View source for Arminius

{{Short description|Germanic Cherusci chieftain (18/17 BC – AD 21)}}
{{About|the Germanic chieftain|other uses|Arminius (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|Arimanius|Armenius}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Arminius
| succession   = Prince and Chieftain of the Cherusci tribe
| image        = Hermannsdenkmal statue.jpg
| caption      = Statue of Arminius at the [[Hermannsdenkmal]] monument
| reign        = 
| coronation   = 
| full name    = Arminius<br><small>(His original Germanic name is unknown although it is thought “Arminius” could be a [[Latinisation of names|Romanization]] of “Erminaz”; modern German variants of “Arminius”, e.g. ''Hermann'' and ''Armin'', are [[back-formation]]s.<ref name="SchulzeNamen"/>)</small>
| native_lang1 = 
| native_lang1_name1 = unknown (Modern German Armin and Hermann are [[back-formation]]s)
| birth_date   = 18/17 BC
| birth_place  = [[Germania]]
| death_date   = AD 21 (aged 37–38)
| death_place  = [[Germania]]
| burial_date  = 
| burial_place = <!-- <br/> {{coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} -->
| predecessor  = [[Segimer]]
| successor    = [[Italicus (chieftain)|Italicus]]
| spouse       = [[Thusnelda]]
| issue        = [[Thumelicus]]
| royal house  = 
| dynasty      = 
| father       = [[Segimer]]
| mother       = 
| religion     = [[Germanic Paganism]]
| occupation   = [[Chieftain]], [[auxilia]] officer
| signature    = 
}}

'''Arminius''' ({{IPAc-en|ɑr|ˈ|m|ɪ|n|i|ə|s}}; 18/17 BC–AD 21; '''Hermann''' in German) was a chieftain of the [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] [[Cherusci]] tribe who is best known for commanding an alliance of Germanic tribes at the [[Battle of the Teutoburg Forest]] in AD 9, in which three [[Roman legion]]s under the command of general and governor [[Publius Quinctilius Varus]] were destroyed. His victory at Teutoburg Forest precipitated the [[Roman Empire]]'s permanent strategic withdrawal and the deprovincialization of [[Germania Magna]],<ref>{{cite book|author=Dr. Aaron Ralby|title=Atlas of Military History|url=https://archive.org/details/atlasofworldmili0000ralb|url-access=registration|year=2013|publisher=Parragon|isbn=978-1-4723-0963-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/atlasofworldmili0000ralb/page/241 241]|chapter=The Roman Legion: Refining Military Organization}}</ref> and modern historians regard it as one of Imperial Rome's greatest defeats.<ref name="Murdoch">{{harvnb|Murdoch|2012|p=}}</ref> As it prevented the [[Romanization (cultural)|Romanization]] of Germanic peoples east of the [[Rhine]], it has also been considered one of the most decisive battles in history<ref name="Tucker">{{harvnb|Tucker|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=wHpVn68GCogC&pg=PA75 75]}}</ref><ref name="Cawthorne">{{harvnb|Cawthorne|2012|p=}}</ref><ref name="Davis">{{harvnb|Davis|1999|p=[https://books.google.com/books?hl=no&id=nv73QlQs9ocC&pg=PA68 68]}}</ref><ref name="Creasy">{{harvnb|Creasy|2007|p=104}}</ref> and a turning point in [[human history]].<ref name="Spectator">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-the-eagles-were-tamed/ |title=How the eagles were tamed |date=27 March 2004 |magazine=[[The Spectator]] |access-date=25 April 2021 |quote=[[Theodor Mommsen|Mommsen]] referred to the Battle of the Teutoburg forest as a turning-point in world history.}}</ref>

Born a prince of the Cherusci tribe, Arminius was part of the Roman-friendly faction of the tribe. He learned Latin and served in the Roman military, which gained him [[Roman citizenship]], and the rank of [[Equites|''eques'']]. After serving with distinction in the [[Bellum Batonianum|Great Illyrian Revolt]], he was sent to Germania to aid the local governor [[Publius Quinctilius Varus]] in completing the Roman conquest of the Germanic tribes. While in this capacity, Arminius secretly plotted a Germanic revolt against Roman rule, which culminated in the ambush and destruction of three Roman legions in the Teutoburg Forest.

