A few things, are you sure that Langobard, Saxons and Angle existed at this time? The mythical origin of Langobards place them in the Migration Period, while the Saxons were a relative late come. As for the Angles their name is connected with their place of origin the peninsula Angeln, which lies north of where they’re placed.
Imperator Germanorum: The Legacy of Arminius
- Thread starter Sarthak
- Start date
A few things, are you sure that Langobard, Saxons and Angle existed at this time? The mythical origin of Langobards place them in the Migration Period, while the Saxons were a relative late come. As for the Angles their name is connected with their place of origin the peninsula Angeln, which lies north of where they’re placed.
The Longobards definitely existed during this time. The Saxons and Angles, are unclear, as they are not explicitly mentioned in roman records. Tacitus, Suetonius, Marobod, Cassius Dio all mention the Longobards, predecessors of the Lombards, as a Suebi subgroup and a traditional foe of the Cheruscan Confederacy
Chapter 3: The First Cherusci War.
Chapter 3: The First Cherusci War.
***
“If the Romans dare to cross the Rhenus, then I will show them the true meaning of disaster.” – Thumelicus.
***
I, THUMELICUS, LEADER OF THE CHERUSCI, this, that whatever people like to call me, am about to write this strange part of my life, starting from the time I invade Roman territory, in my bid to avenge both my parents, who died under the auspices of Rome. This is not by any means my first book; in fact literature, and especially the writing of History, which as a young man I studied in Ravenna, under the best contemporary masters employed by my uncle, Flavus (I wonder how he is doing?). Therefore, my reader must not be surprised at my practice of writing, which I myself must admit, is a rarity for the average and elite Germanic.
In the present time, I swear by all the gods above, I am writing this on my own, and this is my own hand that writes this story of my life. This is a confidential history that I intend to write, as I go to war with the Romans, who were once my benefactors. But who you may ask, are my confidants? My answer is: It is addressed to posterity and myself. I do not mean anyone, but me myself, and the remote posterity as my confidant. Perhaps my frayed nerves will be cooled on by my writing. Yet, it is also my hope that you, my eventual reader of several hundred generations later, will feel yourselves directly spoken to, as if by a contemporary, as often Herodotus and Thucydides, long dead, seem to have spoken to me when I read their histories.
Thucydides
The decision to fight Rome occurred to me the first time I read the total accounts about my father. His rebellion against Rome had inspired my fellow Germanics and had given me, as his son, an almost god-like status. However, I was in the service of Rome back then. Any hesitance would be seized upon by the ruthless centurions with glee, and I could not hope to have any doubts. But when I was asked by my uncle to return to my homeland, I must admit I was a bit gleeful. But that glee died when Claudius refused to allow mother to come with me.
The next few years are a blur to me right now. The military reforms I made, the small family I cultivated and the alliances I made, are my own, and I am proud of them. Yet, now I have made my decision to fight against the Romans, who raised me and trained me. Despite my anger against the Roman state for the atrocities they commit against others of my race, I cannot help but feel a little guilty, attacking the one who nurtured me.
The chiefs of the other tribes roared with glee as they rode across chariots and war horses against the Roman frontier. I kept quiet. The Roman defenses in the border had been weakened by the succession crisis in the capital, with the two children and their devilish stepmother pulling strings trying to gain political capital. This was the best time to cross the river and raid into Roman lands in Germania Superior.
Our first target was the city of Mogontiacum [1], one of the Roman strongholds across the Rhenus River. It was weakly defended according to our spies in the Roman auxiliary troops, and the succession crisis would have weakened them further, I hoped. The city also had stores of weapons and food, both of which would be extremely useful in the campaign to come.
Map of Mogontiacum.
As we approached the city from the east, we saw the city walls becoming bigger and bigger as we moved forward. It was already dusk and the men were complaining about the night and I had to hold a war council. Adall, bless the old elder, wanted to continue on, but the other tribal leaders wanted to stay put for the night and to cross the river at night. I acquiesced. I couldn’t have all that I wanted. I knew that especially when I raised the Agaz as the standing force of our tribe.
