Early Germanic warfare

Last updated

Depiction of a Gothic warrior battling Roman cavalry, from the 3rd century Ludovisi Battle sarcophagus Grande Ludovisi Altemps Inv8574 (cropped).jpg
Depiction of a Gothic warrior battling Roman cavalry, from the 3rd century Ludovisi Battle sarcophagus

Warfare seems to have been a constant in Germanic society, and archaeology indicates this was the case prior to the arrival of the Romans in the 1st century BCE. [1] Wars were frequent between and within the individual Germanic peoples. [2] The early Germanic languages preserve various words for "war", and they did not necessarily clearly differentiate between warfare and other forms of violent interaction. [3] The Romans note that for the Germans, robbery in warfare was not shameful, and most Germanic warfare both against Rome and against other Germanic peoples was motivated by the potential to acquire booty. [4] [5]

Contents

Sources

Historical descriptions of the warfare of the Germanic peoples depend entirely on Greco-Roman sources, and this is the aspect of Germanic society that Greco-Roman sources discuss the most. [6] Besides Julius Caesar's Bellum Gallicum (1st century BCE), there are two accounts that might apply to the Germanic peoples in general: chapter 6 of Tacitus's Germania (c. 100 CE) and book 11 of the Strategikon of Maurice (6th century CE). [7] However, the accuracy of these depictions has been questioned, and it is impossible to show archaeologically how the Germani fought. [5] Archaeology has yielded large amounts of Germanic weaponry, giving at a sense of their equipment. [8]

Military history

Battle between Germanic warriors and the Roman army, on the Portonaccio sarcophagus (190-200) Sarcofago dio portonaccio, 03.JPG
Battle between Germanic warriors and the Roman army, on the Portonaccio sarcophagus (190-200)

Archaeological records indicate that the arrival of the Corded Ware culture in Northern Europe was accompanied by large-scale migration and warfare. After a period of amalgamation, the Nordic Bronze Age emerged, which appears to have been a time of relative peace. [8]

The military situation in the Germanic world was radically changed with the emergence of the Iron Age and the late centuries BC. For close to a thousand years afterward, the Germanic world was characterized by almost continuous warfare and large-scale migration. [8]

Though often defeated by the Romans, the Germanic tribes were remembered in Roman records as fierce combatants, whose main downfall was that they failed to join together into a collective fighting force under a unified command, which allowed the Roman Empire to employ a "divide and rule" strategy against them. [9]

On occasions when the Germanic tribes worked together, the results were impressive. Three Roman legions were ambushed and destroyed by an alliance of Germanic tribes headed by Arminius at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 CE. As a result, the Roman Empire made no further concerted attempts at conquering Germania beyond the Rhine. [10]

The 3rd-century Great Ludovisi sarcophagus depicts a battle between Goths and Romans. 10 2023 - Palazzo Altemps, Roma, Lazio, 00186, Italia - Sarcofago Grande Ludovisi (Grande Ludovisi sarcophagus) - Arte Romana - Photo Paolo Villa FO232047 ombre gimp bis.jpg
The 3rd-century Great Ludovisi sarcophagus depicts a battle between Goths and Romans.

During the 4th and 5th centuries CE, Visigoths and Vandals militarily organized themselves to sufficiently challenge and sack Rome in 410 AD and again in 455 AD. Then in 476 AD, the last Roman emperor was deposed by the Germanic warrior Odoacer, an event which effectively ended Roman predominance in Western Europe. [11] Germanic tribes eventually overwhelmed and conquered the ancient world. That military transition was additionally spurred by the arrival of the Vikings from Scandinavia in the 8th to 10th centuries, giving rise to modern Europe and medieval warfare. [12]

The later military development of armored knights and fortified castles was a response in part to the relentless plundering and raiding by the Vikings, which meant that the Germanic tribes who had settled mainland Europe and the British Isles had to adapt themselves so as to combat another wave of Germanic aggression. [13]

Armies and retinues

A bog body, the Osterby Man, displaying the Suebian knot, a hairstyle which, according to Tacitus, was common among Germanic warriors Osterby Man Suebian-Knot.jpg
A bog body, the Osterby Man, displaying the Suebian knot, a hairstyle which, according to Tacitus, was common among Germanic warriors

