Publius Quinctilius Varus

Publius Quinctilius Varus PDF Author: Joanne Ball
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1399088351
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
This unique full-length English biography of Varus reassesses how he has been held responsible for one of the most infamous and humiliating defeats in Roman history. Publius Quinctilius Varus is famous as the incompetent commander duped into an ambush that wiped out three legions in one of the most humiliating defeats in Roman history. Yet this is the first full length biography of the man. Dr Joanne Ball revisits the ancient sources alongside the most recent archaeological evidence from the Teutoburg battlefield in Germany, where she has been personally involved in excavations. The result is a fresh, detailed new analysis of this significant battle and a reappraisal of the Roman commander. Examination of his earlier career reveals that Varus, who had married into the Imperial family, was an experienced and competent, if harsh and ruthless, governor and general. He had served in Africa and put down rebellions in Syria and Judaea before being posted to Germany. Dr Ball sets his German command in the context of wider events, explaining the weakness of the Roman position there and the necessary reliance on auxiliary forces. Although Varus was clearly fooled by Arminius, the former Roman auxiliary who masterminded the Teutoburg battle in AD 9, she questions the extent of Varus’ culpability and asks whether he was scapegoated by Roman historians to deflect blame away from the Emperor.

Publius Quinctilius Varus

Publius Quinctilius Varus PDF Author: Joanne Ball
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1399088351
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
This unique full-length English biography of Varus reassesses how he has been held responsible for one of the most infamous and humiliating defeats in Roman history. Publius Quinctilius Varus is famous as the incompetent commander duped into an ambush that wiped out three legions in one of the most humiliating defeats in Roman history. Yet this is the first full length biography of the man. Dr Joanne Ball revisits the ancient sources alongside the most recent archaeological evidence from the Teutoburg battlefield in Germany, where she has been personally involved in excavations. The result is a fresh, detailed new analysis of this significant battle and a reappraisal of the Roman commander. Examination of his earlier career reveals that Varus, who had married into the Imperial family, was an experienced and competent, if harsh and ruthless, governor and general. He had served in Africa and put down rebellions in Syria and Judaea before being posted to Germany. Dr Ball sets his German command in the context of wider events, explaining the weakness of the Roman position there and the necessary reliance on auxiliary forces. Although Varus was clearly fooled by Arminius, the former Roman auxiliary who masterminded the Teutoburg battle in AD 9, she questions the extent of Varus’ culpability and asks whether he was scapegoated by Roman historians to deflect blame away from the Emperor.

The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest

The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest PDF Author: Charles River Charles River Editors
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781544875033
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 62

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Book Description
*Includes pictures *Includes ancient accounts describing the battle *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents "The details of this terrible calamity, the heaviest that had befallen the Romans on foreign soil since the disaster of Crassus in Parthia, I shall endeavor to set forth, as others have done, in my larger work. Here I can merely lament the disaster as a whole. An army unrivaled in bravery, the first of the Roman troops in discipline, vigor and military experience, was thus brought through supine leadership, the perfidy of the foe, and a cruel Fortune into an utterly desperate situation. The troops did not even have the opportunity of fighting, as they wished . . . and hemmed in by woods, lakes and the bands of ambushed enemies, were entirely cut off by those foes, whom they had used to slaughter like cattle...The savage enemy mangled the half-burned body of Varus. His head was cut off and sent to Marobodus [a barbarian king] and by him sent to the Emperor; and so at length received honorable burial in the sepulcher of his family." - Paterculus, ancient Roman historian Every great nation or empire has had at least one horrific military loss or disaster in their history, and the Roman Empire, perhaps the greatest empire that ever existed in the Western world, was no exception to this rule. While Rome certainly suffered defeats and outright massacres over the course of its long and storied history, none of them were as disturbing for the Empire as the battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 CE. This battle, which took place in Germany, is also known as the Varian disaster, named after the governor of the Roman province, Germania Publius Quinctilius Varus. Varus was not only the Roman governor of the Roman controlled sections of Germania, he was also the highest military authority, being able to make decisions as to the who, what, where, when, why and how of military maneuvers and operations. It was Varus, then, who was in direct command of the Roman legions destroyed in the battle. The battle remains pertinent not only to military historians and archeologists but also to modern military officers around the world as well. As recently as 2009, the United States of America's Army Command and General Staff College published a work that focused upon the Roman legions in the Teutoburg Forest. This work was an examination of the battle in order to help understand the failures made by Varus, and how to avoid them. While it may seem unusual for a modern military to examine the mistakes of the past, it isn't; the Army used the battle as an example of how a theoretically inferior force, the Germanic warriors, were able to defeat a superior force in the Roman legions. Indeed, the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest featured some of the finest fighting forces in the world - the Roman legionaries - and a group of people whom the Romans didn't consider human at all - the Germanic tribes. Nonetheless, the battle between these two forces, in the narrow confines of the Teutoburg Forest, would be a turning point in the histories of both nations. Never again would Rome seek to establish a colony and create a functioning province out of the Germanic area; in fact, the Romans never ventured east of the Rhine River after the disastrous expedition. For the Germanic tribes, while they would later suffer from punishment excursions by various Roman legions following the battle of the Teutoburg Forest, they proved that they could hold their own against the might of the Roman Empire and that their land was indeed their own. The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest: The History and Legacy of the Roman Empire's Greatest Military Defeat analyzes the infamous battle. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest like never before, in no time at all.

