(marked in yellow), from 7 BC to AD 9 During the
Gallic Wars of the 1st century BC, the Roman general
Julius Caesar came into contact with peoples originating east of the Rhine. In his
Commentarii de Bello Gallico, Caesar refers to these peoples as the Germani, and the lands from where they originated as Germania. The Romans appear to have borrowed the name from the
Gauls. Having defeated the Germanic chieftain
Ariovistus in
Gaul, Caesar built
bridges across the Rhine and conducted punitive expeditions in Germania. He writes the area was composed of numerous Germanic states, which were not entirely united. According to Caesar, the Gallic
Volcae Tectosages had once crossed the Rhine and colonized parts of Germania, but had since become militarily inferior to the Germani. He also writes that Germani had once crossed the Rhine into northeast Gaul and driven away its Gallic inhabitants, and that the
Belgae claimed to be largely descended from these Germanic invaders. In the late 1st century BC, the Roman emperor
Augustus launched
campaigns across the Rhine, and incorporated areas of Germania as far east as the
Elbe into the
Roman Empire, creating the short-lived Roman province of
Germania Antiqua in 7 BC, with further aims of establishing a greater province of Magna Germania, with headquarters at
Colonia (modern-day
Cologne). The Roman campaign was severely hampered by the victory of
Arminius at the
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9. The outcome of this battle dissuaded the Romans from their ambition of conquering Germania, and is thus considered one of the most important events in
European history. The Rhine eventually became the border between the Roman Empire and Magna Germania. Areas of northeast
Gaul bordering the Rhine remained under Roman control, and are often referred to as "Roman Germania". Four
Roman legions were stationed there, and a Roman fleet, the
Classis Germanica, was also established. The area was effectively governed as
Roman provinces. Areas of Germania independent of Roman control were referred to as "Magna Germania". Modern scholars sometimes refer to the Magna Germania as "Free Germania" (Latin:
Germania Libera) or Germanic
Barbaricum. As parts of Roman
social engineering efforts, large numbers of Germani, including
Ubii and
Sicambri, were settled within Roman Germania in order to prevent revolts by resident Gauls. Roman Germania became characterized by a mixed Celtic, Germanic and Roman population, which became progressively
Romanized. By the mid 1st century AD, between eight and ten Roman legions were stationed in Roman Germania to protect the frontiers. From AD 69 to AD 70, Roman Germania was heavily affected by the
Revolt of the Batavi. Tacitus writes that the leader of the revolt,
Gaius Julius Civilis, recruited a vast amount of warriors from his self-described "kinsmen" all over Germania, and hailed Arminius for having liberated Germania from slavery. Civilis' rebels seized Colonia (modern-day
Cologne), capital of Roman Germania and home of the Germanic Ubii, who according to Tacitus were considered traitors by other Germani for having "forsworn its native country". Although initially declaring the rebels and "other Germans" their "kinsmen by blood", the Ubii, a Germanic Tribe eventually assisted the Romans in recapturing the Colonia. and Magna Germania in the early 2nd century AD In the late 1st century AD, under the leadership of the
Flavian dynasty, the provinces of Germania Inferior (headquartered at Colonia) and Germania Superior (headquartered at
Mogontiacum) were created out of Roman Germania and other eastern parts of
Roman Gaul. They hosted a large military force and carried out lucrative trade with Magna Germania, which greatly contributed to the wealth of Roman Gaul.
Germania (98 AD) by Tacitus provided vivid descriptions of the peoples of Magna Germania. In the late 1st and early 2nd century AD, the Romans reoccupied areas lying between the Rhine, Main, and Danube rivers. This area became known as the
Agri Decumates. Additional numbers of Germani were settled by the Romans within this area. The Roman fortifications on the border with Magna Germania were known as the
Limes Germanicus. The 3rd century AD saw the emergence of several powerful Germanic confederations in Magna Germania, such as the
Alemanni and
Franks. The
Crisis of the Third Century included raids on Roman Germania by Alemanni and Franks, and the area briefly became part of the
Gallic Empire established by the usurper
Postumus. Around 280 AD, the Agri Decumates were evacuated by the Romans and occupied by Alemanni. Under
Diocletian (3rd century AD), Germania Superior was renamed
Germania Secunda, while Germania Inferior was renamed
Maxima Sequanorum. Both provinces were under the
Diocese of Gaul. The provinces of Roman Germania continued to be subjected to repeated Alemannic and Frankish attacks. In the late 4th century AD and early 5th century AD,
Gothic Wars in the
Balkans forced the Romans to withdraw troops from Roman Germania. In 406, a large number of people fleeing the
Huns crossed the Rhine from Magna Germania into Roman Germania and Gaul, leading to the eventual collapse of Roman rule there, and the emigration of large numbers of Romans, particularly Roman elites. Roman Germania was subsequently occupied by Alemanni and Franks. During subsequent centuries, peoples of Germania played a major role in dismembering what was left of the
Western Roman Empire. Large parts of Germania, including all of Roman Germania, were eventually incorporated into the
Frankish Empire. of
Germania, the personification of
Germany and the
Germans, by
Philipp Veit, 1836 ==Archaeology==