It's been 2000 years since Octavian shouted, "Quintcillus Varus, give me back my legions!"
I'm talking about the Battle of Teutoburg in 9 A.D. where the Cherusci, aided by Arminius, were able to ambush and eradicate three Roman legions - the XVII, XVIII, XIX. To those of you interested in Ancient Rome and history in general, this is one of the most fascinating events in world history.
That the massacre shook Rome to its very foundational core and psychologically jolted an empire is well known. Less talked about is how the Germans viewed the victory.
For romantic and nationalist Germans, (one man's hero is another man's traitor) the subsequent after shocks of this battle is claimed to, among other things, have given birth to the German nation. Indeed, Arminius was praised in Wagnerian spirit as a mythical hero. For Rome, it is seen as perhaps the beginning of the end of Roman supremacy. A little over stated given there were other battles in which Rome won handily.
Indeed, were it not for Arminius's treachery (he was welcomed into Roman civilization as both a nobleman and citizen and was Varus's most trusted friend) permitting the luring of the Roman legions funneled into a narrow part of the forest where they could not apply their superiour organizational and fighting skills perfect for open-field battle, the result likely would have been reversed and history would have been none the wiser.
Alas, it was not to be and it has been posited the course of history would have changed - no Thirty Years' War, no Gaulic-Germanic wars, no World Wars. Makes you wonder about Ferguson's assertion, "empire can be a force for stability and good."
Although one would have to consider what would have taken its place?
Ironically, Arminius was later killed by his own.
What goes around...
The notion that it was the beginning of the end for Rome is factually, and easily shown absurd. What is true of the defeat is that Roman legions were stopped and the future would not include a German people who were conquered and culturally and politically integrated into the Grecco-Roman world. This would have far, far reaching consequences when the Roman and German peoples would officially embrace Christianity a few centuries later.
ReplyDeleteI agree it didn't hasten the decline although I've read it be argued.
ReplyDeleteI don't know Zeus about the limes being a hard line keeping the two out of contact by culturally and politically integrating.
The so-called barbarian invasions did come in waves over the centuries and did collide with Roman civilization creating a Germanic-Romano race - the base of modern Europe.
For example, Gothic kingdoms and tribes (Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Lombards etc.) established themselves within in Italy. A testament to this fact is Lombardia is named for the Lombards.
Indeed, but take a look at this and you see that the two civilizations were just that -- two parallel peoples for the most part. The clashes of empires, Arian v. Orthodox versions of Christianity, the integration of languages, and art forms were the rougher fusion of two fairly distinct peoples rather than the adoption and continued development of the Egyptian and Phoenician to Greek to Roman integrative model that occurred within the boundaries of the Roman Empire. It would be a different kind of encounter more of a clash than a continuum.
ReplyDeleteI won't dispute the two parallel angle.
ReplyDeleteBut does it address those Germanic rulers and kings who wanted to fuse and be part of Roman civilization? There was a willingness among them to be assimilated into Roman culture.
One would have to wonder they succeeded to some degree, no?
Or despite this, you feel it remained largely separate?