It has gone down as one of the worst defeats in Roman history. Three Roman legions were lost on the battlefield, and three legionary eagles were captured as a former Roman officer betrayed the army. What happened at the Battle of Teutoburg Forest? Why don’t we know the names of the legions that were lost? Let’s take a look.
The Roman army, led by Publius Quinctilius Varus, marched into a trap and was annihilated by the Germanic tribes at Teutoburg Forest in AD 9. The Romans lost three entire legions and auxiliary units, amounting to over 15,000 men.
The backstory
Varus was appointed governor of the newly created province of Germania by Augustus in AD 7 after the future emperor, Tiberius (a general at the time), declared that the region was “pacified.” Varus had previously been governor in Africa and Judea, where he had a reputation for his cruelty and high taxes.
The Germanic tribes were led by Arminius, a Germanic chieftain of the Cherusci tribe who grew up and served in the Roman army – with distinction. He became a trusted advisor to Varus, and his Germanic background made him the perfect person to help the Romans in Germania.
The betrayal of AD 9
The plan for the Romans in AD 9 was a simple campaign further into Germania to quell the tribes that sat just on the other side of Rome’s new borders.
Arminius had begun to put his plan into action when he misled Varus by telling him that there was an uprising within the Angrivarii tribe and Varus was needed to quell the disorder. He suggested a route to Varus that would enable them to get to the Angrivarii quicker.
Segestes, the father-in-law of Arminius, even warned Varus of the plans, but he paid no attention to him. His eagerness would have disastrous consequences.
The path through the forest to the town was treacherous and narrow. The Germanic tribes were able to disguise themselves on the ridges amongst the trees, a short distance away from the tracks followed by the Romans. The narrow path meant the Roman army stretched over 9-12.5 miles (15-20 kilometers). Considering the region’s conditions and volatility, this is hardly ideal.
The Romans were ambushed by the Germanic tribes (including the Angrivarii), with a volley of arrows and spears raining down upon the armies of Varus. This was followed up with an assault by the Germanic warriors, who took maximum advantage of a thin Roman line.
By Nikater – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
The stretched lines of the Romans meant it was easy to surround parts of the army and inflict as much damage as possible. The shocked Roman troops had little time to react. They had no time to take up their typical battle formations due to the terrain and how far spread the troops were.
The tribes also attacked the Roman supplies, aimed at demoralizing the Romans and weakening them for future conflicts.
After the initial attack, the tribes disappeared into the forest almost as quickly as they appeared.
Torrential rain also made the terrain heavy and challenging to navigate. The ground became a quagmire as over 15,000 men walked the same narrow stretch of land further into the forest.
The Romans built a camp, eager to assess the damage after the first day of battle. Taking stock, the Romans decided to press ahead with a night march (what a disastrous decision!) when they encountered another trap set by Arminius. This was to be the stage of the final battle.
Arminius’ army had the advantage of height and sitting behind an earthen wall they had built before the Roman campaign started. This allowed the tribes to attack the Romans from relative safety.
The final attack began, with the Romans having no chance of escaping. They were in uncharted territory; the weather was horrendous, the terrain resembled a bog in many places, and Roman morale was dangerously low already. The tribes made short work of the legions, with barely a single person escaping. They either died or found their way into slavery.
As noted by Velleius Paterculus in his book, Roman History, Book II, CXIX, the cavalry tried to flee the battle but was cut down by the Germanic horsemen:
“Vala Numonius, lieutenant of Varus, who, in the rest of his life, had been an inoffensive and an honorable man, also set a fearful example in that he left the infantry unprotected by the cavalry and in-flight tried to reach the Rhine with his squadrons of horse. But fortune avenged his act, for he did not survive those whom he had abandoned but died in the act of deserting them.”
The aftermath
The Roman Empire suffered its heaviest defeat, with very few survivors, while some were taken into captivity. Their captors subsequently killed some of those in captivity. Varus himself committed suicide on the battlefield, knowing that he led his compatriots into oblivion.
The Romans were so stunned by this defeat that it remained in their psyche until the fall of the Empire. Suetonius noted in his book, The Life of the Caesars – The Life of Augustus, XXIII, that it affected Augustus (who was back in Rome) immensely:
“When the news of this came, he ordered that watch be kept by night throughout the city, to prevent outbreak, and prolonged the terms of the governors of the provinces, that the allies might be held to their allegiance by experienced men with whom they were acquainted. He also vowed great games to Jupiter Optimus Maximus, in case the condition of the commonwealth should improve, a thing which had been done in the Cimbric and Marsic wars. In fact, they say that he was so greatly affected that for several months in succession, he cut neither his beard nor his hair, and sometimes he would dash his head against a door, crying: “Quintilius Varus, give me back my legions!” And he observed the day of the disaster each year as one of sorrow and mourning.”