The core of the army is imagined as having been formed by the comitatus (retinue) of a chief, a term used in ancient sources that has many possible meanings. [15] Tacitus describes it as a group of warriors (comites) who follow a leader (princeps). [16] Heiko Steuer argues that a comitatus might refer to any group of warriors held together by mutual agreement and desire for booty, and that these were political, rather than ethnic or tribal groups. [17] As retinues grew larger, their names could become associated with entire peoples. Many retinues functioned as auxilia (mercenary units in the Roman army). [18]

Germanic armies were probably not large, with numbers such as an army of 100,000 Suevi claimed by Caesar being literary and propagandistic exaggerations. [19] Scholars can extrapolate numbers from 500–600 to 1600 per war band from later sources. [20] Older scholarship sometimes supposed that all the men in a "tribe" formed the army, but this would have been logistically impossible in a premodern society. [21] Steuer, while noting Germanic victories against large Roman forces, estimates the typical war band to have been no larger than 3000 men, while estimating that only as many of 1,800 may have participated in a campaign. [22] In later times, as the population of Germania grew, the armies grew larger. [23] Most warriors were probably unmarried men. Tacitus and Ammianus Marcellinus (4th century CE) indicate that armies included both young men and older, more experienced warriors. [21] By the early Middle Ages, armies were mostly composed of a distinct warrior class that relied on peasants for support. [24]

Tactics and organization

Image of Romans fighting the Marcomanni on the Column of Marcus Aurelius (193 CE) Column of Marcus Aurelius - detail4.jpg
Image of Romans fighting the Marcomanni on the Column of Marcus Aurelius (193 CE)

Roman sources stress, perhaps partially as a literary topos, that the Germanic peoples fought without discipline, with Tacitus in particular stating that Germanic war-leaders achieved more by example than by command. [25] [26] Tacitus claims that Germanic armies were not divided into units like Roman ones, while Maurice emphasizes that informal units were formed in the army based on kinship. [27] Steuer, however, notes that many Germani served in the Roman army or as imperial bodyguards and thus would have been familiar with the organization of the Roman military. He argues that Germanic armies may have been organized in a manner not dissimilar to Roman armies. [28]

In antiquity, Germanic warriors fought mostly on foot. [29] Germanic infantry fought in tight formations in close combat, in a style that Steuer compares to the Greek phalanx. [30] Tacitus mentions a single formation as used by the Germani, the wedge (Latin : cuneus). [27] Men probably practiced the use of weapons beginning in their youth. When fighting the Roman legions, Germanic warriors seem to have preferred to attack from ambush, which would require organization and training. [5]

In the Roman period, mounted horsemen were usually limited to chiefs and their immediate retinues, [29] who may have dismounted to fight. [31] Some Roman sources such as Ammianus indicate a Germanic distrust of cavalry before the 6th century. [6] However, Tacitus mentions Germani fighting both on foot and on horseback, Caesar is known to have maintained a group of Germanic cavalry, and other sources speak of the excellent horsemanship of groups such as the Alemanni. [19] East Germanic peoples such as the Goths developed cavalry forces armed with lances due to contact with various nomadic peoples, so that the armies of Theodoric the Great were primarily horsemen. [32]

Forms of warfare

The three main types of warfare carried out during the Germanic Iron Age were feuds, raids and total war involving the entire tribe. [8]

Feuds

The prevalence of feuds in early Germanic warfare is well attested in the Sagas of Icelanders and other Germanic poems such as Beowulf. Since quarrels between individuals were at the time not regulated by any form of tribal law, feuds became in many cases the only way to obtain remedy for an injury. [8]

Raiding

Raids were typically carried out by the early Germanic peoples either for the purpose of acquiring booty or for scouting for areas suitable for colonization. [8]

Such raids were typically organized by individual leaders who would invite all who were interested in joining him on his quest. [8]

According to Caesar, a Germanic chieftain would typically announce a raid at the popular assembly and call for volunteers. Such raids did not necessarily involve the entire tribe, but must rather be considered private ventures. According to Tacitus, chieftains would utilize raids as a form of military training. [8]

A modern rendering of Alboin and the Lombards entrance into Ticinum. In the late 6th century, the entire Lombard people invaded and settled Italy. Alboin's entrance into Pavia.jpg
A modern rendering of Alboin and the Lombards entrance into Ticinum. In the late 6th century, the entire Lombard people invaded and settled Italy.

