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Legio V Parthica
Bust of Diocletian. Arkeoloji Müzesi, İstanbul (Turkey). Photo Marco Prins.
Bust of Diocletian (Arkeoloji Müzesi, İstanbul)
 Legio V Parthica: one of the legions of the later Roman empire.

Its name is a deliberate archaism: when it was created, the Parthian empire, which had once threatened Rome's eastern frontier, had already been replaced by the Sasanian empire.

This legion was created by the emperor Diocletian (284-305), who reorganized the eastern frontier of the Roman empire. In 359, the Fifth Parthian legion was stationed at Amida (modern Diyarbakir), the site of an important bridge across the Tigris, along the ancient road from Central Anatolia to Assyria.
Ancient-Warfare.com, the online home of Ancient Warfare magazine
Roman bridge at Amida (modern Diyarbakir, Turkey). Photo Marco Prins.
The bridge at Diyarbakir
 It was unable to defend the town against a full-scale Persian attack, and was probably not reconstituted after its defeat, because it is not mentioned in the catalogue of late-fourth century military units that is included in the Notitia Dignitatum.
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