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Septimius Severus was one of the most militarily active Roman emperors in the late period of the Pax Romana and spent a lot of money in improving the Roman military.

He went on a campaign in Scotland in 208 that seemed not to accomplish much, however. What if he had taken the troops and resources spent on that expedition and attempted to conquer Magna Germania instead?

There are a few reasons that I think this is possible. First, the Roman military in the late 100s-early 200s AD, before the start of the Crisis of the 3rd Century, were at arguably their most powerful point. Severus was a militarily minded emperor with success in battle against a wide diversity of foes. Much like Germanicus 180 years before, I believe that Severus would have no issues defeating Germanic enemies deep beyond Roman borders.

Second, over 200 years of being on a common border with Rome had allowed Germania to become the kind of province that Rome could take and bring into the empire. Unlike at the time of Augustus, there were economic and bureaucratic organizations that Roman law could attach itself to and made administering the area easier. Augustus was with Varus trying to basically lasso jello; there were no institutions that Roman law and Roman economics could attach to. Germania in 200 AD was much more economically and demographically vibrant than before. This would make conquering the province worth it for the Romans. Essentially, it had become like Gaul at the time of Caesar; an economically growing and politically fragmented sprawl of land that had long had mercantile connection with Rome.

Lastly, the political situation in Rome was stable, and would allow Severus to be able to go on this kind of campaign.

Any thoughts on this? Is there another time where Rome could have taken Germania instead you can think of?
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