The purpose of a raid was not to gain territory, but rather to capture resources and secure prestige. These raids were conducted by irregular troops, often formed along family or village lines, in groups of 10 to about 1,000. [33] Large bodies of troops, while figuring prominently in the history books, were the exception rather than the rule of ancient warfare. Thus a typical Germanic force might consist of 100 men with the sole goal of raiding a nearby Germanic or foreign village. Thus, most warfare was at their Germanic neighbors. [33]

Larger migrations were generally preluded by raids. A significant example of this is the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, which had been preceded for centuries by naval raids on Roman Britain. [8]

Cavalry was rarely used by Germanic raiders. [8]

Total war

Wars involving entire tribes were uncommon in the Germanic world until the Iron Age. One of the earliest Germanic peoples involved in such warfare were the Bastarnae, who are mentioned in classical sources as battling the Illyrians in Southeast Europe in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. [8]

When engaged in total war, Germanic armies often consisted of more than 50 percent noncombatants, as displaced people would travel with large groups of soldiers, the elderly, women and children. [33]

A scene from the Hervarar saga. Orvar-Oddr and Hjalmar bid each other farewell, by Marten Eskil Winge (1866). Hjalmars avsked av Orvar Odd efter striden pa Samso.jpg
A scene from the Hervarar saga. Örvar-Oddr and Hjalmar bid each other farewell, by Mårten Eskil Winge (1866).

In Getica, the 6th century Gothic historian Jordanes mentions a series of mass-migrations of the Goths from Scandinavia towards the Black Sea, but the accuracy of his writing has been put up to question. Other major tribal migrations taking place in the Migration Period include that of the Vandals, Lombards, Burgundians and Anglo-Saxons. During such migrations the entire tribe would move along with their belongings on ox-drawn wagons, not unlike the American pioneers centuries later. [8] When such folk-armies were forced to fight, a wagon fort would be established, where the women and children were provided shelter. [8] Such large-scale migrations required skilled leadership. Many of the most famous early Germanic kings, such as Alaric I, Theodoric the Great, Genseric and Alboin, are remembered for leading their people on such migrations. [8]

The earliest of Germanic mass migrations are not recounted in classical literature, and clues about such events can only be derived from archaeological discoveries. [8]

Aftermath of a battle

Victory

After a victorious battle, Germanic warriors would normally attend only the dead and wounded of their own side. Enemy dead would generally be left to be devoured by birds and beasts of prey. This process is described vividly in many pieces of early Germanic literature. [8]

"The Women of the Teutons Defend the Wagon Fort" (1882) by Heinrich Leutemann Die Frauen der Teutonen verteidigen die Wagenburg by Heinrich Leutemann.jpg
"The Women of the Teutons Defend the Wagon Fort" (1882) by Heinrich Leutemann

In case of victory, the booty would be divided among the troops, often by the casting of lots. Sometimes the booty, including prisoners, would be sacrificed to the god of war. This was infamously done by the Cimbri to Roman soldiers captured during the Cimbrian War. [8]

Defeat

Legitimacy for Germanic chieftains resided in their ability to successfully lead armies to victory. Defeat on the battlefield at the hands of the Romans or other barbarians often meant the end of a ruler and in some cases, being absorbed by "another, victorious confederation." [34]

It was reported in Roman sources that upon being defeated, Germanic women would kill their own children and commit suicide in order to avoid slavery. This was done by the Cimbri women following the defeat of their tribe by the Romans at the Battle of Vercellae in 101 BC. [8]

Cavalry

Depiction of a Gothic cavalryman with a Phrygian cap battling a number of Roman soldiers, from the 3rd century Ludovisi Battle sarcophagus Grande Ludovisi Altemps Inv8574 (Cavalry).jpg
Depiction of a Gothic cavalryman with a Phrygian cap battling a number of Roman soldiers, from the 3rd century Ludovisi Battle sarcophagus

While Germanic warfare emphasized the use of infantry, they were quite adept at the training and use of cavalry. In Germanic warfare, cavalry was generally used for reconnaissance, flanking, the pursuit of fleeing enemies and other special tasks. [8]

When Germanic tribes were on the march, their wagons would generally be protected by cavalry. Early Germanic chieftains were typically mounted. This is attested from numerous horse burials in the graves of Germanic leaders. [8]

