GERMANY. (HISTORY.) 



421 



Rhine. But the Sygambri, liaving defeated Lollius, 

 the legate of Augustus (A. U. C. 739), the emperor 

 himself hastened to the Rhine, erected fortifications 

 along the bank of this river, to oppose the progress 

 of the enemy, and gave his step-son, Drusus (q. v.), 

 the chief command against them. This great general 

 was victorious in several expeditions, and advanced 

 as far as the Elbe. He died in the year of Rome 745. 

 Tiberius, after him, held the chief command on the 

 Rhine during two years, and exercised more cunning 

 than force against the Germans. He induced them 

 to enter the Roman service. The body guard of 

 Augustus was composed of Germans, and the Che- 

 ruscjin Arminius (q. v.) was raised to the dignity of 

 knight. From 740 to 755, different Roman generals 

 commanded in those regions. Tiberius, having re- 

 ceived the chief command a second time (A. U. C. 

 756), advanced to the Elbe ; and the Romans would 

 probably have succeeded in making Germany a Ro- 

 man province, but for the imprudence of his successor, 

 Quinctilius Varus, by which all the advantages, that 

 had been previously gained, were lost. His violent 

 measures for changing the manners and customs of 

 the Germans, produced a general conspiracy, headed 

 by the Cheruscan Arminius, who had received his 

 education in Rome. Decoyed, with three legions, into 

 the forest of Teutoburg, Varus was attacked and 

 destroyed, with his army. A few fugitives only were 

 saved by the legate Asprenas, who was stationed, 

 with three legions, in the vicinity of Cologne. The 

 consequence of this victory, gained by the Germans 

 A. D. 9, was the loss of all the Roman possessions 

 beyond the Rhine ; the fortress of Aliso, built by 

 Drusus, was destroyed. The Cherusci then became 

 the principal nation of Germany. Four years after, 

 the Romans, under the command of Germanicus 

 (q. v.), made a new expedition against the Germans; 

