Why didn't the Roman Empire boast of the Rhine and Danube and expand its territory to northern Europe?

From the 3rd century BC to the 30th century BC, the Roman Empire experienced numerous wars, surrendered to Italy, Spain, North Africa, the Greek Peninsula, Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt, and finally established a weak empire around the Mediterranean. Then, from about 50 BC to 50 AD, the Roman Empire captured Gaul again, ending the expansion process of the empire in front of two rivers on the European continent: the Rhine River and the Danube River. During the rule of the Roman Empire for hundreds of years, the Rhine and Danube, as the northern territory of the Roman Empire, did not change much at all.

Roman Empire

Many history lovers are puzzled: Why didn't the Roman Empire cross the Rhine and Danube and expand its territory to northern Europe? In fact, the Romans did not test beyond this limit.

Outside the southern territory of the Roman Empire, there was a Germanic settlement, which was called "Germania" by the Romans. The Germans lived by nomadic and hunting. Germanic men are violent. They don't work at all at ordinary times and drink all day to relieve boredom. But once the war is happening, they wake up immediately, ready to act, rubbing their hands, as if the bugle is the most beautiful music in the world. The weakest empire on the European continent, with such a brave and ruthless nation beside the sofa, is the biggest unstable factor. The rulers of the Roman Empire knew this very well. From 12 BC to 6 BC, the Romans crossed the Rhine River and handed over the vast area from the Rhine River to the Elbe River, establishing the Germanic provinces of the Roman Empire. The peaceful situation at the beginning of the Hollywood blockbuster Gladiator is based on the surrender of the Roman Empire to the Germans.

Gladiator's decisive battle

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Although the Romans subdued the Germans by force, the rampaging Germans did not really want to be obedient subjects at the feet of foreigners. They have been looking for opportunities to get rid of the rule of the Roman Empire and regain their independence and freedom.

In AD 6, the Roman emperor Augustus appointed Publi Uus Quinquerius Valus as the governor of Germania province. Walus is the nephew of Augustus, who was the former governor of Syria. Valus is a typical product of Rome's dirty society: he is well-read and knowledgeable, and likes to argue philosophical troubles and deal with legal disputes. Sent to Germany this time, Varus was ordered to introduce Roman law and taxation in other places.

During his rule in Syria, Varus was known for his harshness and greed. When he arrived in Germania, he relapsed, relying on his powerful status and impressive record, he ran amok in other places, sharing levy and extortion everywhere, and robbing cloth. There is a saying that fish begins to stink at the head and Varus's men tried their best to follow their commander-in-chief, and the military discipline was rapidly relaxed, and the Germanic provinces were full of people's resentment. Therefore, it is no accident that the Varus Rules caused fierce confrontation among Germans.

Varus, on the other hand, accepted various stubborn methods to severely resist the Germans who dared to fight.

Valus's harshness did his future opponent a big favor. Now, not only Varus, but even all the imperial capitals of Rome never thought that Rome's weakest enemy in Germania came from outside Rome. He is Arminius, praised as a national hero by later Germans, and called him "Herman".

Arminius

Arminius was born in BC 18 or BC 17 years ago, and his father Sergio Miros was a Germanic Cherusi tribe aristocrat. At about the age of 10, Arminius was taken hostage and sent to Rome, where he received a fragmentary education. When I grew up, I joined the Roman auxiliary team as a barbarian and fought around with the Roman army, winning many battles. In 7 AD, Arminius followed Tiberius, the second son of the Roman Empire, to quell the chaos in Bosnia today. Because of his bravery on the battlefield, he was granted Roman citizenship. Tiberius even made a wish to make him a knight in the future, which is the highest prestige that barbarian officers can get. However, did Tiberius ever think that this barbarian officer he valued would become the weakest friend of the Roman Empire in the future?

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Neither the property of the Roman Empire nor the geographical location can firmly determine Arminius' decision. He is a Germanic, and the self-reliance and freedom of the Germanic nation are the ultimate goals of others' lives. According to the actual needs, Arminius is a person who seeks to realize his own needs. To him, property and position are nothing!

In the autumn of 8 AD, Arminius returned to Germania. At this time, it happened that Varus's rule in other places was unpopular. Arminius immediately realized that it was now or never. He took the initiative to run around, contacted Germanic tribes around, and began to plan a big counterattack against the Romans.

Time will come soon.