Early Germanic cavalrymen commonly used spurs to properly control the horse. The stirrup was later introduced. This enabled the easier mounting and maintenance of balance. The fact that the stirrup was introduced at such a late date is a testimony to the excellent horsemanship of Germanic riders. [8]

Caesar notes that the Suebi would attach a fast-running warrior to each cavalryman, who could assist the latter with both defense and offense. [8]

Sea-faring Danes depicted invading England. Illuminated illustration from the 12th century Miscellany on the Life of St. Edmund (Pierpont Morgan Library) Wikinger.jpg
Sea-faring Danes depicted invading England. Illuminated illustration from the 12th century Miscellany on the Life of St. Edmund (Pierpont Morgan Library)

Caesar considered Germanic cavalrymen superior to those of the Romans, and was thus forced to recruit Germanic mercenaries to compensate for this inferiority. The Germanic horses were however of smaller size than those of the Romans, and Germanic cavalrymen in Roman service were thus compelled by Caesar to ride Roman horses. [8] [35]

Naval warfare became an important component of Germanic warfare, particularly raiding. Ships were ideal for raiding because they enabled increased mobility and secrecy, which was essential for the success of a raid. [8]

For the early Germanic peoples, boats were primarily used for transportation. Certain tribes along the North Sea coast, such as the Saxons, fought naval battles during their raids on Roman territory. During the Viking Age the North Germanic peoples mastered the construction of the Viking ship and excelled at naval warfare. [8]

Siege and fortification

Roman sources mention that the Germanic peoples generally avoided walled towns and fortresses during their campaigns on Roman soil. Ammianus reports that they regarded cities as "tombs surrounded by nets". [36] This was most likely because the Germani did not have proper siege equipment; with the exception of the Vandals in North Africa, Germanic sieges seem to have been generally unsuccessful, with the unsuccessful besieging of the Emperor Julian in Sens in 356 breaking off after only thirty days. [37]

Older scholarship often said that the Germani possessed no fortresses of their own, however the existence of fortifications have been shown archaeologically, as well as larger earthworks meant to protect entire stretches of territory. [38] Tacitus, in his Annales, portrays the Cheruscan leader Segestes as besieged by Arminius in 15 CE (Annales I.57). Steuer believes that the siege was likely at a fortified farmstead of some kind, a type of fortification well-attested in Germania. [39] Larger fortified towns (Latin : oppida), found as far north as modern central Germany, are often identified as "Celtic" by archaeologists, although this cannot be clearly established. [40] However, fortified settlements are also found in northern Germany at Wittorf, near Osnabrück, in Jutland, and on Bornholm. [41] Hilltop fortifications, which Steuer calls "castles", are also attested from the pre-Roman Iron Age (5th/4th–1st century BCE) onward. [42]

Logistics

A key advantage of early Germanic armies was their mobility. For long-term conflicts they would usually bring all their supplies with them. For short term engagements, they brought with them few supplies and rather lived off the land. This would often cause severe devastation to areas in which Germanic warriors fought. [8]

For logistical reasons, early Germanic peoples generally carried out war in summer, but as they expanded southwards at the expense of the Romans, they were able to fight in the winter as well. [8]

Chariotry

Unlike their Celtic neighbors, the use of chariots was not widespread among Iron Age Germanic peoples. [43] Germanic peoples had used the horse-drawn war-chariot in the Bronze Age, but later gave it up. [44]

Mercenary activity

Germanic warriors frequently fought as mercenaries in the Roman army. Some of these mercenaries, such as Stilicho, rose to prominent positions. According to Francis Owen, the Western Roman Empire would have collapsed much earlier without such mercenaries. [8]

Returning Germanic mercenaries in the Roman army brought back many Roman products to their communities. This had a major impact on Germanic culture. [45]

Armament

The Spearhead of Kovel, a migration period spearhead with a runic inscription in Gothic Spearhead of kovel.png
The Spearhead of Kovel, a migration period spearhead with a runic inscription in Gothic

Archaeological finds, mostly in the form of grave goods, indicate that a sort of standardized Germanic warrior's kit had developed by the pre-Roman Iron Age, with warriors armed with spear, shield, and increasingly with swords. [30] Higher status individuals were often buried with spurs for riding. [31] Tacitus likewise reports that most Germanic warriors used the sword or the spear, and he gives the native word framea for the latter. [46] Tacitus says that the sword was not frequently used. [47] Archaeological finds show spearheads and swords with one cutting edge were generally produced natively in Germania, while swords with two cutting edges were more frequently of Roman manufacture. [48] Axes become more common in warrior graves from the 3rd century CE onward, as well as bows and arrows. [49]