That night, we crossed the river in silence, wading across the river for those who were able to, and using logs and tree trunks to cross the river for those who could not stand the rapids. As we came ashore, I recognized the standards that were being lined up against us as the Romans saw our forces. The bull insignia of Legio IV Macedonica was facing our small force of around 10,000 men at arms and 4000 Agaz. From a sweeping glance, it seemed as though the legion had around 15,000 men as well.
This would be a hard fight. I had known since my Roman years that the Greek legions, ones that recruited from the Hellenes, and the ones who were named after the Hellenes, were all ferocious legions and the fact that they held the small numerical superiority wasn’t a good omen either. Our reinforcements under my distant cousin, Ohtrad were still far off. So we lined up for battle. The men at arms raised their weapons and formed the iconic straight formation of ours. However the Agaz, who were situated in the middle, had taken up a Wedge formation. As we lined up for battle, the men hollered and cried out.
The Romans may have thought this as psychological attack, for their tethered dangerously at us, however of course, I knew what the men wanted. This was usual in our customs. The men were goading me to get down from my horse and take up arms with them. It was a call for their leaders to fight alongside them. I slid down from my horse, and took up my arms, a powerful shield and one longsword reminiscent of the Roman years, and brandished them standing in front of the disciplined Agaz, as they looked at me impassively, at least they took the lessons of discipline by heart.
I may have dismounted, but I was still leader of the coalition gathering against the Romans. I did not order anyone to attack. The men at arms were restless, but that restlessness could be dampened with time. I was going to wear the Romans out. The Romans seemed confused as the men hollered, shouted obscenities at them, but remained put, though I believed, the wait was fraying their nerves equally as the Romans were frayed by our unusual tactic. Finally the Romans attacked. I do not know how much time was lost by waiting, it seemed that the sun was still somewhere in between the rising position and the middle sky.
The men defended the lines fiercely as the Romans crashed into our lines. We hacked, we stabbed and we killed. And then we sprang our trap. The men at arms jumped apart creating gaps between them. Maniple channels, I remembered vividly, and the Romans filled the gaps. But almost immediately, the men used the maniple channels to attack the positions of the Roman troops, bloodying them beyond repair, forcing the ones who had slipped into the channels to retreat. Bloodied and weakened, the Roman line was stretched. As the Roman frontline was in disarray this was the best moment to strike. Raising my sword, I led my troops into the foray, crashing into the disoriented Roman lines, and the Romans were pushed back. The Legio IV Macedonica gave away by midday and knowing that further resistance was futile, they retreated from the battlefield. The ones who could, anyway. The rest were put to the sword, and enslaved.
The Battle of Mogontiacum, Purple shows Roman movements whilst black shows Germanic movement.
Later, after we took the city, we found the commander of the legion, who had apparently been captured by one of the Chattii within my army.
“W-W-What do you want?” Lucius Blattius stuttered as he spoke. “Come to finish your army’s work?”
“No.” I shook my head. I was not going to let my rage and my emotions rule me. No. “You are going to be staying with me. You will serve as a good bargaining chip.”
He was then taken by some of my troops. Lucius would be safe back at Home.
***
From A Historical Account of the 1st Cherusci War
“Unfortunately for those of us interested in the first account of ancient history, the written work left behind by Thumelicus ended after the very first chapter that he left behind. Other pages have been found by archaeologists, however, they have been faded and destroyed to such a degree that they cannot be interpreted. But it is still fascinating to note that Thumelicus himself was recording what was going on during the starting phase of the 1st Cherusci War. His intention is striking against Mogontiacum first and foremost is a rational choice, if a military historian is looking at things. The city was a strategic point on the Roman lands in Germania Superior and did store a great number of weapons and logistical supplies. It was also a crucial communications centre between Colonia [2] and Argentorate [3], and thus the capture of the city and the bloodying of the Legio IV Macedonica cannot be said as anything else but a victory.
