Photo shows the monument of a centurion who died at the Teutoberg Wald battle.
© Irene Hahn
On This Day in Ancient History: September 9
Starting on about this day in A.D. 9 former consul and Syrian governor, Varus, a general, lost three Roman legions to the Germans in the Teutoberg Wald Battle. The Germans had tricked the Romans into the forest to slaughter them. Varus committed suicide. It was one of the worst defeats the Romans ever suffered and is one of the reasons the Romans stopped by the border of Germany and why the Romance languages stop there. For more information, see Teutoberg Wald.
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Comments
The Peter Wells book does a great job laying out the history of one of the most interesting battles to take place in ancient times. They say Augustus would be up roaming his home crying out “Varus give me back my legions”!
Here’s more on the Peter Wells book:
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/artarchaeologyarchitect/gr/wellsteutoberg.htm
Particularly interesting is the claim that the defeat was regarded as so overwhelming a disaster that it occasioned the end of the expansion phase of the Roman Empire. To which I say phooey. Rome had lost several battles far more disastrously(Carrhae, Arausio, second Punic war). Anyhow does anyone still buy that story?