Tacitus claims that many Germanic warriors went into battle naked or scantily clad, and that for many the only defensive equipment was a shield, something also shown on Roman depictions of Germanic warriors. [47] The Germanic word for breastplate, brunna, is of Celtic origin, indicating that it was borrowed prior to the Roman period. [50] The only archaeological evidence for helmets and chain mail shows them to be of Roman manufacture. [51] "Normal" warriors seem to have acquired their own kit, while members of a comitatus appear to have been armed by their leaders from centralized workshops. [52]

See also

Notes

    Related Research Articles

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Germanic peoples</span> Historical group of European people

    The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Northwestern and Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and early medieval Germanic languages and are thus equated at least approximately with Germanic-speaking peoples, although different academic disciplines have their own definitions of what makes someone or something "Germanic". The Romans named the area belonging to North-Central Europe in which Germanic peoples lived Germania, stretching east to west between the Vistula and Rhine rivers and north to south from southern Scandinavia to the upper Danube. In discussions of the Roman period, the Germanic peoples are sometimes referred to as Germani or ancient Germans, although many scholars consider the second term problematic since it suggests identity with present-day Germans. The very concept of "Germanic peoples" has become the subject of controversy among contemporary scholars. Some scholars call for its total abandonment as a modern construct since lumping "Germanic peoples" together implies a common group identity for which there is little evidence. Other scholars have defended the term's continued use and argue that a common Germanic language allows one to speak of "Germanic peoples", regardless of whether these ancient and medieval peoples saw themselves as having a common identity. While several historians and archaeologists continue to use the term "Germanic peoples" to refer to historical people groups from the 1st to 4th centuries CE, the term is no longer used by most historians and archaeologists for the period around the Fall of the Roman Empire and the Early Middle Ages.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Teutoburg Forest</span> 9 AD Roman defeat by Germanic tribes

    The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, described as the Varian Disaster by Roman historians, was a major battle between Germanic tribes and the Roman Empire that took place somewhere near modern Kalkriese from September 8–11, 9 AD, when an alliance of Germanic peoples ambushed three Roman legions led by Publius Quinctilius Varus and their auxiliaries. The alliance was led by Arminius, a Germanic officer of Varus's auxilia. Arminius had acquired Roman citizenship and had received a Roman military education, which enabled him to deceive the Roman commander methodically and anticipate the Roman army's tactical responses.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugii</span> Ancient Germanic people

    The Rugii, Rogi or Rugians, were a Roman-era Germanic people. They were first clearly recorded by Tacitus, in his Germania who called them the Rugii, and located them near the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Some centuries later, they were considered one of the "Gothic" or "Scythian" peoples who were located in the Middle Danube region. Like several other Gothic peoples there, they possibly arrived in the area as allies of Attila until his death in 453. They settled in what is now Lower Austria after the defeat of the Huns at Nedao in 454.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Migration Period</span> Period from the fourth to the sixth centuries

    The Migration Period, also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman kingdoms.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Germania</span> Historical region in north-central Europe

    Germania, also called Magna Germania, Germania Libera, or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman province of the same name, was a historical region in north-central Europe during the Roman era, which was associated by Roman authors with the Germanic people. The region stretched roughly from the Middle and Lower Rhine in the west to the Vistula in the east. It also extended at some point as far south as the Upper and Middle Danube and Pannonia, and to the known parts of southern Scandinavia in the north. Archaeologically, these people correspond roughly to the Roman Iron Age of those regions. While dominated by Germanic people, Magna Germania was also inhabited by a few other Indo-European people.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Belgae</span> Historical Gallic-Germanic tribal confederation

    The Belgae were a large confederation of tribes living in northern Gaul, between the English Channel, the west bank of the Rhine, and the northern bank of the river Seine, from at least the third century BC. They were discussed in depth by Julius Caesar in his account of his wars in Gaul. Some peoples in southern Britain were also called Belgae and had apparently moved from the continent. T. F. O'Rahilly believed that some had moved further west and he equated them with the Fir Bolg in Ireland. The Roman province of Gallia Belgica was named after the continental Belgae. The term continued to be used in the region until the present day and is reflected in the name of the modern country of Belgium.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Istvaeones</span> Historical ethnic group