However, the Battle of Mogontiacum still pales in comparison to what many call the greatest victory that Thumelicus ever pulled off. The Battle of Bingium, around 30 miles west of Mogontiacum would be the greatest victory that Thumelicus would ever achieve, and is often called the Second Teutoburg for a reason. It has been estimated that for around a week after Mogontiacum, the Germanic coalition led by Thumelicus rested, and waited for reinforcements to arrive. Meanwhile, as this was happening, the Romans were gathering in Augusta Treverorum [4] under the command of Hordeonius Flaccus. Flaccus, who was the governor of Germania Superior. He was assembling the remnants of Legio IV Macedonica, Legio VIII Augusta, Legio XVI Gallica to fight the incoming Germanic army, which according to modern estimates became somewhere around 40,000 men after reinforcements from the Chauci and Frisii arrived.
A bust of Flaccus.
A Roman Senator, Flaccus was more of an administrator than a commander, in an ominous similarity with Varus who had been defeated by Arminius so many years ago. Historiography remembers him as the Suffect Consul of Nundinium and a colleague of Gaius Calphetanus Rantius Sedatus before he was posted as governor of Germania Superior. His administrative prowess can be seen for all who want to by the manner in which he assembled the three legions, however he was indecisive in what manner he would engage Thumelicus. Thumelicus was armored during the fight, and it was still not known to the Romans who was leading the Germanics. For all they knew it was a rogue leader in the Cherusci clan. Flaccus even sent a messenger from Colonia to head into Cherusci lands to send a letter to Thumelicus, apparently asking him to keep his troops and clan leaders in line.
However Thumelicus on the other hand received major reinforcements from the Chauci and Chattii. More importantly, the Frisii had brought within them several thousand Batavii horsemen who would be invaluable to the upcoming battle. During the leadup to the battle, Thumelicus sent his new Batavii horsemen to the Rhenus and the Nahe rivers, to find fords, and the Batavii reported back to him that the Romans were marching towards the Nahe River to cross into Bingium before marching towards Mogontiacum. This was the moment that Thumelicus had been apparently waiting for. Thumelicus marched his main body of troops in a straight line on the opposite banks of the Nahe River just outside the small settlement of Bingium whilst he sent half his Batavii cavalry to the south to cross the fords in the region whilst he sent his other half to the northwest to cross the Possbak [5] river, so that Thumelicus’s large pincer movement could take place.
It is estimated that sometime in the latter part of 807 AVC, the battle took place. The Germanic troops under the command of Thumelicus marched across the small and shallow Nahe river and found themselves on the river's opposite bank. Flaccus decided to use this as an opportunity apparently and immediately attacked, with the Roman legions bursting forward to meet their Germanic enemy. The Germanic Army led by Thumelicus continued to defend their position on the opposite bank of the Nahe River and harassed the incoming Roman enemies. By midday, the Romans were starting to feel a little fatigued, as Thumelicus, in a manner that is somewhat characteristic of the man, held his troops back, and continued to restrain his troops from letting themselves go wild in the battle to preserve their strength. Meanwhile, the Batavii horsemen arrived on the southern flank of the Roman legions, crossing the Nahe in the south. They immediately attacked the Roman flanks, and the Romans had divert men to the southern flank to prevent themselves from being destroyed by the flanking manoeuvre. This however thinned the Roman frontline again, but the Germanics did not attack with this opportunity either. After some time, the other half of the Batavii troops appeared from the north and attacked the northern flank of the Roman legions, and this time the flanking attack was a whole lot more successful than its southern partner. The Agaz then started to push the Roman lines backwards, and while the Roman lines held firm against this attack, the forces on the Germanic line started to form a different formation. The Agaz formed the centre, and the left and right flanks of the Agaz were filled to the brim by men at arms, and the flanks were filled with too many men by all accounts. These men then crashed into the numerically inferior Roman lines with great vigour whilst the disciplined Agaz continued to push despite their difficulties in quelling the Roman centre. The Roman sides were starting to get frayed when the Batavii horsemen suddenly detached. Flaccus thought of this as a reprieve and sent scouts ahead behind the leaving Batavii, and rediverted the troops to fight against the frontal line. However this was a trap from Thumelicus. The moment the scouts left, they were skewered by the Batavii horsemen and they returned to the battlefield sometime later and crashed into the undefended flanks of the Roman sides.
