TravelTill

History of Leon


JuteVilla
Origins

León was founded in the 1st century BC by the Roman legion Legio VI Victrix. In 68 AD Legio VII Gemina created a permanent military camp, which was the origin of a later city. Its modern name is derived from the city's Latin name Legio, which itself derives from theRoman legion recruited from the Iberians by Galba. The legion established the site of the city to protect the territory from the Astures and Cantabrians, and to secure the transport of gold extracted in the province, especially in Las Médulas. Tacitus calls the legionGalbiana, to distinguish it from the old Legio VII Claudia, but this appellation is not found on any inscriptions. It appears to have received the appellation of Gemina on account of its amalgamation by Vespasian with one of the German legions, not improbably the Legio IGermanica. Its full name was Legio VII Gemina Felix. After serving in Pannonia, and in the civil wars, it was settled by Vespasian in Hispania Tarraconensis, to supply the place of the Legio VI Victrix and Legio X Gemina, two of the three legions ordinarily stationed in the province, but which had been withdrawn to Germany.

That its regular winter quarters, under later emperors, were at León, we learn from the Itinerary, Ptolemy, and the Notitiae Imperii, as well as from a few inscriptions; but there are numerous inscriptions to prove that a strong detachment of it was stationed at Tarraco (modern Tarragona), the chief city of the province.

Kingdom of León

The post-Roman history of the city is largely the history of the Kingdom of León. The station of the legion in the territory of the Astures grew into an important city, which resisted the attacks of theVisigoths until AD 586, when it was taken by Leovigild; and it was one of the few cities which the Visigoths allowed to retain their fortifications. During the struggle with the Muslim invaders, the same
previous123next
JuteVilla