In the aftermath of the battle, Arminius fought retaliatory invasions by the Roman general [[Germanicus]] in the battles of [[Battle at Pontes Longi|Pontes Longi]], [[Battle of Idistaviso|Idistaviso]], and the [[Battle of the Angrivarian Wall|Angrivarian Wall]], and defeated a rival, the [[Marcomanni]] king [[Maroboduus]]. Arminius sought to become a king and was [[Assassination|assassinated]] in 21. He was remembered in [[Saga|Germanic legends]] for generations afterwards.<ref name="Annals.02.88"/> The Roman historian [[Tacitus]] designated Arminius as the liberator of the Germanic tribes and commended him for having fought the Roman Empire to a standstill at the peak of its power.<ref name="Annals.02.88">[[Tacitus]]. [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 2#63|The Annals.2.88]]. "Assuredly he was the deliverer of Germany, one too who had defied Rome, not in her early rise, as other kings and generals, but in the height of her empire's glory, had fought, indeed, indecisive battles, yet in war remained unconquered. He completed thirty-seven years of life, twelve years of power, and he is still a theme of song among barbarous nations, though to Greek historians, who admire only their own achievements, he is unknown, and to Romans not as famous as he should be, while we extol the past and are indifferent to our own times."</ref>

During the [[unification of Germany]] in the 19th century, Arminius was hailed by [[German nationalism|German nationalists]] as a symbol of German unity and freedom.<ref name="Spiegel">{{cite web |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/battle-of-the-teutoburg-forest-germany-recalls-myth-that-created-the-nation-a-644913.html |title= Battle of the Teutoburg Forest: Germany Recalls Myth That Created the Nation |last1=Crossland |first1=David |date=28 August 2009 |website=[[Spiegel Online|Spiegel Online International]] |publisher=[[Der Spiegel]] |access-date=16 January 2015}}</ref> Following [[World War II]], however, Arminius' significance diminished in Germany due to the rise of [[anti-militarism]], [[pacifism]], and [[anti-nationalism]]; the 2,000th anniversary of his victory at the Teutoburg Forest was only lightly commemorated in Germany.<ref name="Spiegel"/>

==Name==
The [[etymology]] of the [[Latin language|Latin]] [[Latin given name|name]] {{lang|la|Arminius}} is unknown, and confusion is further created by recent scholars who alternately referred to him as {{lang|la|Armenus}}.<ref name="MurdochEtymology">{{cite book |last1=Murdoch |first1=Adrian |title=Rome's Greatest Defeat: Massacre in the Teutoburg Forest |date=2009 |publisher=The History Press |isbn=978-0750940160 |page=84}}</ref> In his ''History'', [[Marcus Velleius Paterculus]] calls him "Arminius, the son of Sigimer, a prince of the nation" and states he "attained the dignity of [[Equites|equestrian rank]]".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Velleius_Paterculus/2D*.html |title=The Roman History |author=C. Velleius Paterculus |publisher=Loeb Classical Library |date=1924 |page=118}}</ref> Due to [[Roman naming conventions#Foreign names|Roman naming conventions]] of the time, it is likely {{lang|la|Arminius}} is an adopted name granted to him upon citizenship or, in any case, not his [[Germanic names|Germanic name]]. The name instead appears to ultimately be of Etruscan origin, appearing as {{lang|ett|armne}} and {{lang|ett|armni}} on inscriptions found at [[Volaterrae]].<ref name="SchulzeNamen">{{cite book |last1=Schulze |first1=Wilhelm |title=Zur Geschichte lateinischer Eigennamen |date=1904 |publisher=Weidmann |page=127}}</ref>

According to another theory, that name was given to Arminius for his service in [[Armenia]].<ref name="MurdochEtymology"/> Scholars note that the name ''Arme(i)nius'' (meaning literally "from Armenia") was not uncommon in Latin onomastics and could serve as both a [[cognomen]] and a [[Nomen gentilicium|nomen]]. It appears in several contexts of the Roman West without proven links to Armenia, and may overlap with or represent a variant of ''Arminius'', the cognomen of the Cheruscan chieftain.<ref name="AlpiVitelli">{{cite journal |last1=Alpi |first1=Federico |last2=Vitelli Casella |first2=Mattia |title=Armena natione: Investigating Traces of Armenian Presence in Ancient and Late-Antiquity Adriatic |journal=Wiener Beiträge zur Alten Geschichte online (WBAGon) |volume=2 |year=2020 |editor-last=Beutler |editor-first=F. |editor2-last=Riegler |editor2-first=N. F. |pages=1–19 |doi=10.25365/wbagon-2020-2-1}}</ref> A senatorial family bore the nomen, the most notable member being the consul of 244, [[Tiberius Pollienus Armenius Peregrinus|Ti. Pollenius Armenius Peregrinus]]. Modern scholarship, however, regards this as Italic, possibly Etruscan, rather than Armenian in origin.<ref name="AlpiVitelli"/> Thus, bearers of the name cannot automatically be connected with Armenian provenance.

