= 269}}
| [[tribunus laticlavius]]
| c. 60
| Britannia
| [[Suetonius]], ''Divus Titus'' 4.1
|-
| [[Lucius Roscius Aelianus Maecius Celer]]<ref name=Birley-1981/>{{rp|style=ama|p= 270}}
| tribunus laticlavius
| 83
| Britannia
| {{CIL|14|3612}}
|-
| [[Lucius Burbuleius Optatus Ligarianus]]<ref name=Birley-1981/>{{rp|style=ama|p= 271 ff}}
| tribunus laticlavius
| c. 118-122
| [[Germania Inferior]]
| {{CIL|10|6006}}
|-
| [[Lucius Aemilius Carus]]<ref name=Birley-1981/>{{rp|style=ama|p= 274 ff}}
| tribunus laticlavius
| c. 123
| Germania Inferior
| {{CIL|6|1333}} = ILS&nbsp;1077
|-
| [[Lucius Novius Crispinus Martialis Saturninus]]<ref name=Birley-1981/>{{rp|style=ama|p= 276 ff}}
| tribunus laticlavius
| c. 125
| Britannia
| {{CIL|8|2747}}
|-
| [[Quintus Camurius Numisius Junior]]
| tribunus laticlavius
| c. 145
| Britannia
| {{CIL|11|5670}}
|}

==Epigraphic inscriptions==

* Monumentum / (...) Quirina '''''Quintillus''''' miles '''legionis IX Hispanae''' annorum (...) Pisoni filius posuit (...). Leon (''Legionem'')<ref>Spain. HEp 9, 1999, 405</ref>

==In popular culture==
[[File:Silchester eagle.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|The [[Silchester eagle]], the Roman eagle that inspired Sutcliff's novel. According to [[Reading Museum]], it "is not a legionary eagle but has been immortalized as such by [[Rosemary Sutcliff]]."<ref>{{cite report |title=Silchester Eagle |publisher=[[Reading Museum]] |url=http://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/collections/album/pdfs/sileagle-38.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213001946/http://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/collections/album/pdfs/sileagle-38.pdf |archive-date=13 February 2012}}</ref>]]

The Ninth Legion's mysterious disappearance has made it a popular subject for historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.