The Roman defense collapsed as a result. Flaccus tried to conduct an orderly retreat, however, this was not possible as the Batavii horsemen had managed to encircle the entire enemy with aid from some of the men at arms. The result was a massacre of the highest proportions. Flaccus, unwilling to be seen as a traitor and failure in Rome, committed suicide as the encirclement grew tighter with each hour. Finally by dusk, the Battle of Bingium was over. Much like Arminius in Teutoburg Forest, Thumelicus had destroyed 3 Roman Legions, meeting them with relative numerical parity.
The Battle of Bingium was an utter disaster for Rome. For Nero, who was still trying to undermine the position of his stepbrother Britannicus, who was considered by many the rightful heir of Rome, and the political influence of his mother, Agrippina the Younger, the defeat dealt a blow to the man’s already low prestige. His extravagant way of living garnered him no popularity either. As a result, the defeat in the Battle of Bingium emboldened the pro-Britannicus faction within Rome’s Praetorian Guard, and the Senate as well. And indeed, in early 808 AVC, led by Marcus Junius Silanus, a member of the Imperial Family who had barely avoided Agrippina’s poison in 807 AVC, rebelled against Nero with aid from Governor Quintus Julius Cordus of Gallia Aquitania and Junius Blaesus of Gallia Lugdunesis. As the succession problem got worse for Rome, this only served to benefit the Germanic Chieftain, who was going to make the most of this instability in Rome.”
Britannicus
----
[1] – Mainz
[2] – Cologne
[3] – Strasbourg
[4] – Trier
[5] – Possbach River
***
“If the Romans dare to cross the Rhenus, then I will show them the true meaning of disaster.” – Thumelicus.
***
I, THUMELICUS, LEADER OF THE CHERUSCI, this, that whatever people like to call me, am about to write this strange part of my life, starting from the time I invade Roman territory, in my bid to avenge both my parents, who died under the auspices of Rome. This is not by any means my first book; in fact literature, and especially the writing of History, which as a young man I studied in Ravenna, under the best contemporary masters employed by my uncle, Flavus (I wonder how he is doing?). Therefore, my reader must not be surprised at my practice of writing, which I myself must admit, is a rarity for the average and elite Germanic.
In the present time, I swear by all the gods above, I am writing this on my own, and this is my own hand that writes this story of my life. This is a confidential history that I intend to write, as I go to war with the Romans, who were once my benefactors. But who you may ask, are my confidants? My answer is: It is addressed to posterity and myself. I do not mean anyone, but me myself, and the remote posterity as my confidant. Perhaps my frayed nerves will be cooled on by my writing. Yet, it is also my hope that you, my eventual reader of several hundred generations later, will feel yourselves directly spoken to, as if by a contemporary, as often Herodotus and Thucydides, long dead, seem to have spoken to me when I read their histories.
Thucydides
The decision to fight Rome occurred to me the first time I read the total accounts about my father. His rebellion against Rome had inspired my fellow Germanics and had given me, as his son, an almost god-like status. However, I was in the service of Rome back then. Any hesitance would be seized upon by the ruthless centurions with glee, and I could not hope to have any doubts. But when I was asked by my uncle to return to my homeland, I must admit I was a bit gleeful. But that glee died when Claudius refused to allow mother to come with me.