The Quest for the Lost Roman Legions

The Quest for the Lost Roman Legions PDF Author: Tony Clunn
Publisher: Savas Beatie
ISBN: 1611210089
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 433

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Book Description
The story of an ancient ambush that devastated Rome—and the modern-day hunt that finally revealed its location and its archaeological treasures. In 9 A.D., the seventeenth, eighteenth, & nineteenth Roman legions and their auxiliary troops under the command of Publius Quinctilius Varus vanished in the boggy wilds of Germania. They died singly and by the hundreds over several days in a carefully planned ambush led by Arminius—a Roman-trained German warrior adopted and subsequently knighted by the Romans, but determined to stop Rome’s advance east beyond the Rhine River. By the time it was over, some 25,000 men, women, and children were dead and the course of European history had been forever altered. “Quinctilius Varus, give me back my legions!” Emperor Augustus agonized aloud when he learned of the devastating loss. As decades passed, the location of the Varus defeat, one of the Western world’s most important battlefields, was lost to history. It remained so for two millennia. Fueled by an unshakable curiosity and burning interest in the story, a British Major named J. A. S. (Tony) Clunn delved into the nooks and crannies of times past. By sheer persistence and good luck, he turned the foundation of German national history on its ear. Convinced the running battle took place north of Osnabruck, Germany, Clunn set out to prove his point. His discovery of large numbers of Roman coins in the late 1980s, followed by a flood of thousands of other artifacts (including weapons and human remains), ended the mystery once and for all. Archaeologists and historians across the world agreed. Today, a state-of-the-art museum houses and interprets these priceless historical treasures on the very site Varus’s legions were lost. The Quest for the Lost Roman Legions is a masterful retelling of Clunn’s search to discover the Varus battlefield. His well-paced and vivid writing style makes for a compelling read as he alternates between his incredible modern quest and the ancient tale of the Roman occupation of Germany—based upon actual finds from the battlefield—that ultimately ended so tragically in the peat bogs of Kalkriese.

Give Me Back My Legions!

Give Me Back My Legions! PDF Author: Harry Turtledove
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1429967080
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
Bestselling author Harry Turtledove turns his attention to an epic battle that pits three Roman legions against Teutonic barbarians in a thrilling novel of Ancient Rome: Give Me Back My Legions! Publius Quinctilius Varus, a Roman politician, is summoned by the Emperor, Augustus Caesar. Given three legions and sent to the Roman frontier east of the Rhine, his mission is to subdue the barbarous German tribes where others have failed, and bring their land fully under Rome's control. Arminius, a prince of the Cherusci, is playing a deadly game. He serves in the Roman army, gaining Roman citizenship and officer's rank, and learning the arts of war and policy as practiced by the Romans. What he learns is essential for the survival of Germany, for he must unite his people against Rome before they become enslaved by the Empire and lose their way of life forever. An epic battle is brewing, and these two men stand on opposite sides of what will forever be known as The Battle of the Teutoberg Forest—a ferocious, bloody clash that will change the course of history.