The [[German language|German]] translation of {{lang|la|Arminius}} as the [[Germanic names|name]] ''Hermann'' dates from the 16th century, possibly first by [[Martin Luther]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Arminius into Hermann: History into Legend|author=Herbert W. Benario|journal=Greece and Rome|volume=51|issue=1|date=April 2004|pages=83–94|doi=10.1093/gr/51.1.83}}</ref> In German, Arminius was traditionally distinguished as {{lang|de|Hermann der Cherusker}} ("Hermann the Cheruscan") or {{lang|de|Hermann der Cheruskerfürst}} ("Hermann the Cheruscan Prince"). Hermann etymologically means "Man of War", coming from the [[Old High German]] {{lang|goh|heri}} meaning "war" and {{lang|goh|man}} meaning "man".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Förstemann|first1=Ernst Wilhelm|title=Altdeutsches Namenbuch|orig-date=1900|publisher=Nabu Press|isbn=9781270714996|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vorname.com/name,Hermann.html|title=▷ Vorname Hermann: Herkunft, Bedeutung & Namenstag|website=vorname.com|language=de|access-date=19 April 2020}}</ref> This has also led to his English nickname "Herman the German".

==Early life and Roman military service==
[[File:Stammbaum ADBSegest.jpg|right|400px|thumb|Relatives of Arminius]]
Born in 18 or 17 BC in [[Germania]], Arminius was the son of the Cheruscan chief [[Segimerus]] (German: ''Segimer''; Proto-Germanic: ''Sigimariz''; Old English: ''Sigemær''),<ref name=eb/> who was allied with Rome.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

Arminius learned to speak [[Latin]] and joined the Roman military with his younger brother [[Flavus (son of Segimerus)|Flavus]]. He served in the [[Roman army]] between AD 1 and 6, and received a military education as well as [[Roman citizenship]] and the status of [[equite]] before returning to Germania.<ref name=eb>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Arminius|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite]]|year=2014|publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.|Encyclopædia Britannica]]|location=Chicago}}</ref><ref name="Durschmied">{{harvnb|Durschmied|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ESY980GKv3cC&pg=PA1759  1759]}}</ref> These experiences gave him knowledge of Roman politics and military tactics, which allowed him to successfully anticipate enemy battle maneuvers during his later campaigns against the Roman army.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

==Return to Germania==
[[File:Magna Germania before the battle of the Teutoburg Forest.png|300px|thumb|Magna Germania in AD 9. The yellow legend represents the areas controlled by the [[Roman Republic]] in 31 BC, the shades of green represent gradually conquered territories under the reign of [[Augustus]], and pink areas on the map represent tributary tribes.]]
Around the year AD 4, Arminius assumed command of a Cheruscan detachment of Roman auxiliary forces, probably while fighting in the [[Pannonians|Pannonian]] wars on the [[Balkan peninsula]]. He returned to northern Germania in AD 7 or 8, where the Roman Empire had established secure control of the territories just east of the [[Rhine]], along the [[Lippe (river)|Lippe]] and [[Main (river)|Main]] rivers, and was now seeking to extend its hegemony eastward to the [[Weser]] and [[Elbe]] rivers, under [[Publius Quinctilius Varus]], a high-ranking administrative official appointed by [[Augustus]] as governor. Arminius began plotting to unite various Germanic tribes in order to thwart Roman efforts to incorporate their lands into the empire. This proved a difficult task, as the tribes were strongly independent and many were traditionally enemies of each other.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