The next few years are a blur to me right now. The military reforms I made, the small family I cultivated and the alliances I made, are my own, and I am proud of them. Yet, now I have made my decision to fight against the Romans, who raised me and trained me. Despite my anger against the Roman state for the atrocities they commit against others of my race, I cannot help but feel a little guilty, attacking the one who nurtured me.
The chiefs of the other tribes roared with glee as they rode across chariots and war horses against the Roman frontier. I kept quiet. The Roman defenses in the border had been weakened by the succession crisis in the capital, with the two children and their devilish stepmother pulling strings trying to gain political capital. This was the best time to cross the river and raid into Roman lands in Germania Superior.
Our first target was the city of Mogontiacum [1], one of the Roman strongholds across the Rhenus River. It was weakly defended according to our spies in the Roman auxiliary troops, and the succession crisis would have weakened them further, I hoped. The city also had stores of weapons and food, both of which would be extremely useful in the campaign to come.
Map of Mogontiacum.
As we approached the city from the east, we saw the city walls becoming bigger and bigger as we moved forward. It was already dusk and the men were complaining about the night and I had to hold a war council. Adall, bless the old elder, wanted to continue on, but the other tribal leaders wanted to stay put for the night and to cross the river at night. I acquiesced. I couldn’t have all that I wanted. I knew that especially when I raised the Agaz as the standing force of our tribe.
That night, we crossed the river in silence, wading across the river for those who were able to, and using logs and tree trunks to cross the river for those who could not stand the rapids. As we came ashore, I recognized the standards that were being lined up against us as the Romans saw our forces. The bull insignia of Legio IV Macedonica was facing our small force of around 10,000 men at arms and 4000 Agaz. From a sweeping glance, it seemed as though the legion had around 15,000 men as well.
This would be a hard fight. I had known since my Roman years that the Greek legions, ones that recruited from the Hellenes, and the ones who were named after the Hellenes, were all ferocious legions and the fact that they held the small numerical superiority wasn’t a good omen either. Our reinforcements under my distant cousin, Ohtrad were still far off. So we lined up for battle. The men at arms raised their weapons and formed the iconic straight formation of ours. However the Agaz, who were situated in the middle, had taken up a Wedge formation. As we lined up for battle, the men hollered and cried out.
The Romans may have thought this as psychological attack, for their tethered dangerously at us, however of course, I knew what the men wanted. This was usual in our customs. The men were goading me to get down from my horse and take up arms with them. It was a call for their leaders to fight alongside them. I slid down from my horse, and took up my arms, a powerful shield and one longsword reminiscent of the Roman years, and brandished them standing in front of the disciplined Agaz, as they looked at me impassively, at least they took the lessons of discipline by heart.
I may have dismounted, but I was still leader of the coalition gathering against the Romans. I did not order anyone to attack. The men at arms were restless, but that restlessness could be dampened with time. I was going to wear the Romans out. The Romans seemed confused as the men hollered, shouted obscenities at them, but remained put, though I believed, the wait was fraying their nerves equally as the Romans were frayed by our unusual tactic. Finally the Romans attacked. I do not know how much time was lost by waiting, it seemed that the sun was still somewhere in between the rising position and the middle sky.
The men defended the lines fiercely as the Romans crashed into our lines. We hacked, we stabbed and we killed. And then we sprang our trap. The men at arms jumped apart creating gaps between them. Maniple channels, I remembered vividly, and the Romans filled the gaps. But almost immediately, the men used the maniple channels to attack the positions of the Roman troops, bloodying them beyond repair, forcing the ones who had slipped into the channels to retreat. Bloodied and weakened, the Roman line was stretched. As the Roman frontline was in disarray this was the best moment to strike. Raising my sword, I led my troops into the foray, crashing into the disoriented Roman lines, and the Romans were pushed back. The Legio IV Macedonica gave away by midday and knowing that further resistance was futile, they retreated from the battlefield. The ones who could, anyway. The rest were put to the sword, and enslaved.