Rome's Most Notorious Defeats

Rome's Most Notorious Defeats PDF Author: Charles River Charles River Editors
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781542768955
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
*Includes pictures *Includes ancient accounts of the battles *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading Although the Romans gained the upper hand over Carthage in the wake of the First Punic War, the legendary Carthaginian general Hannibal brought the Romans to their knees for over a decade during the Second Punic War. While military historians are still amazed that he was able to maintain his army in Italy near Rome for nearly 15 years, scholars are still puzzled over some of his decisions, including why he never attempted to march on Rome in the first place. Regardless, Hannibal was such a threat that the Romans responded in an unprecedented nature when the Carthaginians resumed the campaigning season in the spring of 216 BCE by capturing the city of Cannae, a crucial supply hub, and placing themselves along the line that convoys from the ports and warehouses of the south needed to travel to reach Rome. This was something the Romans could not and did not take lying down; Rome raised the largest army in their city's history, a force of between 80,000 and 100,000 men, and marched south with Consuls Varro and Paullus at the head of the army. Varro led the Roman legions straight at the center of Hannibal's formation, proceeding in characteristic bull-headed fashion and spearheading the assault himself. Hannibal's troops in the center yielded before the legions, as Hannibal had anticipated, sucking the bulk of the Roman force deep into the centre of Hannibal's formation. Meanwhile, the wings of Hannibal's infantry automatically swung against the flanks of the Roman force. The result was a massacre, one of the most vicious battles in the history of the world. Around 75% of the Roman army was cut down in the ensuing melee, which would be in the vicinity of between 50,000-80,000 soldiers depending on which initial estimates are considered to be accurate. Cannae is still considered one of the greatest tactical victories in the history of warfare, and the fact the battle was a complete victory resulting in the wholesale annihilation of the enemy army made it the textbook example for military commanders to try to duplicate. Of course, others usually were unsuccessful. Cannae was the kind of complete victory that every commander from Caesar to Frederick the Great to Napoleon to Robert E. Lee sought, and that few generals save Caesar and Napoleon bagged whole armies is a testament to the near impossibility of achieving a victory like Cannae. While Rome certainly suffered defeats and outright massacres over the course of its long and storied history, none of them were as disturbing for the Empire as the battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 CE. This battle, which took place in Germany, is also known as the Varian disaster, named after the governor of the Roman province, Germania Publius Quinctilius Varus. The battle remains pertinent not only to military historians and archeologists but also to modern military officers around the world as well. As recently as 2009, the United States of America's Army Command and General Staff College published a work that focused upon the Roman legions in the Teutoburg Forest. Indeed, the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest featured some of the finest fighting forces in the world - the Roman legionaries - and a group of people whom the Romans didn't consider human at all - the Germanic tribes. Nonetheless, the battle between these two forces, in the narrow confines of the Teutoburg Forest, would be a turning point in the histories of both nations. Never again would Rome seek to establish a colony and create a functioning province out of the Germanic area; in fact, the Romans never ventured east of the Rhine River after the disastrous expedition.

Rome's Greatest Defeat

Rome's Greatest Defeat PDF Author: Adrian Murdoch
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752494554
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 189

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Book Description
In AD 9 half of Rome's Western army was ambushed in a German forest and annihilated. Three legions, three cavalry units and six auxiliary regiments - some 25,000 men - were wiped out. It dealt a body blow to the empire's imperial pretensions and was Rome's greatest defeat. No other battle stopped the Roman empire dead in its tracks. Although one of the most significant and dramatic battles in European history, this is also one which has been largely overlooked. Drawing on primary sources and a vast wealth of new archaeological evidence, Adrian Murdoch brings to life the battle itself, the historical background and the effects of the Roman defeat as well as exploring the personalities of those who took part.

Legions of the Forest

Legions of the Forest PDF Author: Mark Richards
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780692289198
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 482

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Book Description
The year is 9 AD, and Publius Quinctilius Varus has just been appointed by Emperor Caesar Augustus to oversee the subjugation of the Germanic people and annexation of the German lands. Varus, a lawyer and former governor of Syria, has frighteningly little experience as a military leader. He is resolved to prove himself as one, nevertheless. He believes the Germanic people to be conquered. He is wrong. His ranks are filled with seasoned veterans and novices alike, the latter of which includes Lucius, a young man whose conscription into the Roman imperial legions represents only the first step in his epic, and terrifying, destiny. Valerius Maximus, a young Roman tribune, enters the legions of the Rhine as well-only to find that the danger he anticipated from abroad actually lies within his own ranks. The vicious politics of the officer corps prove to be more treacherous. Meanwhile, German nobleman Arminius lies in wait, preparing for the inevitable appearance of the Roman legions and growing in his determination to liberate his people from Rome's rule at any cost. The fates of these men soon converge in a bloody battle that will decide the course of their countries...and their lives. The Germanic foes spring a monstrous ambush in a driving rain storm. The future of Western civilization turns in the blink of an eye.