    The Istvaeones were a Germanic group of tribes living near the banks of the Rhine during the Roman Empire which reportedly shared a common culture and origin. The Istaevones were contrasted to neighbouring groups, the Ingaevones on the North Sea coast, and the Herminones, living inland of these groups.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Tungri</span> Roman era people of the Liège region

    The Tungri were a tribe, or group of tribes, who lived in the Belgic part of Gaul, during the times of the Roman Empire. Within the Roman Empire, their territory was called the Civitas Tungrorum. They were described by Tacitus as being the same people who were first called "Germani" (Germanic), meaning that all other tribes who were later referred to this way, including those in Germania east of the river Rhine, were named after them. More specifically, Tacitus was thereby equating the Tungri with the "Germani Cisrhenani" described generations earlier by Julius Caesar. Their name is the source of several place names in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, including Tongeren, Tongerlo Abbey, and Tongelre.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Eburones</span> Gallic-Germanic tribe

    The Eburones were a Gaulish-Germanic tribe dwelling in the northeast of Gaul, who lived north of the Ardennes in the region near that is now the southern Netherlands, eastern Belgium and the German Rhineland, in the period immediately preceding the Roman conquest of the region. Though living in Gaul, they were also described as being both Belgae and Germani.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Germanic paganism</span> Traditional religion of Germanic peoples

    Germanic paganism or Germanic religion refers to the traditional, culturally significant religion of the Germanic peoples. With a chronological range of at least one thousand years in an area covering Scandinavia, the British Isles, modern Germany, and at times other parts of Europe, the beliefs and practices of Germanic paganism varied. Scholars typically assume some degree of continuity between Roman-era beliefs and those found in Norse paganism, as well as between Germanic religion and reconstructed Indo-European religion and post-conversion folklore, though the precise degree and details of this continuity are subjects of debate. Germanic religion was influenced by neighboring cultures, including that of the Celts, the Romans, and, later, by the Christian religion. Very few sources exist that were written by pagan adherents themselves; instead, most were written by outsiders and can thus present problems for reconstructing authentic Germanic beliefs and practices.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Condrusi</span> Germanic-Belgic tribe

    The Condrusi were an ancient Belgic-Germanic tribe dwelling in what is now eastern Belgium during the Gallic Wars and the Roman period. Their ethnic identity remains uncertain. Caesar described them as part of the Germani Cisrhenani, but their tribal name is probably of Celtic origin. Like other Germani Cisrhenani tribes, it is possible that their old Germanic endonym came to be abandoned after a tribal reorganization, that they received their names from their Celtic neighbours, or else that they were fully or partially assimilated into Celtic culture at the time of the Roman invasion of the region in 57 BC.

    The Texandri were a Germanic people living between the Scheldt and Rhine rivers in the 1st century AD. They are associated with a region mentioned in the late 4th century as Texandria, a name which survived into the 8th–12th centuries.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Netherlands in the Roman era</span>

    For around 450 years, from around 55 BC to around 410 AD, the southern part of the Netherlands was integrated into the Roman Empire. During this time the Romans in the Netherlands had an enormous influence on the lives and culture of the people who lived in the Netherlands at the time and (indirectly) on the generations that followed.

    The Sunuci was the name of a tribal grouping with a particular territory within the Roman province of Germania Inferior, which later became Germania Secunda. Within this province, they were in the Civitas Agrippinenses, with its capital at Cologne. They are thought to have been a Germanic tribe, speaking a Germanic language, although they may also have had a mixed ancestry. They lived between the Meuse and Rur rivers in Roman imperial times. In modern terms this was probably in the part of Germany near Aachen, Jülich, Eschweiler and Düren, and the neighbouring areas in the southern Netherlands, around Valkenburg, and eastern Belgium, in part of the old Duchy of Limburg. There is a town just over the Belgian border from Aachen called Sinnich, in Voeren, which may owe its name to them. In other words, they lived just north of the modern northern limits of Romance languages derived from Latin.

    The Baetasii were a Germanic tribal grouping within the Roman province of Germania Inferior, which later became Germania Secunda. Their exact location is still unknown, although two proposals are, first, that it might be the source of the name of the Belgian village of Geetbets, and second, that it might be further east, nearer to the Sunuci with whom they interacted in the Batavian revolt, and to the Cugerni who lived at Xanten. The area of Gennep, Goch and Geldern has been proposed for example.

