Drusus, Tiberius and Varus' disaster (part 2, Arminius).

 

The Hermannsdenkmal. Photo: Nawi 112

To the north of Germany, there is a delightful and interesting region, well inmersed into a natural park. It is the Teutoburg Forest, an ideal place for several recreational activities. There, a formidable statue depicts a great warrior, a personage from a heroic time, showing a triumphant attitude. Obviously, that is a national pride symbol. But, who can it be? Why was his memorial raised at Teutoburg? 

Germania Magna, in times of Octavius. By Cristiano64.

By the year 7 of our era, the Roman armies, had already subdued the territories between the Rhine and the Elbe rivers: a country they named as Germania. Then, the emperor decided to assure the political control too. So he designated a trusted person, Publius Quintilius Varus, as the governor of the new province. But this latter, finally committed so many mistakes, that it is not an exaggeration to blame him, as the responsible for the short-lived Roman hegemony over the German land.

Reconstruction of Varus' face.

His policy was to push the people, by impossing the Roman laws and collecting excessive taxes. It began to incubate the discontentment among those tribes and families, used to a much more free way of living. In this manner, a rebellion took shape. Among them, emerged a leader, Arminius, as the Roman named him (or Hermann), a twenty five years young man, by then.

The Appian Way. At P. Universal-Lexicon 1891.

Of noble origin, Arminius had the chance to educate in Rome. He became a soldier and also got the Roman citizenship. Results of interest his subsequent behavior... To what extent was a mere reaction against the abussive goverment of Varus? Or might have he planned to learn about the discipline of their enemy, to use it later against them? One thing is clear, he knew how to gain the confidence of the governor to bring him to a trap, by means of a deceiving strategy. Despite the many warnings and his own experience, Varus innocently took the bait.

Recreation of Roman soldiers. 1st. century

His strategy, was to attract the Roman legions deep into the country, by organizing riots and protests. Once there, somehow was necessary to break their solid organization. In the meantime, the rebels got ready, arming many people, waiting for the right time to attack. Varus set his summer headquarters, very far from the Rhine frontier. He just ignored that they were into a markedly hostile territory. Then, he still trusted Arminius and suposed he was in charge of the backlines. 

Roman path through the ambush place.

In Autumm, when Varus and the legions were going back to the Rhine, a new false revolt exploded. It lead them to go further into those territories. The trap was set in order to make the Roman army cross a difficult path. It was a narrow strip of land, flanked by a rocky hill, to the south and a wide swamp ground, to the north. It was a true funnel, for three legions, several cohorts, the cavalry and a great number of civilians. It all, made their advance slow and quite difficult.

 

The ambush.

As the Roman crossed such a narrow path, they had to walk forming a several kilometers long, single line. Then, Arminius and his group left the rearguard, giving the signal to begin the attack. Soon, hundreds of rebels emerged from everywhere, decimating the enemy, under a rain of spears and arrows. While this happened, the people walking far ahead, was not aware of the terrible slaughtering.

The Battle of Teutoburg Forest.

The assault had lasted for three days, when Varus realised their desperate situation and tried to regroup the remainings of his forces. But the place, also had been well chosen by the rival, and was absolutely adverse for the legions. It ended in a massacre... The governor and his officials commited suicide. The victorious rebels gave no quarter and there was no pity for those who surrendered. It seems possible that they offered the prisoners, as a sacrifice to the gods. 

Only a few escaped from the slaughter, and brought the news to Rome. As expected, it meant a big commotion. Many were expecting a barbarian invasion, over Gaul, even at Rome. Octavius got sick and for many time he complained about this crushing defeat. Three legions were demolished, and were hard to replace, for administrative reasons. It had been the hardest loss for Rome, in two centuries... 

Roman face shield, found in Kalkriese.

The exact location of the battle has been motive of intense debate. For many years, the most likely, was the place where the monument stands. Very old objects were always appearing at the Teutoburg Forest. But only in the year 1987, came out some Roman military remains, associated with the battle. It was at Kalkriese Hill, to the north of Teutoburg... 45 kilometers far from the statue dedicated to Arminius. Later archeological findings have delivered plenty of material. The geographical features in that zone, agree with the descriptions of the ancient Roman chroniclers.

