Posted on 09/15/2010 8:16:18 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Until only two years ago, northern Germany was believed to have been a no-go area for Roman troops after three legions were wiped out by German tribesmen in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9. The revelation that two centuries later a Roman force mounted a punitive raid deep inside the tribal areas in AD 235 has changed all that, suggesting that a soldier-emperor, Maximinus Thrax, seriously attempted to subjugate the north of Germany. The debris from the battle is scattered over a wooded hill, the Harzhorn.
An archeological dig there this summer turned up 1,800 artefacts. A single spot on the hill had been pounded by torsion catapults, one of the most advanced weapons in the Roman arsenal, and 70 bolts from these armour-piercing weapons were still lying in the ground. The catapults, mounted on wagons, had a range of up to 200 metres, said Michael Moosbauer, an archaeology professor at the Harzhorn site. The iron points weighed 200 grams apiece...
Among the techniques used by the archaeologists to sketch a map of the battle is tracking the studs that fell off Roman sandals as the troops climbed the Harzhorn on foot. They are believed to have overcome their opponents before continuing on their way. That belief is partly based on the absence from the soil of buckles, which were typically left behind on battlefields when victors ripped armour off slaughtered Roman legionaries... Among the finds is part of an ornate Roman scabbard, which can be dated from its style to the battle period, and the bones of a horse, which have been carbon-dated to about AD 235 too... Nine coins that have been found -- one minted in AD 228 -- also fit the date.
(Excerpt) Read more at monstersandcritics.com ...
Sounds like somebody who's ass Captain James Tiberius Kirk once kicked ;^)
I have to admit, that practice almost as much to recommend it as it does to, well, okay, maybe more than almost...
The first of the non-noble emperors was Vespasian, who was the first of the upwardly mobile army generals, and was final victor over a series of quickie emperors who tried to succeed Nero and each other during the “Year of Four Emperors”. Of course, there are some FReepers who look at that as the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire, which only went on for another 13 centuries or so (just not in Rome for the last thousand). ;’)
:’) It wasn’t a punitive raid for the Varian disaster. We’re lucky to have the amount of documentation that we do — most of the military and diplomatic correspondence was lost long, long ago, and there were no newspapers. What Thrax was responding to will probably never be known.
And the “Romans Out of Germany” chariot stickers.
:’D
If it was a punitive raid, it was for something else, the writing is a bit vague there.
They had better things to do, such as chop each other up in attempts to seize power. Civil wars disrupted Roman politics more than barbarian invasions — until there were no more Roman politics per se, and the barbarians finally took over Italy. But every region had resources, and in the negative sense, pushing borders further into unknown territory was a common practice by the Romans. They used bribery and trade to bring neighboring tribes into the Roman economy bit by bit and build proxy states as buffers, then later would annex these Romanized areas, and find the next group of proxies had already begun the process of integration on their own.
His friends called him Max - Max Thrax.
Well put.
The brothers Tiberius and Drusus were among the better generals in Roman history, Drusus alas died young.
Keeping Up With The Empire (Romans In Netherlands)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1142095/posts
From Hand-drag to Jumbo: A Millennium of Dredging
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1181760/posts
Swords and Sandals (Spectacular Mosaics of the Glories of Rome ...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1371966/posts
Lives of the Twelve Caesars: Claudius
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b9678b072d9.htm
/rimshot!
Probably a season three episode.
Very much a Romanized non-Roman name. :’)
:’D
Interesting.
To-ga! To-ga! To-ga! To-ga!
That’s right. Here’s the site for that find: http://www.roemerschlachtamharzhorn.de
Site says that the Romans used to clear up after battles (collecting missiles, swords etc. for re-use) and the fact that archeologists found so much means the Romans were in a haste. They speculate the Romans might have suspected more trouble brewing.
He probably had to hustle down to Rome to defend his claim, and of course, he didn’t make it. :’)
Good one , poor Augustus
Report: Ancient Roman graveyard found in suburban Copenhagen
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1909864/posts
Buddha statue from 6th c found in Viking hoard in Helgo, Sweden
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1391864/posts
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.