    The Cugerni were a Germanic tribal grouping with a particular territory within the Roman province of Germania Inferior, which later became Germania Secunda. More precisely they lived near modern Xanten, and the old Castra Vetera, on the Rhine. This part of Germania Secunda was called the Civitas or Colonia Traiana, and it was also inhabited by the Betasii.

    The Germani cisrhenani, or "Left bank Germani", were a group of Germanic peoples who lived west of the Lower Rhine at the time of the Gallic Wars in the mid-1st century BC.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Civitas Tungrorum</span> Roman administrative district

    The Civitas Tungrorum was a large Roman administrative district dominating what is now eastern Belgium and the southern Netherlands. In the early days of the Roman Empire it was in the province of Gallia Belgica, but it later joined the neighbouring lower Rhine River border districts, within the province of Germania Inferior. Its capital was Aduatuca Tungrorum, now Tongeren.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Early Germanic culture</span> Early culture of the Germanic peoples

    Early Germanic culture was the culture of the early Germanic peoples. Largely derived from a synthesis of Proto-Indo-European and indigenous Northern European elements, the Germanic culture started to exist in the Jastorf culture that developed out of the Nordic Bronze Age. It came under significant external influence during the Migration Period, particularly from ancient Rome.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Military organization of the Germanic peoples</span> Military organization of the Germanic peoples

    By military organization of the Germanic peoples is meant the set of forces that made up the armies of the Germanic peoples, including the organization of their units, their internal hierarchy of command, tactics, armament and strategy, from the Cimbrian Wars to the Marcomannic Wars. After this period a whole series of confederations of peoples were generated, each with its own internal military organization, which will be analyzed individually and separately.

    References

    1. Steuer 2021, p. 673.
    2. Steuer 2021, p. 794.
    3. Bulitta & Springer 2010, pp. 665–667.
    4. Bulitta & Springer 2010, p. 674.
    5. 1 2 3 Steuer 2021, p. 674.
    6. 1 2 Murdoch 2004, p. 62.
    7. Bulitta & Springer 2010, p. 676.
    8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Owen 1960, pp. 119–133.
    9. Archer et al. 2008, p. 105.
    10. Roberts 1996, pp. 65–66.
    11. Daniels & Hyslop 2014, p. 85.
    12. Waldman & Mason 2006, p. 836.
    13. Waldman & Mason 2006, pp. 322–323.
    14. Steuer 2021, p. 683.
    15. Steuer 2021, p. 785.
    16. Green 1998, p. 107.
    17. Steuer 2021, p. 786.
    18. Steuer 2021, pp. 793–794.
    19. 1 2 Bulitta & Springer 2010, p. 677.
    20. Steuer 2021, p. 675.
    21. 1 2 Bulitta & Springer 2010, pp. 680–681.
    22. Steuer 2021, pp. 575–676.
    23. Steuer 2021, p. 680.
    24. Bulitta & Springer 2010, pp. 681–682.
    25. Green 1998, pp. 68–69.
    26. Murdoch 2004, p. 63.
    27. 1 2 Bulitta & Springer 2010, pp. 678–679.
    28. Steuer 2021, pp. 676–678.
    29. 1 2 Todd 2009, p. 35.
    30. 1 2 Steuer 2021, p. 663.
    31. 1 2 Steuer 2021, p. 672.
    32. Todd 2009, p. 42.
    33. 1 2 3 Geary 1999, p. 113.
    34. Geary 1999, p. 112.
    35. Todd 2009, pp. 36–37.
    36. Murdoch 2004, p. 64.
    37. Todd 2009, pp. 40–41.
    38. Steuer 2021, p. 307.
    39. Steuer 2021, pp. 308–309.
    40. Steuer 2021, p. 309.
    41. Steuer 2021, pp. 310–316.
    42. Steuer 2021, pp. 316–335.
    43. Todd 2009, p. 37.
    44. Owen 1960, pp. 166–174.
    45. Owen 1960, pp. 174–178.
    46. Green 1998, p. 69.
    47. 1 2 Green 1998, p. 70.
    48. Steuer 2021, p. 662.
    49. Todd 2009, p. 41.
    50. Green 1998, p. 71.
    51. Steuer 2021, p. 661.
    52. Steuer 2021, p. 667.

    Bibliography

    Further reading