Between AD 6 and 9, the Romans were forced to move eight legions, of the eleven present in Germania east of the Rhine, to crush [[Bellum Batonianum|a rebellion]] in the [[Balkans]],<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.livius.org/le-lh/legio/v_alaudae.html | date = September 2010 | title = Legio V Alaudae | publisher = www.livius.org | access-date = 26 March 2020 | archive-date = 26 April 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150426044251/https://www.livius.org/le-lh/legio/v_alaudae.html | url-status = dead }}</ref> leaving Varus with only three legions to face the Germans. This was still 18,000 troops, or 6,000 men per legion. An additional two legions, under the command of [[Lucius Nonius Asprenas (suffect consul AD 6)|Lucius Nonius Asprenas]], were stationed in [[Moguntiacum]].<ref>Syme, p. 60</ref> Arminius saw this as the perfect opportunity to defeat Varus.<ref>Velleius Paterculus, ''Compendium of Roman History'' 2, 109, 5; [[Cassius Dio]], ''Roman History'' 55, 28, 6–7</ref>

==Anti-Roman uprising==
{{Main|Battle of the Teutoburg Forest}}
[[File:Otto Albert Koch Varusschlacht 1909.jpg|thumb|''Varusschlacht'', Otto Albert Koch (1909)]]
In the autumn of AD 9, the 25-year-old Arminius brought to Varus a false report of rebellion in northern Germany. He persuaded Varus to divert the three legions under his command (composed of the [[Legio XVII|17th]], [[Legio XVIII|18th]], and [[Legio XIX|19th]] [[Roman legion|legions]], plus three [[cavalry]] detachments and six [[cohort (military unit)|cohorts]] of auxiliaries), which were at the time marching to winter quarters, to suppress the rebellion. Varus and his legions marched right into the trap that Arminius had set for them near [[Kalkriese]]. Arminius' tribe, the [[Cherusci]], and their allies the [[Marsi (Germanic)|Marsi]], [[Chatti]], [[Bructeri]], [[Chauci]], and [[Sicambri]] (five out of at least fifty Germanic tribes at the time)<ref name="Spiegel"/> ambushed and annihilated Varus' entire army, totaling over 20,000 men, as it marched along a narrow road through a dense forest. Recent archaeological finds show the long-debated location of the three-day battle was almost certainly near Kalkriese Hill, about {{convert|20|km}} north of present-day [[Osnabrück]]. When defeat was certain, Varus committed [[suicide in antiquity|suicide]] by falling upon his sword.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bordewich|first=Fergus M.|date=September 2006|title=The Ambush That Changed History|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-ambush-that-changed-history-72636736/|url-status=live|access-date=26 August 2021|website=Smithsonian Magazine|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408145053/http://www.smithsonianmag.com:80/history/the-ambush-that-changed-history-72636736/? |archive-date=8 April 2014 }}</ref> The battle was one of the most devastating defeats Rome suffered in its history. Arminius' success in destroying three entire legions and driving the Romans out of Germany marked a high point of Germanic power for centuries. Roman attempts to reconquer Germania failed, although they did eventually manage to break Arminius' carefully coordinated alliance.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

[[File:Blick-über-den-Teutoburger-Wald1.jpg|thumb|right|View over the [[Teutoburg Forest]]]]
After the battle, the Germans quickly annihilated every trace of Roman presence east of the Rhine. Roman settlements such as the [[Waldgirmes Forum]] were abandoned. The vastly outnumbered Roman garrison of [[Aliso (Roman camp)|Aliso]] (present-day [[Haltern am See]]), under the command of the prefect Lucius Cedicius, inflicted heavy losses on the Germans before retreating into [[Gaul]], resisting long enough for [[Lucius Nonius Asprenas (consul 6)|Lucius Nonius Asprenas]] to organize the Roman defense on the Rhine and [[Tiberius]] to arrive with a new army. This prevented Arminius from crossing the Rhine and invading Gaul.<ref>Velleius Paterculus, Compendium of Roman History II, 120, 4; Cassius Dio, Roman History LVI, 22, 2a–2b</ref>

