Part #2 - Germania Magna
Location: Central Europe (modern areas of Germany, northern Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, northern Austria, Slovakia).
Time Period: 2nd century AD (contemporary to the Roman Period)
Introduction:
In the 2nd century AD, Ptolemy made a massive work on the (to him) known world, which includes Germania Magna. Following their catastrophic defeat in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (9 AD), the Romans withdrew from Germania Magna. Nonetheless, they apparently scouted the area up to the Baltic Sea with considerable precision, which in turn manifests itself in this map. This map is also the best shot we have, from the perspective of alternate history, what a Roman province of Germania Magna would look like.
The problem is, of course, with all the detail and skill that Ptolemy had, his maps aren't free of mistakes, and in the past a major problem was that the many towns which Ptolemy mentions in Germania Magna were unfindable due to the distortion of the map. Last year, a group at the university of Berlin claimed that they had "deciphered" Ptolemy's "code", and posted a list of cities and towns that were to be equated with the towns from Ptolemy's Germania Magna. Furthermore, the group claimed that "half of Germany's towns are a thousand years older than previously thought". This is to be taken with a grain of salt, since if there was actually a continuity at the towns there (most likely) should also be some continuity in names: this leaves two possibilities, either the towns were at different sites and/or they were destroyed (most probably, during the Migrations Period) and new towns were build at their place. Probably both scenarios existed.
Nonetheless, I do not wish to spoil their work, since their list can certainly serve as a
very good guide (even though in some cases the actual towns probably lay tens of kilometers off), especially for those who wish to subjugate Germania Magna to the Roman Empire.
Further Notes:
Ptolemy grouped the towns into four cathegories, which are north-to-south. Inside each group, town names procede roughly west-to-east. Note that in brackets, I have included different town names that are more probable locations for some towns. Underlined town names are those where the identification is pretty safe.
What is particularly fascinating is that on the one hand there's obviously many overtly Germanic names ("-furdum", "-burgium"), but in the south we also have a fair number of overtly Celtic place names ("-dunum") and even a Dacian (!) town name ("Setidava").
First (Northern / North Sea) Group:
Phleum - Appingedam, Netherlands
Siatutanda - Lathen at the Ems
Tecelia - Elsfleth-Hogenkamp
Fabiranum - Heidenschanze near Sievern
Treva - Hamburg
Leufana - Hitzacker
Lirimiris - Hagenow
Marionis - Schönberg at the Maurine
Altera Marionis - Lalendorf
Coesoenum - Waren at the Müritz
Cistuia - Stargard
Alisus - Temmen
Laciburgium - Ueckermünde
Bunitium - Lubieszewo in Poland
Virunum - Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland
Viritium - Czlopa, Poland
Rugium - Miatsko, Poland
Scurgum - Chojnice, Poland
Ascaucalis - Osielsko near Bromberg/Bydgoszcz, Poland
Second (Central-Northern) Group:
Asciburgium - Asberg, suburb of Moers at the Lower Rhine
Navalia - Essen-Hinsel
Mediolanium - Borken
Teuderium - Beelen
Bogadium - Salzkotten
Stereontium - Bad Driburg
Amisia - Geismar near Fritzlar - the site of Thor's Oak
Munitium - Hegemünden
Tulifurdum - Hannover
Ascalingium - Hildesheim
Tulisurgum - Brunswick
Pheugarum - Osterode
Canduum - Eisenach
Tropea Drusi - Halberstadt
Luppia - Bernburg at the Saale
Mersovium - Magdeburg
Aregelia - Leipzig
Galaegia - Riesa
Lupfurdum - Dresden
Susudata - Fürstenwalde
Colancorum - Kostzry, Poland
Lugidunum - Odrzanskie, Poland (more probably Liegnitz/Legnica)
Stragona - Görlitz
Limis Lucus - Sierakow, Poland
Budorigum - Glogow, Poland
Leucaristus - Leszeno, Poland
Arsonium - Ostrzeszow, Poland
Calisia - Kalisz in Poland
Setidava - Konin in Poland
Third (Central-Southern) Group:
Alisum - Bergisch-Gladbach
Budoris - Drachenfels in the Siebengebirge
Mattiacum - Naunheim
Arctaunum - Friedberg in Hesse
Novaesium - Melsungen
Melocabus - Bad Hersfeld
Gravionarium - Schlüchtern
Locoritum - Lohr
Segodunum - Bad Wimpfen
Devona - Crailsheim
Bergium - Schwanberg near Kitzingen
Menosgada - Hallstadt at the Main
Bicurgium - Jena
Marobudum - Amberg
Redintuinum - Louny at the Eger, Czechia
Nomisterium - Litomerice, Czechia
Meliodunum - Pisek, Czechia
Casurgis - Prague
Strevinta - Hnmezdice
Hegetmatia - Mlada Boleslav
Budorgis - Kolin
Edurum - Hradek
Arsicua - Mistelbach at the Zaya, Austria
Parienna - Breclav
Setovia - Komorany, Czechia
Carrodunum - Rymarov, Czechia
Asanca - Kojetin, Czechia
Fourth (Southern / Danubian) Group:
Tarodunum - Riegel at the Kaiserstuhl (far more probably
Zarten in the Black Forest, which is recorded as "Zarduna" in the Medieval Ages)
Arae Flaviae - Rottweil
Riusiava - Heidengraben bei Grabenstetten
Alcimoennis - Sontheim at the Brenz
Cantioebis - Aalen
Bibacum - Finningen
Brodentia - Donauwörth
Setuacotum - Treuchtlingen
Usbium - Linz, Austria
Abilunum - Freistadt, Austria
Furgisatis - Budweis, Czechia
Coridorgis - Jihlava, Czechia
Mediolanum - Korneuburg, Austria
Felicia - Vyskov, Czechia
Eburodunum - Brno/Brünn, Czechia
Anduaetium - Andovce, Slovakia
Celamantia - Kormano, Slovakia
Singone - Sarovce, Slovakia
Anavum or Adiabum? - Almasfuzito, Hungary