Roman campaigns in Germania (12 BC – AD 16) in the context of "Chatti"

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⭐ Core Definition: Roman campaigns in Germania (12 BC – AD 16)

The Roman campaigns in Germania (12 BC – AD 16) were a series of conflicts between the Germanic tribes and the Roman Empire. Tensions between the Germanic tribes and the Romans began as early as 17/16 BC with the Clades Lolliana, where the 5th Legion under Marcus Lollius was defeated by the tribes Sicambri, Usipetes, and Tencteri. Roman Emperor Augustus responded by rapidly developing military infrastructure across Gaul. His general, Nero Claudius Drusus, began building forts along the Rhine in 13 BC and launched a retaliatory campaign across the Rhine in 12 BC.

Drusus led three more campaigns against the Germanic tribes in the years 11–9 BC. For the campaign of 10 BC, he was celebrated for being the Roman who traveled farthest east in northern Europe. Succeeding generals would continue attacking across the Rhine until AD 16, notably Publius Quinctilius Varus in AD 9. During the return trip from his campaign, Varus' army was ambushed and almost destroyed by a Germanic force led by Arminius at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest; Arminius was the leader of the Cherusci, had previously fought in the Roman army, and was considered by Rome to be an ally. Roman expansion into Germania Magna stopped as a result, and all campaigns immediately after were in retaliation of the Clades Variana ("Varian Disaster"), the name used by Roman historians to describe the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, and to prove that Roman military might could still overcome German lands. The last general to lead Roman forces in the region during this time was Germanicus, the adoptive son of Emperor Tiberius, who in AD 16 had launched the final major military expedition by Rome into Germania.

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👉 Roman campaigns in Germania (12 BC – AD 16) in the context of Chatti

The Chatti were a Roman era Germanic people that lived in a region approximately corresponding to the modern German federal state of Hesse. The Chatti were among the most important opponents of the Roman empire during the Roman campaigns in Germania which were pursued under the emperor Augustus and his heirs. In this context they were among the defeated opponents of Drusus the Elder, during his Germanic campaigns from 12 BC until his death in 9 BC. Subsequently, they also appear to have been involved in the revolt against Rome which was led by Arminius of the Cherusci, although there is no record of them being present at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD which initiated these wars. The Chatti and Cherusci nobility were connected by marriage during this period.

Like many of the peoples of their region, archaeological evidence shows that before the Roman invasions the Chatti region shared in the La Tène material culture, similar to the Celtic-speaking Gauls in what is now France. A new regional "Rhine-Weser" material culture developed during the first century AD, which was influenced by both the Romans, and the Elbe Germanic peoples including the Suebi who lived to their east, near the Elbe river. This period of change is believed to have also involved a switch from Celtic to Germanic languages, which also originated near the Elbe. The first surviving Roman reports of the region were made during the Gallic Wars of Julius Caesar in 58-52 BC, do not mention the Chatti, but they do mention the entry of Suebi into the area. He reported them to be mobile and militarized, and creating major disruptions as far away as present day France and Switzerland, even forcing populations to move from their homelands.

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Roman campaigns in Germania (12 BC – AD 16) in the context of Germanicus

Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was a Roman general and politician most famously known for his campaigns against Arminius in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicus was born into an influential branch of the patrician gens Claudia. The agnomen Germanicus was added to his full name in 9 BC when it was posthumously awarded to his father in honor of his victories in Germania. In AD 4 he was adopted by his paternal uncle Tiberius, himself the stepson and heir of Germanicus' great-uncle Augustus; ten years later, Tiberius succeeded Augustus as Roman emperor. As a result of his adoption, Germanicus became an official member of the gens Julia, another prominent family, to which he was related on his mother's side. His connection to the Julii Caesares was further consolidated through a marriage between him and Agrippina the Elder, a granddaughter of Augustus. He was also the father of Caligula, the maternal grandfather of Nero, and the older brother of Claudius.

During the reign of Augustus, Germanicus enjoyed an accelerated political career, entering the office of quaestor five years before the legal age in AD 7. He held that office until AD 9 where he was made praetor after the Pannonian war, and was elected consul for the first time in AD 12. The year after, he was made proconsul of Germania Inferior, Germania Superior, and all of Gaul. From there he commanded eight legions, about one-third of the entire Roman army at the time, which he led against the Germanic tribes in his campaigns from AD 14 to 16. He avenged the Roman Empire's defeat in the Teutoburg Forest and retrieved two of the three legionary eagles that had been lost during the battle. In AD 17, he returned to Rome, where he received a triumph before leaving to reorganize the provinces of Asia Minor, whereby he incorporated the provinces of Cappadocia and Commagene in AD 18.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Germanicus ← Chatti
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Roman Empire → Clades Lolliana → Legio V Alaudae → Marcus Lollius → Sicambri → Usipetes → Tencteri → Roman Emperor → Augustus → Gaul → Nero Claudius Drusus → Rhine → Publius Quinctilius Varus → Arminius → Battle of the Teutoburg Forest → Cherusci → Germania Magna → Clades Variana → Germanicus → Tiberius →