== Marriage ==
At some point after the battle, Arminius married a Germanic princess named [[Thusnelda]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Arminius/|title=Arminius|website=[[World History Encyclopedia]]|access-date=1 June 2019}}</ref> Her father was the Cheruscan prince [[Segestes]], who was pro-Roman. But Arminius [[Bride kidnapping|abducted]] and then impregnated Thusnelda circa AD 14. This [[elopement]] was likely a result of a dispute between Arminius and Segestes who was against their relationship.<ref name=":0"/><ref>Tacitus, The Annals [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 1#55|1.55]]</ref> In May of 15 the Roman general Germanicus captured Thusnelda. At the point of her capture she was pregnant and living with her father, who had taken her back.<ref>Tacitus, The Annals [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 1#57|1.57]]</ref> Arminius deeply grieved the capture of Thusnelda and did not marry again.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.germanamericanpioneers.org/ThusneldaWifeofHermann_001.htm|title=Thusnelda, Wife of Hermann|website=www.germanamericanpioneers.org|access-date=1 June 2019}}</ref> Tacitus recorded that Arminius was "driven to frenzy" by the loss of his beloved wife.<ref name=":1">Tacitus, The Annals [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 1#59|1.59]]</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Winkler|first=Martin M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qSegCgAAQBAJ&q=Thusnelda|title=Arminius the Liberator: Myth and Ideology|year= 2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-049352-3|language=en}}</ref> [[Tacitus]] states in the ''[[Annals (Tacitus)|Annals]]'':<blockquote>Arminius, with his naturally furious temper, was driven to frenzy by the seizure of his wife and the foredooming to slavery of his wife's unborn child. He flew hither and thither among the Cherusci, demanding "war against Segestes, war against Cæsar." And he refrained not from taunts.<ref name=":1"/></blockquote>Thusnelda gave birth to a son named [[Thumelicus]] who grew up in Roman captivity. Tacitus describes him as having an unusual story, which he promises to tell in his later writings, but these writings have never been found.<ref>Tacitus, The Annals [[wikisource:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 1#58|1.58]]</ref>

==Roman retribution and death==
Between 14 and 16, [[Germanicus]] led punitive operations into Germany, fighting Arminius to a draw in the [[Battle at Pontes Longi]] and twice defeating him (according to Tacitus): first in the [[Battle of Idistaviso]] and later at the [[Battle of the Angrivarian Wall]]. In 15, Roman troops managed to recapture one of the three [[aquila (Roman)|legionary eagles]] lost in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. In 16, a second eagle was retrieved.<ref>Tac. ''Ann''. 1.60.4, 2.25.2</ref> Tiberius denied the request of Germanicus to launch an additional campaign for 17, however, having decided the frontier with Germania would stand at the Rhine river. Instead, he offered Germanicus the honor of a triumph for his two victories. The third Roman eagle was recovered in 41 by Publius Gabinius, under the emperor [[Claudius]].<ref>Dio 60.8.7.</ref> Arminius also faced opposition from his father-in-law and other pro-Roman Germanic leaders.<ref>Tac. ''Ann''. 1.54–59.</ref> His brother Flavus, who had been raised alongside him in Rome, remained loyal to the Roman Empire and fought under Germanicus against Arminius at the [[Battle of Idistaviso]]. With the end of the Roman threat, a war broke out between Arminius and [[Maroboduus|Marbod]], king of the [[Marcomanni]]. It ended with Marbod fleeing to [[Ravenna]] and Roman protection, but Arminius failed to break into the "natural fortification" of [[Bohemia]], and the war ended in stalemate. In 19, Germanicus died in [[Antioch]] under circumstances which led many to believe he had been poisoned by his opponents. Arminius died two years later in 21, murdered by opponents within his own tribe who felt that he was becoming too powerful.<ref name="tacit">Tacitus, The Annals [[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 2#88|2.88]]</ref><ref>[[Tacitus]], ''Annals'' 2.22 ff.; [[Suetonius]], ''Caligula'' 1.4; Dio 57.18.1; on Arminius' assassination, Tac. ''Ann''. 2.88;</ref> Tiberius allegedly had refused an earlier offer from a Chatti nobleman to poison Arminius: "It was not by secret treachery but openly and by arms that the people of Rome avenged themselves on their enemies."<ref>Tac. ''Ann''. 2.87–88.</ref>[[File:Thusnelda Loggia dei Lanzi 2005 09 13.jpg|thumb|Statue of [[Thusnelda]] in Loggia dei Lanzi. Created in second century AD with modern restorations.|354x354px]]

