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Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
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Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, also called the Varus Disaster or Varian Disaster (Latin: Clades Variana) by Roman historians, was a major battle fought between an alliance of Germanic peoples and the Roman Empire between 8 and 11 September 9 AD, possibly near modern Kalkriese. Fighting began with an ambush by the Germanic alliance on three Roman legions being led by Publius Quinctilius Varus and their auxiliaries; the alliance was led by Arminius, a Germanic chieftain and officer of Varus's auxilia. Arminius had received Roman citizenship and a Roman military education, thus allowing him to deceive the Romans methodically and anticipate their tactical responses.
Teutoburg Forest is considered one of the most important defeats in Roman history, bringing the triumphant period of expansion under Augustus to an abrupt end. It dissuaded the Romans from pursuing the conquest of Germania, and so can be considered one of the most important events in European history.
The provinces of Germania Superior and Germania Inferior, sometimes collectively referred to as Roman Germania, were established in northeast Roman Gaul, while territories beyond the Rhine remained independent. Retaliatory campaigns were commanded by Tiberius and Germanicus and enjoyed success, but the Rhine became the border between the Roman Empire and the rest of Germania. Rome then made no major incursion into Germania until Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180) during the Marcomannic Wars.
Some of the descendants of the vassal kingdoms, like the Suebi (by suzerainty), that Augustus tried to create in Germania to expand the romanitas and the Empire, were the ones that invaded Rome in the fourth and fifth centuries.
The Roman Republic expanded rapidly in the first century BC, most notably under Julius Caesar, who conquered most of western Europe and parts of the British Isles in the Gallic Wars (58–50 BC). These mostly were against the Gauls, but also included battles with various Germanic tribes. Caesar twice crossed the Rhine river, but the engagements were inconclusive. His conquests ended as Caesar's civil war (49–45 BC) drew near.
Continental Europe was mostly neglected by Rome for the next two decades, as power struggles wracked the Republic. Troops previously garrisoned in Gaul were pulled out in 31 BC for the showdown between Octavian and Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium. The Gauls promptly rebelled, and Roman control was not regained until 28 BC.
27 BC saw drastic change for both Gaul and Rome as a whole. The Roman Republic reorganised into the Roman Empire, with Octavian the first emperor. Octavian, now styled Augustus, aimed to solidify control of Gaul by dividing the region into three smaller provinces that emphasised the strategic importance of the Rhine valley. Troops were kept near the Rhine, though policy towards the Germanic lands remains unclear. Two main theories exist. The first is that Augustus simply sought to cement the Rhine as the Northern border of the Empire; the second that the border was far more fluid, and that the troops were focused on maintaining order in the Empire more than on preventing Germanic intrusion. The Germanics operated with apparent impunity anyway, as exemplified by the crushing defeat in the Lollian disaster in 16 BC.
The Lollian disaster prompted a reorganisation of the legions in Gaul, which was completed by 12 BC, when Augustus sought finally to tame the Germanic tribes. He began by making his stepson Drusus I governor of Gaul. Drusus campaigned against the Germanics from 11–9 BC, earning a series of victories, despite considerable obstacles, before his untimely death in a riding accident in 9 BC. His elder brother and future emperor Tiberius was given command of Germany in 8 BC. Tiberius continued his brother's campaign against the Sugambri, extending de facto, if not de jure Roman rule, but he fell out of political favour and chose exile in 6 BC. He was, in turn, succeeded by Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, who had been consul in 16 BC. Ahenobarbus suppressed a number of local uprisings and then crossed the Elbe river, the first and last Roman general to do so. As the turn of the century approached, the Romans felt secure about Germany, reassured by thriving cross-border trade and relative peace.
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Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, also called the Varus Disaster or Varian Disaster (Latin: Clades Variana) by Roman historians, was a major battle fought between an alliance of Germanic peoples and the Roman Empire between 8 and 11 September 9 AD, possibly near modern Kalkriese. Fighting began with an ambush by the Germanic alliance on three Roman legions being led by Publius Quinctilius Varus and their auxiliaries; the alliance was led by Arminius, a Germanic chieftain and officer of Varus's auxilia. Arminius had received Roman citizenship and a Roman military education, thus allowing him to deceive the Romans methodically and anticipate their tactical responses.
Teutoburg Forest is considered one of the most important defeats in Roman history, bringing the triumphant period of expansion under Augustus to an abrupt end. It dissuaded the Romans from pursuing the conquest of Germania, and so can be considered one of the most important events in European history.
The provinces of Germania Superior and Germania Inferior, sometimes collectively referred to as Roman Germania, were established in northeast Roman Gaul, while territories beyond the Rhine remained independent. Retaliatory campaigns were commanded by Tiberius and Germanicus and enjoyed success, but the Rhine became the border between the Roman Empire and the rest of Germania. Rome then made no major incursion into Germania until Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180) during the Marcomannic Wars.
Some of the descendants of the vassal kingdoms, like the Suebi (by suzerainty), that Augustus tried to create in Germania to expand the romanitas and the Empire, were the ones that invaded Rome in the fourth and fifth centuries.
The Roman Republic expanded rapidly in the first century BC, most notably under Julius Caesar, who conquered most of western Europe and parts of the British Isles in the Gallic Wars (58–50 BC). These mostly were against the Gauls, but also included battles with various Germanic tribes. Caesar twice crossed the Rhine river, but the engagements were inconclusive. His conquests ended as Caesar's civil war (49–45 BC) drew near.
Continental Europe was mostly neglected by Rome for the next two decades, as power struggles wracked the Republic. Troops previously garrisoned in Gaul were pulled out in 31 BC for the showdown between Octavian and Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium. The Gauls promptly rebelled, and Roman control was not regained until 28 BC.
27 BC saw drastic change for both Gaul and Rome as a whole. The Roman Republic reorganised into the Roman Empire, with Octavian the first emperor. Octavian, now styled Augustus, aimed to solidify control of Gaul by dividing the region into three smaller provinces that emphasised the strategic importance of the Rhine valley. Troops were kept near the Rhine, though policy towards the Germanic lands remains unclear. Two main theories exist. The first is that Augustus simply sought to cement the Rhine as the Northern border of the Empire; the second that the border was far more fluid, and that the troops were focused on maintaining order in the Empire more than on preventing Germanic intrusion. The Germanics operated with apparent impunity anyway, as exemplified by the crushing defeat in the Lollian disaster in 16 BC.
The Lollian disaster prompted a reorganisation of the legions in Gaul, which was completed by 12 BC, when Augustus sought finally to tame the Germanic tribes. He began by making his stepson Drusus I governor of Gaul. Drusus campaigned against the Germanics from 11–9 BC, earning a series of victories, despite considerable obstacles, before his untimely death in a riding accident in 9 BC. His elder brother and future emperor Tiberius was given command of Germany in 8 BC. Tiberius continued his brother's campaign against the Sugambri, extending de facto, if not de jure Roman rule, but he fell out of political favour and chose exile in 6 BC. He was, in turn, succeeded by Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, who had been consul in 16 BC. Ahenobarbus suppressed a number of local uprisings and then crossed the Elbe river, the first and last Roman general to do so. As the turn of the century approached, the Romans felt secure about Germany, reassured by thriving cross-border trade and relative peace.
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