 but, notwithstanding the valour and military skill of 

 the young hero, he did not succeed in re-establishing 

 the Roman dominion. The Romans then renounced 

 the project of subjugating the Germans, whose inva- 

 sions they easily repulsed, and against any serious 

 attacks from whom they were secured by the internal 

 dissensions which had arisen in Germany. Marobo- 

 duus, who had been educated at the court of Augus- 

 tus, had united, partly by persuasion, and partly by 

 force, several Suevian tribes in a confederacy, which 

 is known under the name of the Marcomannic confe- 

 deracy. At the head of this powerful league, he at- 

 tacked the great kingdom of the Boii, in the south- 

 ern part of Bohemia and Franconia, conquered it, 

 and founded a formidable state, whose authority ex- 

 tended over the Marcomanni, Hermunduri, Quadi, 

 Longobardi, and Semnones, and which was able to 

 send 70,000 fighting men into the field. Augustus had 

 ordered Tiberius, with twelve legions, to attack Maro- 

 boduus, and destroy his power; but a general rebel- 

 lion in Dalmatia obliged him to conclude a disadvan- 

 tageous peace. The disasters which afterwards 

 befell the Romans in the west of Germany, prevented 

 them from renewing their attempts against the Mar- 

 comanni, who ventured to make frequent invasions 

 into the southern parts of Germany. Two powerful 

 nations, therefore, now existed in Germany, the Mar- 

 comanni and the Cherusci, who, however, soon be- 

 came engaged in disputes. On the one hand, the 

 Longobardi and Semnones, disgusted with the oppres- 

 sions of Maroboduus, deserted his confederacy, and 

 joined the Cherusci ; and on the other, Inguiomerus, 

 the uncle of Arminius, having become jealous of his 

 nephew, went over to Maroboduus. After the war 

 between the two rivals had been carried on for a con- 

 siderable time, according to the rules of military art, 

 which Arminius and Maroboduus had learned in the 

 school of the Romans, the victory at last remained 



with the Cherusci. Tiberius, instead of assisting 

 Maroboduus, who had solicited his help, instieatea 

 Catualda, king of the Goths, to fall upon him, forced 

 him to leave his country, and to seek refuge with the 

 Romans. Catualda, however, soon experienced the 

 same fate from the Hermunduri, who now appear as 

 the principal tribe among the Marcomanni. The 

 Cherusci, after the loss 01 their great leader, Armin- 

 ius, A. D. 21, fell from their high rank among the 

 German nations. Weakened by internal dissensions, 

 they finally received a king from Rome, by the name 

 of Italicus, who was the last descendant of Arminius. 

 During his reign, they quarrelled with their confed- 

 erates, the Longobardi, and sank to an insignificant 

 tribe on the south side of the Hercinian forest. On 

 the other hand, the Catti, who lived in the western 

 part of Germany, rose into importance. The Frisians 

 rebelled, on account of a tribute imposed on them by 

 the Romans, and were with difficulty overpowered ; 

 while the Catti, on the Upper Rhine, made repeated 

 assaults upon the Roman fortresses on the opposite 

 bank. Their pride, however, was humbled by Galba, 

 who compelled them to abandon the country between 

 the Lahn, the Maine, and the Rhine, which was dis- 

 tributed among Roman veterans. Eighteen years 

 later, a dispute arose between the Hermunduri and 

 Catti, on account of the salt-springs of the Franco- 

 nian Saale. Meanwhile, the numerous companions of 

 Maroboduus and Catualda, having settled on the 

 north of the Danube, between the rivers Gran and 

 Morava, had founded, under Vannius, whom they hail 

 received as king from the Romans, a new kingdom, 

 which began to become oppressive to the neighbour- 

 ing tribes. Although Vannius had entered into an 

 alliance with the Sarmatian Jazygas, he was over- 

 powered by the united arms of the Hermunduri, Lygii 

 and western Quadi (A. D. 50), and was compelled to 

 fly for refuge to the Romans. His son-in-law, Sido, 

 was now at the head of the government. He was a 

 friend of the Romans, and rendered important services 

 to Vespasian. In the west, the power of the Romans 

 was shaken by the Batavi, so that they maintained 

 themselves with the greatest difficulty. A war now 

 broke out, that was terminated only with the down- 

 fall of Rome. The Suevi, being attacked by the 

 Lygii, asked for assistance from Domitian, who sent 

 them 100 horsemen. Such paltry succours only 

 offended the Suevi. Entering into an alliance with 

 the Jazygae, in Dacia, they threatened Pannonia. 

 Domitian was defeated. Nerva checked them, and 

 Trajan gained a complete victory over them. But, 

 from the time of Antoninus, the philosopher, the 

 flames of war continued to blaze in those regions. 

 The Roman empire was perpetually harassed, on two 

 sides by the barbarians, on one side by a number of 

 small tribes, who, pressed by the Goths, were forced 

 to invade Dacia, in quest of new habitations. The 

 southern regions were assigned to them to pacify 

 them. But a war of more moment was carried on 

 against Rome on the other side, by the united forces 

 of the Marcomanni, Hermunduri and Quadi, which is 

 commonly called the Marcomannic war. Marcus 

 Aurelius fought against them to the end of his life, 

 and Commodus bought a peace (A. D. 180). Mean- 

 time the Catti devastated Gaul and Rhastia, the 

 Cherusci forced the Longobardi back to the Elbe, 

 and now appear under the name of Franks. A. D. 

 220, new barbarians appeared in Dacia, the Visigoths, 

 Gepidas and Heruli, and waged war against the 

 Romans. At the same time, in the reign of Cara- 

 calla, a new confederacy appeared in the southern 

 part of Germany the Alemanni, consisting of Istaevo- 

 nian tribes. Rome, in order to defend its provinces 

 against them, erected the famous f'allum Romanorum 

 (Roman wall), the ruins of which are still visible 



