Tuesday, October 20, 2009

2000th Anniversary of Teutoberg Battle


In 9 AD, my ancestors kicked some Roman butt, allowing them to avoid civilization for a couple more centuries. After all, what have the Romans ever done for us? The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (called the Varian disaster by Roman historians) took place in A.D. 9 when an alliance of Germanic tribes led by Hermann the German defeated three Roman legions led by Publius Quinctilius Varus. There's a Hermann the German statue here in Minnesota.

There's a really cool video on the battle here, part of the History Channel's most awesome Decisive Battles series.

4 comments:

Noah Smith said...

I can't believe a guy named "Hermann the German" was allowed to lead armies without being laughed off the stage.

It must have been a singularly unhumorous period in human history.

Anonymous said...

Quinctilius Varus....give me back my legions!!

Holger said...

those were the days ;-)

J said...

According to the video, what they wanted to avoid was not civilization, but taxes.

In the end, die Steuerbehörde got them.