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You know what I always wondered in regards to the IH? I asked myself why they are the 10th Legion, or rather, why being the 10th Legion , they get no love.

You see, when Gaius Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon, the Legion that accompanied him and won him Italy was the 13th Legion. Now in 40k, the Ultras are the 13th Legion. That is kind of fitting, even though it was the IF and the BA that actually 'won' the heresy for the Big E, but the Ultras who actually conquered most of the galaxy back, I guess.

But when Caesar conquered Gaul, his most elite Legion and the one which formed his bodyguard was the 10th Legion. So basically, the Iron Hands should have been THE most successful Legion in the Great Crusade and/or the Emperor's bodyguard. Having the 10th Legion sitting somewhere on a back burner, then, is kind of disappointing.

For a mad historian like me, that is.

@Skylifter which 10th Legion I know there were several Mounted or otherwise. I'm guessing Gemina based on your location.

Prima!

There were different incarnations of the roman 10th, yes. When it was in Gaul with Caesar, it was the Equestris. Their honorific name originated from Caesar having a cohort of them ride escort for him for his talks with the germanic leader Ariovistus, even though normally, legions did not ride, riders were auxilia, and mostly from the provinces. One of the legionaries commented that Caesar was going to make equestrians of them all. Equestrians were the roman nobility's second order (after the senators). They were what later became the knights of the middle ages when the roman empire and the germanic tribes invading it meshed with each other, the function of the equestrians slowly changing over the centuries.

The Legion was later reconstituted and dubbed "Gemina" ("Twin") under Augustus.

Edit: Addendum.

The Iron who?