Augustus made his rather fa-mous outcry: “Quintilius Varus! Give me my legions back”.
At that point and place, the Roman Empire lost 3 legions, amounting to an equivalent of 18000 to 20000 soldiers.
It was this particular battle, spearheaded by the Germanic tribe of the Cherusci under the leadership of their com-mander, named Arminius, which halted the spread of the Roman Empire, thus marking the turning of the tide of
Rome’s struggle with the Germanic tribes. The defeat took place in a 360-foot-hill area where the “Teutoburger Wald” slopes down into the North-German plain.
Here is proof of a pivotal event in Central-European history, where 3 Roman crack units were annihilated.
“Nothing was more bloody than this defeat in those swamps and woods, nothing as unbearable as the insolence of those Barbarians”, Florus, a Roman reporter, wrote.
This battle took place in close proximity to Osnabrück at “Kalkriese”, within sounding distance of the living quarters of our ancestors. (fig.: #7)
Where the Romans Lost against Arminius
Although many historians have speculated for several hundred years about the actual site, this uncertainty has now been put to rest. Quite a few Roman writers gave different accounts and no specific details about this event. Other neutral information or descriptions from Germanic parties were not existent. However, we now have proof of the historical site.
Many artefacts were found and have been put on display, while the excavation activities are still going on.
(fig.: #8)
Yoke fittings (bronze )
- pendent of horse harness
- Part of snaffle
- strap items ( bronze )
Most of the work is currently being coordinated by the University of Osnabrück.
All in all, the old homestead is in a territory rich in culture and full of historical events.
A few years would pass before Germanicus ordered around 14-16 AD another Roman army to the former battle field. He ordered 6 legions (twice the size of the Varus force) into the area to restore Roman military honour, to pursue the Germanic tribes still under the leadership of Arminius, and to bury the human remains of the earlier battle.
However, the whole campaign did not give him the upper hand over his enemies.
Germanicus was no match for the agile tactics of his opponent Arminius in any of the numerous skirmishes.
After several bloody clashes, he decided to withdraw to the Rhine-Valley.
Towards the end of 16 AD, the new Emperor Tiberius recalled Germanicus. The fortifications of the “Limes” along the Rhine-Valley were to be the northern points of Roman military activities.
This all resulted in abdicating the plans of the Empire to conquer German territory, and instead created a milita-rized buffer zone, the “Limes”, between the Germanic and Latin cultures that lasted for about 2000 years. (fig.:#9)
The tremendous burden on the Treasury and the bloodshed on the northern frontier had been too much for the Empire.
The defeat was so catastrophic that it threatened the survival of Rome itself, halted the Empire’s conquest of Germany and set the course of history for Central Europe.
Just imagine the alternative: If the Romans had won, the Anglo-Saxons, being subdued, would have learned Latin and might not have gone to England a few hundred years later??
And imagine even further that descendents of those Anglo-Saxons turned up in 1607 AD in Jamestown to lay down the foundations for man’s most modern civilization.
The Campaign of the Roman Leader Germanicus against Germanic Tribes
14 A.D. until 16. A.D. – and the Roman Limes
(fig.: #9)
The Saxons in Westphalia
It is historically proven, that a little later the Germanic tribe of the Saxons settled in our area, covering all the territory of Westphalia, Engern and Holland.
Europe during the Migration of Nations ( around 500A.D.)
(fig.:#10)
The line of Saxonian noblemen goes back to Arminius, and the most important ones thereafter came from the house of Engern. This clan with Count Bodo ruled over all the Saxons. His son Wichten, and in turn, his son Wichtigis also became dukes of the Saxons.
Around 450 A.D. Count Hengist from the same dynasty together with Prince Horsa founded a Saxonian king-dom in England and called themselves kings. At that time the English county of Herfordia got her name from a borough of Herford not far from Enger. Count Hengist is also the reason for many English lord-titles, like Elting, Lindhorst, Bathorst, Herbert and others, all going back to actual Westphalian farm places.
These same two Saxonian noblemen from Westphalia, Hengist and Horsa, should come up again 1315 years later during the preliminary discussions on the American Constitution:
A group of the Founding Fathers (Adams, Franklin, Jefferson) had a concept for the official Seal of the United States: Showing reference to the Common Law of the Anglo-Saxons on one side, represented by the Saxonian noblemen Hengist and Horsa, and on the other side, the idea of God’s Law of ancient Israel.
The original concept proposal, however, was never realized.
Several attempts have been made over time to figure out what this proposal could have looked like. One such an idea as shown in the National Center for Constitutional Studies is shown in a sketch on the following page.
After the collapse of the Roman Empire, and after Constantin III, the Roman military commander in England, withdrew his legions, England got visitors from the continent. Three Germanic tribes, the Saxons, the Jutes, and the Angles stormed part of the island. The original Celtic people didn’t have a chance. Battle after battle was lost; till only poetic revenge was left (legend of King Artus).
Around 600 AD, there were seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England. One of those kingdoms was in Essex un-der the rule of King Sebert, the centre of the Saxons around London.
Most recent excavations in Essex (= East-Saxons) near Sutton-Hoo as well as in Cumwhitton near Carlisle provi-ded proof of early Germanic graves of that period. The findings in Sutton-Hoo could relate to King Sebert, who died 616 A.D., after he had converted to Christianity in 604 AD. This “royal tomb” of Sutton Hoo shows a typical set-up of the old pagan belief of the Saxons even when the corpse carried some Christians symbols.
Helmet from the Sutton Hoo ship-burial 1, England.
British Museum [CC BY-SA 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)]
Hengist’s son Hadugast, his successor, remained in Saxony and his son Hulderich (also known under the name of Childerich), born 584 AD, fought and protected for the first time the Saxonian territories