Marching with Caesar

Marching with Caesar PDF Author: R. W. Peake
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781941226216
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 664

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Book Description
Within the span of five years, Rome is shaken to its foundations, first with the slaughter of three Legions under the command of Publius Quinctilius Varus in the Teutoberg Forest, betrayed by the German prince Arminius, then with the death of Augustus coming five years later. Within this time period, the Legions on the Rhine are rocked, first with the turmoil created by this unprecedented disaster, which is exacerbated with Augustus' decision to rid Rome of troublemakers when he forces them to enlist in the Legions in response to the crisis posed by the German victory, then followed with the uncertainty caused by the death of Augustus, a man who has controlled Rome for four decades. Titus Porcinianus Pullus, like his fellow Centurions, must cope with the difficulties presented by the uncertainty created by the cunning leadership of Arminius, and the agitation of men who had been forced into the ranks, but it is the addition of a haughty young equestrian who has purchased a posting in Titus' Century who presents the most personally vexing and disturbing challenge. Young Gnaeus Volusenus is one of the only men in the Legions whose size and strength rivals that of Titus, but there are other similarities between the two men that guarantee they will clash. Their personal differences, however, must be subordinated when the Legions in Germania and Pannonia revolt, sending Titus on a journey that will prove to be one of the most important and troubling of his life. Nevertheless, Titus has a duty to perform, not only to Rome, but to the spirit of his grandfather, the first and greatest Titus Pullus; both the outcome of the revolt of the Legions and the honor of the Pullus name depend on him

Four Days in September

Four Days in September PDF Author: Jason R. Abdale
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473860873
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 239

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Book Description
The author of The Great Illyrian Revolt examines one of the Roman Empire's most pivotal defeats—a surprise attack by Germanic barbarians in 9 AD. For twenty years, the Roman Empire conquered its way through modern-day Germany, claiming all lands from the Rhine to the Elbe. However, when at last all appeared to be under control, a catastrophe erupted that claimed the lives of 10,000 legionnaires and laid Rome's imperial ambitions for Germania into the dust. In late September of 9 AD, three Roman legions, while marching to suppress a distant tribal rebellion, were attacked in a four-day battle with the Germanic barbarians. The Romans under the leadership of the province's governor, Publius Quinctilius Varus, were taken completely by surprise, betrayed by a member of their own ranks: the German officer and secret rebel leader, Arminius. The defeat was a heavy blow to both Rome's military and its pride. Though the disaster was ruthlessly avenged soon afterwards, later attempts at conquering the Germans were half-hearted at best. Four Days in September thoroughly examines the ancient sources and challenges the hypotheses of modern scholars to present a clear picture of the prelude to the battle, the fighting itself and its aftermath.

Artifacts of Mourning

Artifacts of Mourning PDF Author: George M. Leader
Publisher: Oxbow Books
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
A fascinating, lavishly illustrated account, aimed at a non-specialist audience, of the excavation of over 500 burials unexpectedly discovered during development work associated with the First Baptist Church in Philadelphia. In 2016, construction workers in Philadelphia unexpectedly uncovered a long forgotten burial ground. Archaeologists quickly discovered this was the location of the burial ground of the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia, used as early as 1722. It was thought to have been exhumed and moved in 1859. Months of excavations revealed almost 500 individual burials still remained. This book shares the complex story of the discovery and excavations. It provides backgrounds of the church, Philadelphia, and the religious climate of the time to give context to the thousands of artifacts that were discovered and are presented in their entirety. The numerous coffin handles and plaques link directly back to English production and are embedded with powerful mortuary symbols. Highlighting cultural exchange between colonial America and England, Artifacts of Mourning provides an important record of 18th- and 19th-century funerary culture.