The exact date of this Legion's founding is uncertain, as by 58 BC they were already amongst Julius Caesar's older Legions when he first invaded Gaul, although they were recruited from Spanish men. The Legion served with distinction throughout the Gallic Wars and aided in establishing the well-known fact over the years that Spanish troops were some of the toughest in all of Rome's Army. After Pharsalus in 48, the troops were given their pensions and land, although most of then would still serve under Caesar in Africa. Octavian re-enlisted the Legion in 42, and it helped earn victory at Philippi and the rebel pirate Sextus Pompeius, before it was sent it to the Balkans. After Actium, the Legion was sent to Hispania Tarraconensis, where it again distinguished itself in the long war against the Cantabrians. In 43 AD, it invaded Britain under Emperor Claudius, and although it suffered heavy losses during the revolt of Queen Boudicca in 60, the Legion's commander (Quintus Cerialis) continued his career regardless, which makes it likely that Legion had behaved most honorably. It was under Cerialis' command that the Legion fought against the Brigantes in Northern England in 78. In 108-9 it built a stone fortress in York, and its activities in 117-18 have suggested that it was part of the basis for the famous 1954 Rosemary Sutcliff novel, "Eagle of the Ninth". Like most Caesarian units, its emblem was the bull.