Rhine River
Because I am fascinated and enamored with the Empire/culture of Ancient Rome, this last GO DEUTSCHLAND FUTBOL article will focus on the presence of the Romans in Germany (then called "Germania"). Before the Romans stamped their imperial mark on the outlying province, Germania and the surrounding areas were inhabited by disparate tribes such as the Alemanni, Chatti, Franks, Marcomanni, and Quadi. It is interesting to note that “Germany” in Spanish is actually “Alemania.” The Rhine River flows through modern day Germany and turns into the Rhone River in France (which was called “Gaul” by the Romans). The Rhine (“Rhenus” in Latin) was considered a South-to-North boundary of the Western Roman Empire. The other Rivers that were demarcated as borders for the Empire were the Danube and Elbe.
The first Roman general who saw/attempted to cross the Rhine (Rhenus) River was the power-hungry and ruthless Julius Caesar. He viewed the rushing waters in 58 BCE as he was campaigning in Gaul during the arduous Gallic Wars (remember the Battle of Alesia and the plight of Vercingetorix?). Attempting to conquer the wild and unruly barbarians on the other side of the water, Caesar and his amazing engineers built two bridges that spanned the length of the Rhine. Built in 55 and 53 BCE respectively, the two pontes (Latin for “bridges”) were constructed out of wooden beams and large pilings. The Romans had grand, albeit unrealistic dreams of conquering all of Germania and establishing a stringent and productive society there. Alas, those wishes never came into fruition because of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 BCE.
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| Looking in on the Rhine |
Buildings along the Rhine
From 11-9 BCE, Augustus, the first Emperor of the Roman Empire, wanted to conquer Germania and annex it as a stable province that would pay taxes to Rome. However, in 9 BCE, a series of betrayals and gullible leaders led to the eventual destruction of three legions (army units) of Rome. Two generals, Varus (a native Roman) and Arminius (an ethnic German) were commanding legions residing in the Germanic area. Wanting to unite the strong, but dissimilar tribes and revolt against the might of Rome, Arminius betrayed Varus and led the Romans to their death. Luring the men into a narrow, indefensible pass, Arminius and the rest of his German cronies attacked the unprepared legions (numbers 17, 18, and 19) in September. At the end of the slaughter, 20,000 men, attendants, and generals died, quashing forever the Roman dreams of conquering Germania. The Romans did influence parts of Southern Germany, but the border and ensuing fortifications were established well before Northern Germany started. Later walls and defensive posts were also built by Caligula (the diabolical son of Germanicus) and Claudius (the man who invaded Britannia). Along with Germania Inferior (upper Germany) and Germania Superior (lower Germany), the Romans were unable to conquer the wild Caledonian tribes of modern day Scotland (remember Hadrian’s Wall?). I would also like to discuss the unraveling of the Western Roman Empire itself. In 451 CE, Attila the Hun invaded Gaul and sacked the once-illustrious cities of Mainz, Trier (the oldest town in modern Germany), and Orleans. This signaled the decay of the Empire and its trans-continental trading activity with the rest of the Empire.
Bust of Julius Caesar
Wikipedia
The lower Rhine River as well as the Rhone in France (Gaul) were used for commercial trading. Many barges traversed the dark waters, transporting handmade and military goods across the expansive Empire. The main ports of the Rhine were Mainz and Cologne, while Arles in Gaul was a business hub of the Western Empire. Because it had access to the Mediterranean Sea (the trading lifeline of the Empire), Arles developed into a sophisticated town and even had an Amphitheatre, Circus, Forum, and baths. In a recent edition of National Geographic (April 2014), an article was written about a series of Roman ruins that had been found on the Rhone in Arles. The main exciting find was a 102 foot long barge that was used to carry commercial goods! As well as busts of Julius Caesar, statues of Neptune, and small coins with portraits of Emperors, large underwater fields of amphorae (large containers that often held wine or olive oil) covered in slimy algae were also discovered. Again, this points to the fact that the Romans were advanced, sophisticated, and business-savvy.
Boats on the Rhine
THANK-YOU TO LINDA J. FOR THE AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHS!
Sources:
http://lostfort.blogspot.com/2010/07/ships-on-rhine-roman-style.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar's_Rhine_bridges
http://www.livius.org/place/rhenus-rhine/
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