It is not clear where the legion was stationed, but it is plausible that it was at Raphanaea near Emesa. Cyrrhus is another possibility. Veterans were later settled at Ptolemais (Acco).
However, the Parthians placed another king on the Armenian throne, Tiridates, the brother of their king Vologases I. A retaliatory campaign was organized by Lucius Caesennius Paetus, the governor of Cappadocia, in 62. He used XII Fulminata and IIII Scythica. Unfortunately, the Parthians forced them into surrender at Rhandeia (winter 62/63). Later, Corbulo and his three legions were able to turn the tables, and ordered Tiridates to receive his crown for the second time from the Roman emperor Nero. Although VI Ferrata stayed for some time in Armenia, it returned to Syria.
During the civil war of the year 69, the sixth legion sided with
Vespasian, but it was not really involved in the war. Only three years before, soldiers of VI Ferrata and IIII Scythica had been defeated, together with the main force of XII Fulminata, in an attempt to suppress the
Jewish revolt. Vespasian may have despised the Sixth' fighting qualities. Nevertheless, it was part of the army of Vespasian's ally Mucianus that marched to Italy, and it fought against the Dacians, who had crossed the
Danube, which was exposed to the enemies now that all Roman legions were marching on Rome. At least one subunit of the Sixth is known to have reached Italy.
After its return, VI Ferrata was stationed in Commagene, a kingdom on the river Euphrates that had just been annexed. Its base was at Samosata (Samsat). The Sixth participated in the Armenian campaign of the emperor Trajan (114), which culminated in the annexation of this kingdom. However, during the next two years, Trajan tried to seize Mesopotamia and Babylonia, which he was unable to keep. His successor Hadrian gave up all territories east of the Euphrates (117/118).
Before 119, VI Ferrata was moved to
Arabia, from where it invaded Judaea during the revolt of
Simon ben Kosiba (132-136). After this war, the Sixth stayed in Caparcotna in Galilee, which was soon surnamed Legio.
VI Ferrata briefly served in Africa under the emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161), where it built a road. Later, when a new war broke out between Rome and Parthia, the emperor Lucius Verus employed the Sixth in Mesopotamia (162-165) and it was probably involved in the capture of Ctesiphon, the capital of the Parthian empire.
During the civil war of 193 after the assassination of the emperor
Publius Helvius Pertinax, the sixth legion sided with
Lucius Septimius Severus and took up arms against
Pescennius Niger, who was very close by. This brave act was rewarded with the title
Fidelis Constans, 'loyal and constant'. What happened exactly is not known, but it is likely that behind the conflict between Jews and
Samarians in 195 is in fact a civil war. The surname itself suggests that the legion withstood a siege under difficult circumstances, and perhaps its opponent was X Fretensis, but we can not be certain about this interpretation of the events.
The legion was still in Palestine in 215. It is possible that
Severus Alexander (222-235) transferred it from Galilee to Phoenicia; however this may be, it is certain that the Sixth ironclad legion was still in existence during the reign of
Philippus Arabs (244-249), who minted coins with the name of this unit. Its later history is not known but it seems likely that it disappeared during
Valerian's defeat against the
Sasanian Persians (260). Captive Roman soldiers were ordered to build a bridge at modern
Shushtar and the city of
Bishapur.