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Flevum was a castrum and port of the Romans in Frisia (actual northern Netherlands), [1] built when emperor Augustus wanted to conquer the German populated territories between the Rhine river and the Elbe river.
Two Roman fortifications (usually called Flevum I and Flevum II) have been discovered at the mouth of actual North Sea Canal: the first was initially a small marching camp made by Tiberius (similar to the nearby Ermelo fortification built in 4 AD), and later enlarged to be a castrum and a port by Germanicus around 14 AD. The second was built by Caligula in 40 AD, 2 km to the northwest of the first. Both the fortifications were inside the western area of Magna Germania that was the short-lived Germania Inferior.
Like Fectio/Vechten, Flevum was a naval base. It controlled an important watercourse, the Oer-IJ, the northernmost outlet of the river Rhine, and an exit of Lake Flevo. According to the numismatic evidence, the fort was built in 14 AD, which suggests that it was meant to support the offensives of the Roman general Germanicus, who conducted several retaliatory campaigns in Germany after the Roman defeat in the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD. After a modest beginning (1 ha), (Flevum) Velsen became a pretty large base (2 ha), with a river port, four piers or jetties, and several ship-sheds. Livius [2]
Indeed the ruins of a Roman naval base at actual Velsen (Netherlands) are believed to be the ancient Flevum, which is listed as Phleoum, Romanized to Phleum, in Ptolemy (2.10). [3]
The first fortification was rather a simple and temporary construction site. Its ground plan was more or less triangular and covered an area of about one hectare. The defense systems consisted mainly of an earth wall with an upstream, simple trench. A wooden palisade with a wooden gate defended the eastern part of the river bank. This camp did not yet have port functions initially, although ships could lie on the gently sloping river bank. Shortly thereafter, the wooden fence was reinforced with a reinforced door. This harbor gate gave access to a short open jetty where larger ships could be loaded and unloaded so they would not have to be pulled into the countryside. This castrum was enlarged to 2 hectares. [4]
Since the middle of the 1980s, shipsheds have been known from Haltern-Hofestatt and from Flevum; they constitute the only remains of roman shipsheds so far known. The most extensive is that of Haltern, with dimensions of 56 x 32 m, and consisting of eight slipways (fig.18, below). These slipways, approximately 6 m wide, could contain galleys over 30 m long...the first shipshed was built in the western part of the (Flevum) fort, at a short distance from the shore. The dimensions, 6.1 x 22.1 m, point towards a small galley. It lay so close to the river, that the above-mentioned scouring overwhelmed, or washed away, part of it...(then) the shipshed was moved some 30 m southwards. Shape and dimensions, 6.4 x 20.5 m, where very similar to the first shipshed...(later) a completely new shipshed was built, this time double and with dimensions of 29.7 x 12.2 m.J.-M.A.W.Morel [5]
Shipsheds have been discovered in Flevum. [6]
The second fort -Flevum II- was built after the destruction of the first castrum around 28 AD, but has left few archaeological evidences. It seems to have survived only until 55 AD.
The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, described as the Varian Disaster by Roman historians, took place in the Teutoburg Forest in 9 CE, when an alliance of Germanic peoples ambushed and destroyed three Roman legions and their auxiliaries, led by Publius Quinctilius Varus. 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.
Arminius was a chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe who is best known for commanding an alliance of Germanic tribes at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9, in which three Roman legions under the command of general Publius Quinctilius Varus were destroyed. His victory at Teutoburg Forest would precipitate the Roman Empire's permanent strategic withdrawal from Magna Germania. Modern historians have regarded Arminius' victory as Rome's greatest defeat. As it prevented the Romanization of Germanic peoples east of the Rhine, it has also been considered one of the most decisive battles in history, and a turning point in world history.
Carnuntum was a Roman legionary fortress and headquarters of the Pannonian fleet from 50 AD. After the 1st century, it was capital of the Pannonia Superior province. It also became a large city of 50,000 inhabitants.
Limes is a modern term used primarily for the Germanic border defence or delimiting system of Ancient Rome marking the borders of the Roman Empire, but it was not used by the Romans for this purpose. The term has been extended to refer to the frontier defences in other parts of the empire, such as in the east and in Africa.