Suetonius also described in his work, The Lives of the Caesars – The Life of Tiberius, XVIII, that the future emperor Tiberius was almost reluctant to step foot in those lands a year later:
“The next year, he returned to Germany, and realizing that the disaster to Varus was due to that general’s rashness and lack of care, he took no step without the approval of a council; while he had always before been a man of independent judgment and self-reliance, then contrary to his habit he consulted with many advisers about the conduct of the campaign. He also observed more scrupulous care than usual. When on the point of crossing the Rhine, he reduced all the baggage to a prescribed limit and would not start without standing on the bank and inspecting the loads of the wagons to make sure that nothing was taken except what was allowed or necessary. Once on the other side, he adopted the following manner of life: he took his meals sitting on the bare turf, often passed the night without a tent, and gave all his orders for the following day, as well as notice of any sudden emergency, in writing; adding the injunction that if anyone was in doubt about any matter, he was to consult him personally at any hour whatsoever, even of the night.”
Killed in the Varian War (“Bello Variano”) – Public Domain
Germanicus Julius Caesar was then sent to Germania to fight the Germanic tribes. Six years after the disaster, in AD 15, the army came across the site of the disaster, described here by Tacitus in his Annals, Book I, LXI:
“There came upon the Caesar, therefore, a passionate desire to pay the last tribute to the fallen and their leader, while the whole army present with him were stirred to pity at thought of their kindred, of their friends, ay! and of the chances of battle and of the lot of mankind. Sending Caecina forward to explore the secret forest passes and to throw bridges and causeways over the flooded marshes and treacherous levels, they pursued their march over the dismal tract, hideous to sight and memory. Varus’ first camp, with its broad sweep and measured spaces for officers and eagles, advertised the labors of three legions: then a half-ruined wall and shallow ditch showed that there the now broken remnant had taken cover. In the plain between were bleaching bones, scattered or in little heaps, as the men had fallen, fleeing or standing fast. Hard by lay splintered spears and limbs of horses, while human skulls were nailed prominently on the tree trunks. In the neighboring groves stood the savage altars at which they had slaughtered the tribunes and chief centurions. Survivors of the disaster, who had escaped the battle or their chains, told how here the legates fell, there the eagles were taken, where the first wound was dealt upon Varus, and where he found death by the suicidal stroke of his own unhappy hand. They spoke of the tribunal from which Arminius made his harangue, all the gibbets and torture pits for the prisoners, and the arrogance with which he insulted the standards and eagles.”
During his three wars, he recovered two of the three legionary eagles (a source of national pride for Rome and its armies) lost during the Varian disaster. The last legionary eagle was found during the reign of emperor Claudius (younger brother of Germanicus) around 30 years later.
What is most striking about the disaster at Teutoburg is the memory (or lack thereof) of the three lost legions.
We know that the legions that were lost included the XVII, XVIII, and XIX legions, but that is all we know. Compared to Legio IX Hispana (which seemingly disappeared without a trace) and Legio XXII Deiotariana (ultimate fate still under dispute), we do not know the names of these legions. There are no historical records from ancient sources that list their names. It is almost as if mentioning their names is a bad omen that will result in the speaker of the legions’ names being struck down by the gods themselves.
It would seem that these legions were subject to a ‘damnatio memoriae’ (a modern term meaning ‘condemnation of memory’). The legions were never reformed or reinstated. Legions were generally reformed or reinstated if disbanded or suffered heavy defeats.
What makes it more incredible is that these legions had been around for some time before the Varian disaster. Augustus reformed the legions soon after becoming emperor. This means there would have been records of the legions going back decades that had to be erased.
All administrative documents look to have been destroyed. Every inscription would have to be destroyed, and even the private funerary inscriptions commissioned by the families of the fallen would have to have been demolished. Writers would have been forbidden from writing about the three legions. We’re not just talking about the city of Rome; we are talking empire-wide.
We know that the passage of time has not been helpful to the preservation of documents and inscriptions. Still, we also know how much the Romans liked keeping records of everything (which is why so much information is still around today).
The fact that no record of these legions has been found (as yet!) is striking. Did Augustus wield that much power that he managed to get every public record and inscription erased? Were they condemned because of the shame that the shattering defeat brought to the glory of the Empire? Were they denounced as the Romans thought the legions were cursed?
It could also be said that Augustus saw this as such a black mark during his reign that all traces of that black mark had to be erased.
The fact that historians writing after the time of Augustus have no record of the names of these legions is extraordinary as well. This also indicates that historians likely only spoke with a small group of sources for their own work. Out of thousands of literate citizens who were educated and wrote things down, no sources after the event knew the names of these legions. Quite remarkable.
Many questions still need to be answered. The hope is that historians and archeologists one day will discover the identity of these legions so they can be included in the story that is Rome.
Sources:
Suetonius The life of the Caesars – Augustus – Bill Thayer – https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Augustus*.html
Suetonius The life of the Caesars: Tiberius – Bill Thayer – https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Tiberius*.html
Tacitus Annals – Bill Thayer – https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Tacitus/Annals/1D*.html
Valleius Paterculus Roman History – Bill Thayer – https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Velleius_Paterculus/2D*.html
Featured Image – Public Domain