Legio XII Fulminata

From his eastern Parthian Empire in present-day Iran and Iraq, King Vologeses I in 58 AD invaded Armenia, a client kingdom of Rome.

After Cestius Gallus' withdrawal from the siege of the Temple Mount, XII Fulminata was ambushed and defeated by Eleazar ben Simon in the Battle of Beth Horon, losing its aquila.

(To Imp(erator) Domitianus Caesar Aug(ustus) Germanicus, (by) Lucius Julius Maximus, Centurion of Leg(ion) XII Ful(minata).

)[3][4]Some historians argue that the settlement of Ramana near Baku was possibly founded by the Roman troops of Lucius Julius Maximus from Legio XII Fulminata in circa 84-96 AD and derives its name from the Latin Romana.

In 134, the threat of the Alans was subdued by the governor of Cappadocia, Arrian, who defeated the invaders with the aid of XII Fulminata and XV Apollinaris.

The Twelfth probably fought in the Parthian campaign of Emperor Lucius Verus, in 162–166, if a mixed unit of XII and XV controlled for some time the newly conquered Armenian capital Artaxata.

Emperor Marcus Aurelius commanded the XII Fulminata in his campaign against the Quadi, a people inhabiting an area in modern-day Slovakia, and an episode of a miraculous rain and lightning saving a Twelfth subunit from defeat is reported by the sources.

[9] In 175, the legion was in Melitene, when Avidius Cassius revolted; the Twelfth, having been loyal to the Emperor, obtained the cognomen Certa Constans, "surely constant".

When the Eastern frontier of the Empire was moved from the Euphrates to the Tigris, the Twelfth stayed in the reserve, possibly as a punishment for its support of Severus' rival.