<!-- ordered chronologically -->
* In [[Rosemary Sutcliff]]'s 1954 historical novel ''[[The Eagle of the Ninth]]'', a young Roman officer, Marcus Flavius Aquila, is trying to recover the Eagle standard of his father's legion beyond [[Hadrian's Wall]].
* A [[BBC Home Service|Home Service]] radio dramatisation of  ''The Eagle of the Ninth'' was broadcast on [[Children's Hour]] in about 1956.
* In [[Alan Garner]]'s 1973 novel ''[[Red Shift (novel)|Red Shift]]'', one narrative involves a group of Roman soldiers who are survivors of the Legion's destruction, trying to survive in hostile, 2nd-century Cheshire.
* In [[Karl Edward Wagner]]'s 1976 fantasy novel ''Legion from the Shadows'' (featuring [[Robert E. Howard]]'s [[Bran Mak Morn]]), the survivors of the Ninth flee underground where they interbreed with the [[Worms of the Earth]].
* A [[BBC television drama|BBC television serial]] was made of ''The Eagle of the Ninth'' in 1977.
* The 1979 historical novel ''Legions of the Mists'' by [[Amanda Cockrell]] recounts the destruction of the Ninth Hispania by an attack by combined tribes in Scotland.
* In [[David Gemmell]]'s historical fantasy series  [[Stones of Power|''Stones of Power'']] (1988–1991), the Ninth have been trapped in [[Limbo]] and are released by the protagonists ([[Uther Pendragon]] in ''Ghost King'' and [[Alexander the Great]] in ''Dark Prince'' (1991)) to help in battles.
* In [[Will Murray (writer)|Will Murray]]'s 1993 [[Doc Savage]] novel, ''The Forgotten Realm,''<ref>{{Cite book |first=Kenneth |last= Robeson |title=Doc Savage: The Forgotten Realm |edition=1st |year=1993 |publisher=[[Bantam Spectra]] |isbn=0-553-29555-1 }}</ref> the Ninth Hispana founded a city called Novum Eboracum ("New York") in the [[Congo (area)|African Congo]], surviving until at least the 1930s.
* A full-cast radio dramatization of ''The Eagle of the Ninth'' was broadcast by [[BBC Radio 4]] in 1996.<ref>[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eagle-Ninth-BBC-Radio/dp/1408467763/ BBC], ''Eagle of the ninth''. {{ISBN|1-4084-6776-3}}</ref>
* In [[Marion Zimmer Bradley]]'s historical fantasy novel ''[[Lady of Avalon]]'' (1997), the Ninth is destroyed in a battle with the native Britons, from which the hero Gawen escapes to return to Avalon.
* In [[Susanna Kearsley]]'s 1997 novel ''The Shadowy Horses'', an archaeologist believes he has found the remains of a fort that housed the Ninth Legion in remote [[Eyemouth]], Scotland.<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/Shadowy-Horses-Susanna-Kearsley/dp/0515124648 Amazon reviews of ''The Shadowy Horses''.]</ref>
* [[N. M. Browne]]'s 2000 ''Warriors of Alavna'' accounts for the disappearance of the Legion by transporting it to an alternative reality.
* [[Valerio Massimo Manfredi]]'s 2002 historical novel ''L'ultima legione'' (''The Last Legion'') depicts the Ninth Legion as being part of the legend of [[King Arthur]].
* [[Jim Butcher]]'s fantasy series ''[[Codex Alera]]'' (2004–2009) is populated by the descendants of the Ninth Legion and its camp followers, who were transported to the world of Carna.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylKRYe0ZWHo|title=Q&A with Jim Butcher|website=[[YouTube]] }}{{cbignore}}{{Dead YouTube link|date=February 2022}}</ref>
* The 2006 album ''[[Caledonia (Suidakra album)|Caledonia]]'' by [[Celtic metal]] band [[Suidakra]] includes a song "The IXth Legion" about the legion's fight with the [[Picts]].
* The 2007 film ''[[The Last Legion]]'' based upon the Manfredi novel.
* The 2010 film ''[[Centurion (film)|Centurion]]'' follows the destiny of the Ninth Legion, as seen from the perspective of centurion Quintus Dias.
* The 2011 film ''[[The Eagle (2011 film)|The Eagle]]'' is based on the book ''The Eagle of the Ninth''.
* The 2017 ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "[[The Eaters of Light]]" features the remnants of the Ninth Legion, which was wiped out by an extradimensional being.
* In the TV series [[Britannia (TV series)|''Britannia'']]<ref>Named in episode 4 of season 1, [[Britannia (TV series)|Britannia]]</ref>{{What|date=May 2025}}
* In [[Kate Atkinson (writer)|Kate Atkinson]]'s novel ''[[Behind the Scenes at the Museum]]'', set in 20th-century [[York]], the ghosts of the members of Legio IX – together with those of people from other periods in York's history – celebrate the [[Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II]] in 1953 and raise aloft their legion's [[Aquila (Roman)|Eagle]] in the new Queen's honour.
* In the lore of the web series [[SCP Foundation|''SCP Foundation'']], the Legion is revealed to have been destroyed by SCP-682 during experiments using the anomaly SCP-067.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/experiment-log-t-98816-oc108-682 |title=Experiment Log T-98816-OC108/682  |author=fairoute |date=2021-06-24  |access-date=2024-06-30 }}</ref>
* In the 2019 film ''[[Horrible Histories: The Movie - Rotten Romans]]'', part of the story includes the Legion IX Hispana or as it is nicknamed in it "The IX Men" as one of the main characters is sent to serve in it in Britain as a punishment after upsetting the emperor.
* [[Hal Colebatch (author)|Hal Colebatch]] and Matthew Joseph Harrington's 2009 story Aquila Advenio, printed in ''[[Man-Kzin Wars]] XII'', includes descendants of the Legion IX Hispana being present on a planet occupied by [[Kzin]]ti.
* In the 2021 video game ''[[King Arthur: Knight's Tale]]'', the Legion IX appears as an undead army coming back from the dead in [[Avalon]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Ancient Rome}}
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously: pre-1970|List of people who disappeared]]
*[[List of Roman legions]]
*[[Castra]]
*[[Limes (Roman Empire)]]
*[[Structural history of the Roman military]]
*[[Silchester eagle]]

==References==
{{reflist|25em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Legio VIIII Hispana}}

{{Roman Legion}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Legio 09 Hispana}}
[[Category:Military units and formations established in the 1st century BC]]
[[Category:Military units and factions of the Bar Kokhba revolt]]
[[Category:Missing person cases in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Roman legions|09 Hispana]]
[[Category:Roman legions in Britain|9 Hispana]]