The German Limes.

Rome answered vigorosuly and Tiberius came back to lead. They began to siege the German, by land and by sea. But the real intention of Octavius, was to show his power, to avoid a possible invasion of Gaul. He wanted to keep the limits demarcated by the Rhine. Never again the Roman tried to maintain the Elbe river frontier. They settled for the control of a few strips of land and the coast, setting up checking points and walls (Limes).

Germanicus.

The frontier with Germania, would still be a major concern for the empire. Besides, the morale of the guarding troops, was very low, due to the harshness of those lands. Once again, they could count on Tiberius, but another remarkable personage emerged. He was the son of the well remembered Drusus the elder. With the same enchantment and military virtue of his father, his name was Germanicus. He joined Tiberius in the punitive expedition, after Varus' disaster. In his hands was left the leading of the discouraged Roman soldiers at the Rhine zone. By then, Tiberius had been invested as the new emperor. With his nature and politeness, and also with the promise to improve the soldiers situation, Germanicus managed to gather a big force to invade Germania again (14 A.C.).

Idistaviso, by Pablo Knotel.

Some have argued that Germanicus' main task, was to restore the pride and the honor of Rome. He conducted his army through the heart of the German territories, defeating them several times. He reached the place where Varus and his legions fell, to honor them. Also did something very important for the Roman: he got to retrieve two of the three lost eagles. But his forces came to be in serious problems and suffered many losses too. At the plains of Idistaviso, he faced and defeated Arminius. By that time, the new emperor, Tiberius, called him, ordering the legions to come back to the Rhine, in 16 A.C. Clearly, he shared the opinion of Octavius, that it was difficult and expensive, to keep the border at the Elbe river.

Much has been speculated about what happened next to Germanicus. His transfer to the Near East countries, his achievements and his early death, when he was thirty four years old... but this is another story. 

On the other hand, Arminius kept fighting against the oppressor. He was on the verge of another great victory, at the Pontis Longi battle, in 15 A. C. but his undisciplined men made the triumph flee. Later, at Idistaviso, he incurred in a mistake, presenting battle on an open field. There, he suffered a terrible and bloody loss. Although he could escape, his prestige as a leader fell almost completely.

Arminius. Photo by Daniel Schwen.

Then, the German tribes began to fight between themselves. Although Arminius could not get to unite his people, is out of question that he planted the seed of freedom, on those partially romanized lands. He was killed by treason, at the age of thirty seven (21 A.C.). The fact that Rome desisted to keep its dominion over Germania was a consequence of his efforts. Definitely, it all had not been in vain...

That strong and rebel race, when the time came, would invade other lands, including Rome. Unstoppable, they gave origin to new cultures and nations. If the imperial eagles would have conquered and assimilated them, the destiny of Europe and the so called Western Civilization... our present, would have been different, without any question.

Arminius, from height, at Hermannsdenkmal.

In the 19th century, when the Romanticism ruled in Europe, the figure of Arminius resurrected, luminous and triumphant. Those were times, when the european countries needed national unity symbols. His real germanic name was never known. But his latin appellative, Arminius, was later changed into Hermann, by his own people. Thus, somehow, his name remained printed in the spirit of Germany. As we told, they dedicated to his memory, an impressive monument: the Hermannsdenkmal. From there, he seems to watch and care for his great nation, forever...

Curiosities and Anecdotes

* The defeat at Teutoburg affected Octavius so much. It is told, that he hit his head against the walls, while he repeated: "Varus, Varus, bring my legions back."

*The number of the lost legions at Teutoburg: XVII, XVIII and XIX, were never used again by the Roman armies.

* Germanicus was the nephew and adopted son of an emperor (Tiberius); brother of another emperor (Claudius). Also he was the father (Caligula) and grandfather (Nero) of emperors.

* The son of Germanicus, the future emperor Caligula, received that nickname, when his father took him to the military camps. The child used to wear a soldier disguise. His little boots (caligae), gave him the name with he would go down to history.

* Arminius's wife, Thusnelda, was turned in to the Roman, by German allies. Then, she had to walk and was humiliated, at the Triumph given to Germanicus, when he came back to Rome. She was pregnant and had son her baby in jail.