In the year 286 A.D., there was a legion of soldiers (over 6,600 men) that consisted of all Christians. This group was known as the Theban Legion, as the men were raised in Thebais. They were ordered by Emperor Maximian to march to Gaul to assist him against the rebels of Burgundy. However, about this time Maximian ordered a sacrifice, at which the soldiers were to assist, and commanded that they take oaths of allegiance and swear, at the same time, to help him wipe out Christianity in Gaul.
Each member of the legion refused to sacrifice or take the oaths Maximian had ordered. This angered Maximian, so he called for every tenth man of the legion to be selected and killed by the sword. After his order was executed, the remaining men of the Theban Legion were still resolute, refusing to sacrifice to idols and take the oath to slay the Christians of Gaul. Therefore, a second decimation occurred, and every tenth man was killed by the sword. Still, the soldiers were unbending.
The remaining soldiers drafted a document outlining their grievances and sent it to Emperor Maximian:
“While your commands are not contradictory to those of our common Master, we shall always be ready to obey, as we have been hitherto; but when the orders of our prince and those of the Almighty differ, we must always obey the latter. Our arms are devoted to the emperor’s use, and shall be directed against his enemies; but we cannot submit to stain our hands with Christian blood; and how, indeed, could you, O Emperor, be sure of our allegiance and fidelity, should we violate our obligation to our God, in whose service we were solemnly engaged before we entered the army? You command us to search out and to destroy the Christians; it is not necessary to look any farther for people of that denomination; we ourselves are such, and we glory in the name. We saw our companions fall without the least opposition or murmuring, and thought them happy in dying for the sake of Christ. Nothing shall make us lift up our hands against our sovereign; we had rather die wrongfully, and by that means preserve our innocence, than live under a load of guilt; whatever you command we are ready to suffer; we confess ourselves to be Christians, and therefore cannot persecute Christians, nor sacrifice to idols.”
Infuriated at their resolve and solidarity, Emperor Maximian had the entire legion put to death. On September 22, 286, the Theban Legion was cut to pieces by the sword.
— Adapted from The New Encyclopedia of Christian Martyrs compiled by Mark Water (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2001), pp. 346-347
— published as above in the May 2005 The Voice of the Martyrs magazine