Germanicus
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Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC–October 10, 19 AD) was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty of the early Roman Empire. He was called either Nero Claudius Drusus or Tiberius Claudius Nero at birth and received the agnomen "Germanicus", by which he is principally known, in 9, when it was awarded to his father in honour of his victories in Germania.
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[edit] Early Life
Germanicus' parents were Nero Claudius Drusus, son of Livia Drusilla, wife of Caesar Augustus, and Antonia Minor, daughter of Mark Antony and Octavia Minor, sister of Caesar Augustus. Claudius was his brother. Germanicus married Agrippina the Elder, a granddaughter of Augustus, who gave him nine children. Two died whilst very young, another Gaius Julius Caesar died in early childhood. The other six survived to grown age:
- Nero Caesar
- Drusus Caesar
- Gaius, commonly called Caligula, future Emperor
- Agrippina the Younger, mother of Nero
- Julia Drusilla
- Julia Livilla
Germanicus was very popular among the citizens of Rome, who celebrated enthusiastically all his victories. He was also a favourite with Augustus, his great-uncle and his wife's grandfather, who, for some time, considered him as heir to the Empire. In 4, at the persuasion of Augusta (Augustus' wife), Augustus decided in favour of Tiberius, a stepson from Augusta's first marriage. Augustus compelled Tiberius to adopt Germanicus as a son and name him his heir. (Tacitus, Annals IV.57)
Germanicus assumed several military commands leading the army in the campaigns in Pannonia and Dalmatia. He is recorded to have been an excellent soldier and inspired leader, loved by the legions. In the year 12 he was appointed consul after five mandates as quaestor.
[edit] Commander of Germany
After the death of Augustus in 14, the Senate appointed Germanicus commander of the forces in Germania. A short time after, the legions rioted on the news that the succession befell on the unpopular Tiberius. Refusing to accept this, the rebel soldiers cried for Germanicus as emperor. But he chose to honour Augustus' choice and put an end to the mutiny, preferring to continue only as a general. In a skillful move that established both the loyalty of his troops and his own popularity with them and with the Roman people, he led them on a spectacular but brutal raid against the Marsi, a German tribe on the upper Ruhr river, in which he massacred much of the tribe.
During each of the next two years, he led his 8-legion army into Germany against the coalition of tribes led by Arminius, which had successfully overthrown Roman rule in a rebellion in 9 AD. His major success was the capture of Arminius' wife in May 15 AD, but, although he devastated large areas, he was unable to inflict serious losses on the Germanic tribes, who fled into remote forests. And that was in itself a defeat for him, for he realized - and said so to his troops repeatedly - that he could only win the war by completely wiping out the Germans.
After visiting the site of the disastrous Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, where 20,000 Romans had been killed in 9 AD, and burying their remains, he launched a massive assault on the heartland of Arminius' tribe, the Cheruscans. Arminius lured his cavalry into a trap and wiped them out, forcing Germanicus to end the campaign. Half of his army, sent southward to secure a strategic causeway, was badly defeated by Arminius, while the other half, under his own command, suffered severe losses in a storm at sea.
In spite of doubts on the part of his uncle, Emperor Tiberius, Germanicus managed to raise another huge army and invaded Germany again the next year, in 16 AD. He forced a crossing of the Weser near modern Minden, suffering heavy losses, and then met Arminius' army at Idistoviso, further up the Weser, near modern Rinteln, in an engagement often called the Battle of the Weser River. Both sides suffered heavy losses, and Arminius was wounded, but managed to withdraw his forces in such a way that Germanicus was unable to continue his attack on the Cheruscan heartland. One final battle was fought at the Angivarian Wall west of modern Hanover, once again with heavy losses on both sides and once again inconclusive. And, as in the previous year, Germanicus was forced to retreat from Germany once again, probably because his position was untenable. And this time, too, his fleet was smashed by a storm in the North Sea, with thousands of soldiers lost. After a few more raids across the Rhine, which resulted in the recovey of two of the three legion's eagles lost in 9 AD, Germanicus was recalled to Rome and informed by Tiberius that he would be given a triumph and reassigned to a different command. The German tribes had won their fight for independence - the only people ever to throw out the Roman conquerors.
[edit] Asia and Death
Germanicus was then sent to Asia, where in 18 he defeated the kingdoms of Cappadocia and Commagena, turning them into Roman provinces. In the following year, he died suddenly in Antioch, Syria, of a wasting illness - or poison. His death was surrounded by speculation, with several sources claiming he was poisoned by Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, governor of Syria, under orders from Emperor Tiberius. This was never proven, and Piso later committed suicide while facing trial, but Suetonius suggests Tiberius' jealousy and fear of his adopted son's popularity and increasing power as a motive.
The death of Germanicus in what can only be described as dubious circumstances greatly affected Tiberius' popularity in Rome, leading to the creation of a climate of fear in Rome itself. Also suspected of connivance in his death was Tiberius' chief advisor, Sejanus, who would then turn the empire into a frightful tyranny throughout the 20s, before himself being removed and executed by Tiberius in a bloody purge in 31 AD.
For Tacitus, the historian to whom we owe much of the information in this article, Germanicus was the epitome of Roman virtue and manliness, and his death symbolic of the decline of such virtue in the face of the rise of corruption and tyranny. His account of the German campaigns systematically contrasts Germanicus' prowess and popularity to the intriguing jealousy of his uncle, the emperor - and the maliciousness of Sejanus - while on the other hand portrying the war itself as a contest between two worthy heroes, Germanicus and Arminius. If the account downplays the setbacks suffered by Germanicus, the point is not so much to denigrate Arminius as it is to justify Germanicus in opposition to Tiberius.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- (Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici dell'Umbria) "The Bronze Statue of Germanicus" of Amelia (Terni). Circumstances of the chance discovery in 1963 and restoration of this extremely fine heroic portrait bronze.
| Preceded by Manius Aemilius Lepidus and Titus Statilius Taurus |
Consul of the Roman Empire together with Gaius Fonteius Capito 12 |
Succeeded by Gaius Silius Aulus Caecina Largus and Lucius Munatius Plancus |
| Preceded by Lucius Pomponius Flaccus and Gaius Caelius Rufus |
Consul of the Roman Empire together with Tiberius 18 |
Succeeded by Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus and Lucius Norbanus Balbus |