The Battle of Mogontiacum, Purple shows Roman movements whilst black shows Germanic movement.
Later, after we took the city, we found the commander of the legion, who had apparently been captured by one of the Chattii within my army.
“W-W-What do you want?” Lucius Blattius stuttered as he spoke. “Come to finish your army’s work?”
“No.” I shook my head. I was not going to let my rage and my emotions rule me. No. “You are going to be staying with me. You will serve as a good bargaining chip.”
He was then taken by some of my troops. Lucius would be safe back at Home.
***
From A Historical Account of the 1st Cherusci War
“Unfortunately for those of us interested in the first account of ancient history, the written work left behind by Thumelicus ended after the very first chapter that he left behind. Other pages have been found by archaeologists, however, they have been faded and destroyed to such a degree that they cannot be interpreted. But it is still fascinating to note that Thumelicus himself was recording what was going on during the starting phase of the 1st Cherusci War. His intention is striking against Mogontiacum first and foremost is a rational choice, if a military historian is looking at things. The city was a strategic point on the Roman lands in Germania Superior and did store a great number of weapons and logistical supplies. It was also a crucial communications centre between Colonia [2] and Argentorate [3], and thus the capture of the city and the bloodying of the Legio IV Macedonica cannot be said as anything else but a victory.
However, the Battle of Mogontiacum still pales in comparison to what many call the greatest victory that Thumelicus ever pulled off. The Battle of Bingium, around 30 miles west of Mogontiacum would be the greatest victory that Thumelicus would ever achieve, and is often called the Second Teutoburg for a reason. It has been estimated that for around a week after Mogontiacum, the Germanic coalition led by Thumelicus rested, and waited for reinforcements to arrive. Meanwhile, as this was happening, the Romans were gathering in Augusta Treverorum [4] under the command of Hordeonius Flaccus. Flaccus, who was the governor of Germania Superior. He was assembling the remnants of Legio IV Macedonica, Legio VIII Augusta, Legio XVI Gallica to fight the incoming Germanic army, which according to modern estimates became somewhere around 40,000 men after reinforcements from the Chauci and Frisii arrived.
A bust of Flaccus.
A Roman Senator, Flaccus was more of an administrator than a commander, in an ominous similarity with Varus who had been defeated by Arminius so many years ago. Historiography remembers him as the Suffect Consul of Nundinium and a colleague of Gaius Calphetanus Rantius Sedatus before he was posted as governor of Germania Superior. His administrative prowess can be seen for all who want to by the manner in which he assembled the three legions, however he was indecisive in what manner he would engage Thumelicus. Thumelicus was armored during the fight, and it was still not known to the Romans who was leading the Germanics. For all they knew it was a rogue leader in the Cherusci clan. Flaccus even sent a messenger from Colonia to head into Cherusci lands to send a letter to Thumelicus, apparently asking him to keep his troops and clan leaders in line.
However Thumelicus on the other hand received major reinforcements from the Chauci and Chattii. More importantly, the Frisii had brought within them several thousand Batavii horsemen who would be invaluable to the upcoming battle. During the leadup to the battle, Thumelicus sent his new Batavii horsemen to the Rhenus and the Nahe rivers, to find fords, and the Batavii reported back to him that the Romans were marching towards the Nahe River to cross into Bingium before marching towards Mogontiacum. This was the moment that Thumelicus had been apparently waiting for. Thumelicus marched his main body of troops in a straight line on the opposite banks of the Nahe River just outside the small settlement of Bingium whilst he sent half his Batavii cavalry to the south to cross the fords in the region whilst he sent his other half to the northwest to cross the Possbak [5] river, so that Thumelicus’s large pincer movement could take place.
