The Mystery of the Ninth Legion

The fate of the Roman Ninth Legion (Legio IX Hispana) remains one of Ancient Rome's most captivating

unsolved mysteries. The legion was last recorded in Britain in the early 2nd century AD,

around 120 AD, after which mentions cease. The dominant theories suggest the legion

was either annihilated during a military campaign against northern British tribes such as the

Picts beyond Hadrian’s Wall, where they might have been ambushed or relocated and

absorbed into other units in places like Germania or the Middle East, fading from historical

records. Another possibility ties its demise to conflicts like the Bar-Kokhba Revolt

in Judea around 132 AD, though records are unclear which legions were involved.