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By the beginning of the 1st century AD, the Roman Republic had been replaced by the Roman
Principate under Augustus, who ended the period of Civil Wars and brought back stability.
However the Romans still faced many dangers. To the north, the Germanic tribes were gradually
forming larger unions, and they would fight the Roman empire throughout the next few centuries:
The battle of Teutoburg Forest would become one of the most iconic in the conflict between
the Germanic tribes and Rome.
The chaotic period of the late Roman Republic finally concluded after Octavian’s victory
at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. The Republican system was irredeemably broken and Octavian
had no intention of giving up the power he had won. In the following years he expelled
political opponents from the senate and solidified his hold on the collapsing republican institutions.
On January 16th 27 BC, the Senate declared him Augustus - the illustrious one - and granted
him ultimate power, effectively making him the very first Roman Emperor, though technically
the Republican facade was maintained. The Mediterranean world entered a period of
relative peace, prosperity and stability known as the Pax Romana - the Roman Peace. Augustus
further expanded the Empire’s dominion, annexing northern Spain and Pannonia, in addition
to parts of Asia Minor and Judaea. Augustus secured his eastern border by making peace
with the Parthians, disappointing many Romans who wanted revenge for their defeat at Carrhae.
Although the Pax Romana guaranteed peace for the majority of the ascendant empire, there
were a few exceptions. In the aftermath of Gaius Julius Caesar’s conquest of Gaul,
Rome has gained new natural borders along the Rhine and Danube. The unknown wilderness
beyond this protective boundary was frightening to the Romans, and was home to the fearsome
Germanic tribes. In the process of fully Romanising the formerly
Gallic lands, Augustus’ most trusted friend Agrippa began to expand a network of roads
from Lugdunum to the north, attempting to reach both the English Channel and the River
Rhine. The vast area beyond the Rhine was beginning to attract the attention of the
Roman elites. This was shown not only by the road-building in the region, but also the
resettlement of the allied Ubian tribe to act as a buffer between Rome and more hostile
Germanic tribes in 19 BC. When the legionary forces of Gallic Legate
Marcus Lollius were defeated by said tribes in 16 BC, the will of Augustus to conquer
the region was said to have strengthened even further. Later that year he incorporated the
region of Noricum into the province of Pannonia and, a year later, his stepsons Tiberius and
Drusus the Elder conquered what would become the province of Raetia. Roman incursions into
its northern frontier were growing more intense. A few years later, Agrippa and Tiberius attacked
the various tribes in Illyricum. Agrippa commanded this offensive at first, but he unexpectedly
perished in the spring of 12 BC, leaving Tiberius in command. Under his direction, the tribes
in this region were subdued piecemeal. At the same time Drusus was also succeeding in
Germania, quickly achieving territorial gains and wintering in the region for several years,
eventually reaching all the way to the river Elbe in 9 BC. However, Drusus fell from his
horse and died on his way back from Germania in that year. Tiberius then took command in
Germania, treated his foes savagely and almost succeeded in making it a tribute-paying province.
As of 7 BC, it is said that Augustus considered it just that, asserting that all the Germanics
living between the Rhine and Elbe had submitted. The reality was very different.
The Cherusci tribe were one of those pacified by Drusus in these campaigns, and hostages
from its most prominent families were taken to Rome. One of these figures was the son
of a Cherusci chieftain - Arminius. As a hostage he served in the Roman military, learned Latin,
was awarded Roman citizenship for his contribution and was made an equestrian. To supplement
the legionary heavy infantry, Rome’s leaders recruited provincial soldiers and even men
from unconquered territories such as Germania. They served in the Auxiliary units of light
infantry and were usually commanded by their tribal leaders.
For now, Augustus had other problems. In 6 BC personal matters convinced Tiberius to
retire from politics and sail to Rhodes, where he stayed for years. This abrupt withdrawal
angered Augustus, due to the destabilising effect it would have on his succession. While
Tiberius quickly regretted his decision and pleaded to be allowed to return, the angered
Princeps refused repeatedly. During this period Rome gradually expanded
its influence ever further into Germania. In 3 BC, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus reached
the Elbe with his own army and assisted in the construction of infrastructure to the
east of the Rhine. Meanwhile in Rome, Lucius and Gaius Caesar - grandsons of the Emperor,
were being groomed for the Imperial office. However, in 2 AD Lucius perished, and two
years later, Gaius died in Armenia, leaving Augustus with no other choice than to recall
Tiberius. He was adopted by the Princeps and in turn
was made to adopt the 21-year-old Germanicus as his own son. Soon after, Tiberius was sent
to Germania and immediately subjugated another series of tribal groups, including the Cherusci.
Part of the Roman strategy in this period was to resettle troublesome tribal peoples
and move them to locations where Rome could keep a very close eye on them. Around this
time, Arminius returned to his people in the north.
Power struggles within the Cherusci clan led one faction, led by the clan of Arminius,
to become allies of the Roman invaders. They were supported by Tiberius, who constructed
a winter fort near their territory on the Lippe River. Later in Tiberius’ command,
a huge pincer movement was planned to fully conquer the region between the rivers Rhine
and Elbe. However, The Great Illyrian Revolt broke out in 6 AD and required a massive military
response, so Tiberius marched south to deal with it.
As he was now busy with other matters, Augustus appointed Publius Quinctilius Varus as the
commander in Germania. This general and politician has proved himself to be a competent administrator,
both in Africa and the troublesome province of Syria, where he had to deal with the Parthians,
and quell the rebellions in the region. Modern historians conclude that while Varus was a
very good administrator, he was not a soldier. In 7AD, he was appointed the legate - the
governor of Germania - replacing Tiberius, who also took eight of the eleven legions
with him. The Cherusci prince Arminius accompanied Varus, and had become a seemingly loyal advisor.
