The Ancient Germans and Rome, 120 BC to Ad68: Records of Contact and Conflict

Contains new translations of Roman sources detailing conflicts and interactions between Rome and the Germanic tribes up to AD 68.

The Germanic tribes occupied lands extending from the river Rhine east to the Vistula, and from the Danube north to Scandinavia. Their homelands formed the northern frontiers of the Roman Empire, but despite large-scale military and political efforts, the Romans never conquered or fully subjugated this territory. Raoul McLaughlin presents new translations of all the significant Roman sources relating to contact and conflict between Rome and the people of the land they called Germania.

The first great interaction between Rome and the Germans occurred with the mass population movements of 120 BC. The Cimbri and Teutones inflicted severe defeats on the Roman Republic before surging south to invade Italy. Over the succeeding centuries, Germans beyond the Rhine threatened the empire with raids, invasions and further migrations. In response the Romans launched retaliatory campaigns, pre-emptive strikes and large-scale operations to seize and control Germanic territory. When these conquests failed, every subsequent Roman emperor was forced to commit a large proportion of their military and economic resources to defend the Empire from the perceived Germanic threat.

This volume covers events up to AD 68, including Julius Caesar's campaigns across the Rhine, the Augustan conquest of Germania as far as the Elbe and the great German retaliation in the Teutoburg Forest. This unique resource is for anyone interested in the Germanic peoples of ancient Europe, or the military and economic development of the Roman frontiers.