It is estimated that sometime in the latter part of 807 AVC, the battle took place. The Germanic troops under the command of Thumelicus marched across the small and shallow Nahe river and found themselves on the river's opposite bank. Flaccus decided to use this as an opportunity apparently and immediately attacked, with the Roman legions bursting forward to meet their Germanic enemy. The Germanic Army led by Thumelicus continued to defend their position on the opposite bank of the Nahe River and harassed the incoming Roman enemies. By midday, the Romans were starting to feel a little fatigued, as Thumelicus, in a manner that is somewhat characteristic of the man, held his troops back, and continued to restrain his troops from letting themselves go wild in the battle to preserve their strength. Meanwhile, the Batavii horsemen arrived on the southern flank of the Roman legions, crossing the Nahe in the south. They immediately attacked the Roman flanks, and the Romans had divert men to the southern flank to prevent themselves from being destroyed by the flanking manoeuvre. This however thinned the Roman frontline again, but the Germanics did not attack with this opportunity either. After some time, the other half of the Batavii troops appeared from the north and attacked the northern flank of the Roman legions, and this time the flanking attack was a whole lot more successful than its southern partner. The Agaz then started to push the Roman lines backwards, and while the Roman lines held firm against this attack, the forces on the Germanic line started to form a different formation. The Agaz formed the centre, and the left and right flanks of the Agaz were filled to the brim by men at arms, and the flanks were filled with too many men by all accounts. These men then crashed into the numerically inferior Roman lines with great vigour whilst the disciplined Agaz continued to push despite their difficulties in quelling the Roman centre. The Roman sides were starting to get frayed when the Batavii horsemen suddenly detached. Flaccus thought of this as a reprieve and sent scouts ahead behind the leaving Batavii, and rediverted the troops to fight against the frontal line. However this was a trap from Thumelicus. The moment the scouts left, they were skewered by the Batavii horsemen and they returned to the battlefield sometime later and crashed into the undefended flanks of the Roman sides.
The Roman defense collapsed as a result. Flaccus tried to conduct an orderly retreat, however, this was not possible as the Batavii horsemen had managed to encircle the entire enemy with aid from some of the men at arms. The result was a massacre of the highest proportions. Flaccus, unwilling to be seen as a traitor and failure in Rome, committed suicide as the encirclement grew tighter with each hour. Finally by dusk, the Battle of Bingium was over. Much like Arminius in Teutoburg Forest, Thumelicus had destroyed 3 Roman Legions, meeting them with relative numerical parity.
The Battle of Bingium was an utter disaster for Rome. For Nero, who was still trying to undermine the position of his stepbrother Britannicus, who was considered by many the rightful heir of Rome, and the political influence of his mother, Agrippina the Younger, the defeat dealt a blow to the man’s already low prestige. His extravagant way of living garnered him no popularity either. As a result, the defeat in the Battle of Bingium emboldened the pro-Britannicus faction within Rome’s Praetorian Guard, and the Senate as well. And indeed, in early 808 AVC, led by Marcus Junius Silanus, a member of the Imperial Family who had barely avoided Agrippina’s poison in 807 AVC, rebelled against Nero with aid from Governor Quintus Julius Cordus of Gallia Aquitania and Junius Blaesus of Gallia Lugdunesis. As the succession problem got worse for Rome, this only served to benefit the Germanic Chieftain, who was going to make the most of this instability in Rome.”
Britannicus
----
[1] – Mainz
[2] – Cologne
[3] – Strasbourg
[4] – Trier
[5] – Possbach River
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That is partially possible I guess. The Picts were known to raid far south sometimes.Pictish domination for Britannia ofc, totally not biased about Scotland
This is great ! love your maps. I was wondering how the gauls of Gallia Belgica would react to the germanic invasion? The romans knew that the belgic gauls had closely related people on the other side of the Rhine, that's why the Romans didn't let these fierce auxliary guard the Limes of germania, so maybe Thumelicus's army could have some suport from the more rural (less romanised) part of the gallic population?
The Batavii are basically the reinforcements from Belgica. They live on both sides of the frontier.