 The disappearance of the Ninth Legion of the Roman Army has been widely discussed but there is a fascinating element of the story that is often omitted. Before this, a little context is needed. The Ninth Legion of the Roman Army existed before 58 BC until some time in the 2nd century AD. The last reference to the Ninth Legion is found in 108 AD, when we're in modern New York helping to rebuild the Roman fortress there. What is clear is that the Ninth Legion did not exist by the reign of Septimius Severus, who ruled the Roman Empire from 193 to 211 AD. So between 108 AD and the reign of Septimius Severus, the Ninth Legion of the Roman Army simply disappears from history. This quick synopsis of the disappearance of the Ninth Legion leads to an important question that a few people in the comments on my last video on the subject commented on. Namely, was it actually unusual for a legion of the Roman Army to disappear? Well it wasn't completely unusual for legions of the Roman Army to be wiped out in battle, such as at the Battle of Tudiburg Forest in Nine AD, when Germanic tribes ambushed the Roman Army, destroying three legions of the Roman Army. What separates this event from the disappearance of the Ninth Legion is that at the Battle of Tudiburg Forest in Nine AD, we know that the Roman legions were wiped out due to an ambush by Germanic tribes, whereas in the case of the Ninth Legion they simply vanished from history, and there is no records after 108 AD when they were rebuilding a fortress in modern day York. There is no other records of why they disappeared, they simply just vanished from history. One of the main theories as to why the Ninth Legion disappeared from history is that they were sent north into modern day Scotland known as Caledonia to the Romans to quash a rebellion there, and they were picked off and wiped out by the Caledonians. Some argue that this is the most likely outcome, and I would put myself in that camp. However, there are numerous other theories that explain the disappearance of the Ninth Legion, with some just being at a simple mundane explanation that the Ninth Legion were transferred out of Britain to another corner of the Empire, and were probably wiped out in battle there, and this was either not recorded or the records were lost. The element of the story, however, that is often not discussed, or usually not discussed in any great detail at least, is found in the Roman historian's book Tacitus that was written in the 1st century AD, his book on Agricola and Germany, decades before 108 AD. Tacitus describes that the Caledonians almost managed to wipe out the entire Ninth Legion in a sneak night attack only to be saved by the actions of Gaius Julius Agricola, the governor of Britannia. So Tacitus essentially dates these events to happen in somewhere around 83 AD, within the broader M-Roman invasion of Caledonia. The story goes that the Caledonians were in armed struggle against Agricola and his forces that were pushing deeper into their lands. The Caledonians hatched a plan to attack the Ninth Legion in a sneak night attack, with the Ninth Legion known to be the weakest in numbers according to Tacitus. During the cover of Nightfall, the Caledonians cut down the Roman guards of the Ninth Legion and went into the sleeping camp, slaying many Roman soldiers before they even realised what was happening. Agricola, however, had heard of this plan through his scouts and was in close pursuit. He sent the most mobile of his cavalry and infantry ahead, with orders to attack the rear of the Caledonians. Shortly after, the Caledonians found themselves between two armies, a Agricola's army that was attacking the rear, and the Ninth Legion that had managed to regain some sort of organisation and their strength due to the Roman rescue army. The Caledonians were fighting on two fronts and their fate was sealed. They were defeated and eventually had to retreat. Quite humorously, there was actually, according to Tacitus at least, somewhat of a disagreement within the Roman ranks after victory. The Ninth Legion were claiming that they did not need any assistance, whereas Agricola's army was trying to present themselves as saviours. Regardless of this, the Romans were emboldened, roaring that nothing can stand in the way of courage. We must go deep into Caledonia and fighting battle after battle, we must find the furthest limit to Britain at last. Now it should be noted that Tacitus was actually related to Agricola. Agricola was his father-in-law, so the pull he has biased contained within Tacitus's account, and obviously Agricola is presented as a saviour as the hero of the story to a law's degree. Regardless, and to be honest, the sources are quite thin in general, but if we take Tacitus to be somewhat accurate, and that there was a night attack against the Ninth Legion by the Caledonians decades before they vanished, it is interesting to note that one of the main theories that China tries to explain why the Ninth Legion disappeared after One-Away AD is obviously that they were wiped out in Caledonia, so it's really interesting to note that a primary Roman source essentially argues that they were very close to being wiped out by the Caledonians decades before One-Away AD, decades before their disappearance. Perhaps decades after this, after One-Away AD, the Ninth Legion found themselves in a similar position against the Caledonians, but this time they did not have a rescue army nearby, and they were slain in battle. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below, it would be interesting to hear your opinion on one of the most famous disappearances in history, in the Roman history of Britain. To find out more about the lost Roman Legion, please click here. Thanks for watching, please subscribe and hit the bell, and tell your friends and family about this channel for ways to support through Patreon and various other means, they will be in the description below. Thanks again for watching, please let me know your thoughts below and I'll see you next time.