In the spring of 9th AD, Varus led three of his five most elite legions: 17, 18 and 19, and set out from Castela Fetra camp at the mouth of Lipo River and marched eastward beyond the Rhine River. This is the usual trick of the governor of Germania province to show the imperial military strength to the Germans who just surrendered. As an auxiliary team, Arminius also led the soldiers in Cherusi. In May, the Roman soldier arrived at the summer camp on the banks of the Weiss River without any weak resistance. Perhaps because of the unusually hot climate, Varus chose to stay here for the summer instead of looking east at the Elbe River. In August, when the temperature turned cold, Valus led Xiong's camp and set up a village. The plan is to go to Libo estuary for the winter. During the period of accompanying Roman legions to war, Arminius took advantage of his knowledge of Latin, and often went in and out of China's army tent, reported to the officers for instructions and commented on the foreign situation. Slowly, Arminius became Varus's favorite and won Varus's trust.

Roman legion

At the beginning of September, Varus successfully arrived in the hilly area of Teutonburg. It was here that Arminius gained the trust of Varus and led this weak Roman legion to the point of no return.

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The hilly area of Teutonburg is northern Germany, and Mount Wien surrounds the coastal plain. In the north of Mount Wayne, there is an area about 6 kilometers long and 4.5 kilometers wide, which is called "Calker Rize-Nivid Lowland". To the south of the lowland is the Lize Iceberg in Calker at an altitude of 100 meters, where the trees are very flourishing in modern times. The northern foot of the iceberg is a long and narrow sand, and the narrowest place can only accommodate four groups passing side by side. In the northern part of the lowlands, there is a peat swamp, which neither people nor horses can pass.

Teutonburg

Arminius pretended to attach importance to Rome's advantages and sent foreign guides to lead the Roman legion into this narrow strip, marching from east to west. The deployment of the Roman army is as follows: behind it are three heavy horse teams, each with about 300 people; After that, there are six light teams, each with about 500 people; Then dozens of trumpeters and hundreds of archers; In the future, a phalanx will have three legions of heavy-footed soldiers, each with 6000 people; The headquarters of these three legions, riding tall and big, is the aggressive governor Varus himself, surrounded by his headquarters consultants and guards, with about 2,000 people; Protected by the two wings of the legion are some German, Thrace and African light horse teams, with about 3,000 people; Behind the temple are family members, logistics personnel, doctors, chefs, servants and so on. The total number of the three armed forces exceeded 30,000, and the number of combatants was about 25,000, which was equivalent to one tenth of the total strength of the Roman Empire at that time. Such a weak army is enough to run amok anywhere on the European continent. So Valus followed the tour guide boldly into the trap set by Arminius without any doubt.

At this time, Arminius had told the Germanic people to lurk in the jungles and hills around the Roman legion, quietly waiting for their prey to fall into the trap.

Arminius, who has studied in the enemy country for many years, has figured out the advantages and disadvantages of both sides. Wearing solid armor and carrying heavy shields, the Roman army marched in a dense phalanx in the battle, moving slowly to attack the weak and demanding a broader battlefield. The Germanic army had no armor and its shields were small and light. It is not used to any formation in battle, so it doesn't need an open battlefield. It likes to fight alone, and it moves quickly, stronger than attack and weaker than defense. So as far as the Germans are concerned, it is the stupidest tactic to fight the Roman legion on a wide flat ground, and the best solution is to ambush them in a narrow jungle. Huge Roman shields are easily caught by bushes in dense forests, and spears and bows and arrows are useless in melee. Their heavy armor made them sitting ducks for the German javelin.

Savage javelin array

The Roman legion still didn't notice and moved on. With the extension of the road from time to time, the bushes on both sides of the road are getting denser and denser, there are more and more hills, and the road is getting narrower and narrower. At this time, the weather was not good, and suddenly it thundered and it rained cats and dogs. The road is full of rain, which makes it muddy and more difficult to pass.

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Understand!

Truth from fairy tales: Cowherd falls in love with Weaver Girl and only meets once a year. Yong Dong fell in love with seven fairies. As a result, all seven fairies were put in prison. Xu Xian fell in love with the White Snake, and as a result, the White Snake was imprisoned in the Leifeng Tower. What does this mean? ? Pan Xiongtuan? What happened? Retract the latch? Hey? Hey? Braised locusts in Cai. . ? /p & gt；