The early part of the year 9 AD was successful for the Empire in Germania. For the first
time, Varus’ legions were able to move freely and relatively unhindered through the province,
carrying out their routine duties such as patrolling and road building. The legate himself
performed many administrative duties to provincialize the new region, such as tax collection and
adjudication of tribal disputes in the Roman legal system. However, all was not to continue
going smoothly as the summer progressed. Varus began to receive reports that many small detachments
of troops patrolling and constructing infrastructure in the supposedly ‘friendly’ territory
were being massacred by tribes such as the Angrivarii and Bructeri.
This series of betrayals seemed to be spontaneous, but was in reality orchestrated by non-other
than the Germanic prince Arminius. At some point he had decided to turn against his Roman
allies, possibly due to the cruelty against people like his that he had witnessed during
his service, or simply because he wished to rule his tribe without Roman taxation. Throughout
the summer, Arminius had used the autonomy of his dual role of Roman officer and Germanic
chieftain to consolidate local tribal support and to seek allies in the tribes who were
always troublesome for the Empire. However, the chieftain’s plan was almost
foiled by, his angered father in law, Segestes, who betrayed the plan to ambush the legionary
column to Varus. Despite this, the Roman foolishly trusted his Alae commander and had Segestes
taken away. With this done, the army began to march from their summer camp to winter
quarters west of the Rhine. However, as he set off, Varus was beseeched by some locals
to quell a revolt that had broken out to the west, and he adjusted his direction accordingly.
Just then, the seemingly loyal Arminius rode up to his beloved commander, professing that
he must ride away in order to assemble the auxiliary forces. This would not have seemed
odd because the Auxilia were scattered at the time, and would take a while to come together
again. Though he had moved away, Arminius left a few select men with the column for
use as spies. The so called ‘revolt’ was a decoy, organised by the traitorous Cheruscan
prince, who now moved to organise his forces, numbering anywhere from 20 to 30 thousand.
However, his plan was to attack the Romans rather than to aid them.
On the morning of the September 7th, Varus addressed his army, which had around 30 thousand
troops and informed them of the change of plans, promising loot and spoils before marching
away. They marched the necessary 16 miles on that day before encamping for the night
in the unfamiliar territory that Arminius’ local ‘guides’ were now luring him into.
At 7am on the 8th the Romans formed into their marching column prepared for battle, but were
taken into an area of heavy forest, which both slowed the march considerably and dangerously
strung out the column, isolating many of its contingents.
Meanwhile in the forests, the Germans were watching, and the legionaries were completely
unaware. In the late morning, the Romans were met by a shower of stones, arrows and framea
spears coming from all directions as the Bructeri tribe launched spoiling attacks against them.
At this point the aim was not to destroy the Romans, but to weigh them down with material
losses and more wounded. After causing some losses, the Germans faded away into the forests;
accompanied by the ‘guides’ Arminius had left with Varus. The legions were now blind
and lost as a continuous heavy downpour began. Finally breaking through into open country,
the Legate now ordered a camp to be erected, where he held a war council.
It was decided that the army would continue westward on the forest path as, without their
guides, it was the only option. In addition, they would take the callous step of leaving
their wounded and baggage train behind to increase speed. Breaking camp in the morning,
the legions found that the rain had caused their forest route to become a sea of mud,
with fallen trees and other obstacles slowing them on the way.
As they thrust deeper into the dense forest, the tribal Germanic warriors struck the Romans
again, skirmishing viciously with them. The legionaries attempted to form up to defend
themselves, but they were in unfavourable terrain, which stopped their defence. By afternoon
they had suffered grievous losses and the orderly marching column had degenerated into
three distinct contingents strung out over miles of trail, with Varus in the rear. The
command structure of the ‘column’ had effectively broken down.
Fortunately for them, the Romans again broke into an area of open country by evening and
made another marching camp, where Varus held another war council. He now knew they were
in a deadly situation and had to take drastic measures. Vala; a cavalry commander, was ordered
to take the Roman horse via a path to the north in order to contact Roman allies and
forces to the west. However, as this force rode north, they were attacked and destroyed
by more Germans armed with pilfered Roman equipment. When news of this final defeat
reached Varus, he, and many of his senior officers committed suicide.
Two officers now took command of the bruised and battered force; Lucius Eggius and Caeonius.
On the morning of the 11th, Eggius marched further west where, everything was quiet at
first. Then he encountered an earthen rampart to his left, which he knew to be a trap. His
column stopped and he dispatched the remnants of two cohorts to clear the barricade. Meanwhile
behind them, Caeonius’ force had set off to reinforce them, but was attacked by the
main mixed infantry and cavalry German horde led by Arminius himself. After a great slaughter
and the beheading of Varus’ corpse, Arminius then pushed west and violently slaughtered
the remainder of Eggius’ column, which had been slowed by the barricade - as intended.
The defeat was total and catastrophic for the Romans; almost the entire force was either
butchered or enslaved. Many officers were sacrificed to the ancient Germanic gods in
ritual ceremonies whereas other soldiers were crucified against trees or cooked in pots.
The site would have been a truly horrific scene. In Rome, Emperor Augustus was said
to have been so shaken by the defeat that he would bash his head against the wall, infamously
shouting ‘Quinctilius Varus, give me back my legions!’. However, the Romans would
not take this defeat lying down, and new battles in Germania would soon come.
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