Legio quinta alaudae, sometimes also known as Gallica, was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in 52 BC by the general Gaius Julius Caesar. It was levied in Transalpine Gaul to fight the armies of Vercingetorix, and was the first Roman legion to comprise non-citizens. Historians disagree whether the legion was destroyed during the Batavian rebellion in AD 70, or during the First Battle of Tapae.
Germania Inferior was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed as Germania Secunda in the fourth century. Located on the west bank of the Rhine and bordering the North Sea, the capital of the province was Colonia Agrippinensis.
In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word castrum was a building, or plot of land, used as a fortified military camp. In English, the terms 'Roman fort', 'Roman camp' and 'Roman fortress' are commonly used for castrum. However, scholastic convention tends toward the use of the words 'fort', 'camp', 'marching camp' and 'fortress' as a translation of castrum.
The Limes Germanicus is the name given in modern times to a line of frontier fortifications that bounded the ancient Roman provinces of Germania Inferior, Germania Superior and Raetia, dividing the Roman Empire and the unsubdued Germanic tribes from the years 83 to about 260 AD. The Limes used either a natural boundary such as a river or typically an earth bank and ditch with a wooden palisade and watchtowers at intervals. A system of linked forts was built behind the Limes.
The Vidrus fluvius, Greek Ouidros potamos, is a river of Ptolemy's Geographia (2.10) located in Germania. Its exact location is not known for certain, but it must be in the lowlands.
Benningen am Neckar is a municipality in the district of Ludwigsburg in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
The Roman Forum of Lahnau-Waldgirmes is a fortified Roman trading place, located at the edge of the modern village Waldgirmes, part of Lahnau on the Lahn, Hesse, Germany. The site has the oldest known stone buildings in Magna Germania.
Hachelbich is a small village and a former municipality in the district Kyffhäuserkreis, in Thuringia, Germany. Since 31 December 2012, it is part of the municipality Kyffhäuserland.
The Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta or Helinium is a river delta in the Netherlands formed by the confluence of the Rhine, the Meuse and the Scheldt rivers. In some cases, the Scheldt delta is considered a separate delta to the Rhine-Meuse delta. The result is a multitude of islands, branches and branch names that may at first sight look bewildering, especially as a waterway that appears to be one continuous stream may change names as many as seven times, e.g. Rhine → Bijlands Kanaal → Pannerdens Kanaal → Nederrijn → Lek → Nieuwe Maas → Het Scheur → Nieuwe Waterweg. Since the Rhine contributes most of the water, the shorter term Rhine Delta is commonly used. However, this name is also used for the delta where the Alpine Rhine flows into Lake Constance, so it is clearer to call the larger one Rhine–Meuse delta, or even Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, as the Scheldt ends in the same delta. By some calculations, the delta covers 25,347 km2 (9,787 sq mi), making it the largest in Europe.
Germania ( was a short-lived Roman province for the duration of 16 years under Augustus, from 7 BC to AD 9. The possible capital of this province was Marktbreit -a recently discovered castrum with a nearby Canabae from the period of Emperor Augustus- located 70 km east of the "Limes Germanicus" on the River Main
Fectio, known as Vechten in Old Dutch, was a Roman castellum in the province Germania Inferior established in the year 4 or 5 AD. It was located at the place where the river Vecht (Fectio) branched off from the Rhine, leading to Lake Flevo, which was later to become the Zuiderzee. This was near the modern hamlet of Vechten in the municipality Bunnik, Utrecht, Netherlands.
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 Marsaci or Marsacii were a tribe in Roman imperial times, who lived within the area of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, under Roman domination.
Nida was an ancient Roman town in the area today occupied by the northwestern suburbs of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, specifically Frankfurt-Heddernheim, on the edge of the Wetterau region. At the time of the Roman empire, it was the capital of the Civitas Taunensium. The name of the settlement is known thanks to written sources from Roman times and probably derives from the name of the adjacent river Nidda.
Matilo or Matilone was once a Roman fort (castellum) in modern-day Leiden. Positioned on the southern banks of the Oude Rijn, it served to protect the Roman borders in the province of Germania inferior. On the Peutinger map, it lies between the encampments of Albaniana and Praetorium Agrippinae (Valkenburg). The seventh-century Ravenna Cosmography gives its name as Matellionem.
The Roman camp at Marktbreit is a castrum with a nearby Canabae from the period of Emperor Augustus. It is located in the municipal territory of the Lower Franconian town of Marktbreit on the left bank of the River Main, in the district of Kitzingen inside the German state of Bavaria.