==Legacy and influence==
Arminius' victory against the Roman legions in the Teutoburg Forest had a far-reaching effect on the subsequent history of both the ancient [[Germanic peoples]] and on the Roman Empire. The Romans made no further concerted efforts to conquer and permanently hold Germania beyond the Rhine and the ''[[Agri Decumates]]''. Numerous modern historians have regarded Arminius' victory as one of the most decisive battles in history,<ref name="Tucker"/><ref name="Cawthorne"/><ref name="Davis"/><ref name="Creasy"/><ref name="Spectator"/><ref name="Durschmied"/> with some calling it "Rome's greatest defeat".<ref name="Murdoch"/>

===Roman imperial expansion===
[[File:Arminius pushkin.jpg|right|thumb|A Roman sculpture of a young man which is sometimes identified as Arminius<ref name=britannica>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Arminius|title=Arminius|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|date= 2023 }}</ref>]]
In the accounts of his Roman enemies, Arminius is highly regarded for his military leadership and as a defender of the liberty of his people. Based on these records, the story of Arminius was revived in the 16th century with the recovery of the histories of Tacitus, who wrote in his ''Annales II, 88'':

{{blockquote|text=Arminius, without doubt Germania's liberator, who challenged the Roman people not in its beginnings like other kings and leaders, but in the peak of its empire; in battles with changing success, undefeated in the war.<ref>{{cite book|title=Arminius the Liberator: Myth and Ideology|first=Martin M.|last=Winkler|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|date=2016|isbn=9780190252915|page=30}}</ref>}}

Arminius was not the only reason for Rome's change of policy towards Germania. Politics also played a factor; emperors found they could rarely trust a large army to a potential rival, though Augustus had enough loyal family members to wage his wars. Also, Augustus, in his 40-year reign, had annexed many territories still at the beginning of the process of Romanization. Tiberius, who succeeded Augustus in AD 14, decided that Germania was a far less developed land, possessing few villages and only a small food surplus, and therefore was not currently important to Rome. Conquering Germania would require a commitment too burdensome for the imperial finances and an excessive expenditure of military force.

Modern scholars have pointed out that the Rhine was a more practical boundary for the Roman Empire than any other river in Germania. Armies on the Rhine could be supplied from the [[Mediterranean Sea]] via the [[Rhône]], [[Saône]], and [[Moselle (river)|Mosel]], with only a brief area of portage. Armies on the Elbe, however, would have to have been supplied by extensive overland routes or by ships travelling the hazardous Atlantic. Economically, the Rhine already had towns and sizable villages at the time of the Gallic conquest. The Rhine was significantly more accessible from Rome and better equipped to supply sizable garrisons than the regions beyond.<ref>[[Peter Heather]] (2006). ''The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians''.</ref>

Rome chose no longer to rule directly in Germania east of the Rhine and north of the [[Danube]], instead preferring to exert indirect influence through the tactics of using [[divide and rule]] and the appointing of [[client king]]s, which were cheaper than military campaigns. [[Italicus (chieftain)|Italicus]], nephew of Arminius, was appointed king of the Cherusci; [[Vangio and Sido]] became [[vassal]] princes of the powerful [[Suebi]], etc.<ref>[[Annals (Tacitus)|Tacitus]], Book 12 [verse 27 to 31]</ref> Only when indirect methods proved insufficient to control the Germanic tribes beyond the Rhine, did Roman emperors occasionally lead devastating punitive campaigns deep into Germania. One of them, led by the Roman emperor [[Maximinus Thrax]], resulted in a Roman victory in 235 at the [[Battle at the Harzhorn|Battle at the Harzhorn Hill]],<ref>Historia Augusta, ''The Two Maximini'' 12:1–4; Herodian, ''Roman History'', Book 7:2:3</ref> located in the modern German state of [[Lower Saxony]], east of the Weser river, between the towns of [[Kalefeld]] and [[Bad Gandersheim]].

===Germanic sagas===
In the early 19th century, attempts were made to show that the story of Arminius and his victory may have lived on in the [[Old Norse]] [[saga]]s,<ref>{{cite journal|title=Ueber den Ursprung der Siegfriedsage|author=A. Giesebrecht|journal=Germania|issue=2|year=1837|url=https://archive.org/details/UeberDenUrsprungDerSiegfriedsage/}}</ref> in the form of the dragon slayer [[Sigurd]] of the [[Völsunga saga]] and the [[Nibelungenlied]]. An Icelandic account<ref>{{citation |title= Nikulas Bergsson, Arnamagnæan Collection manuscript 194, 8yo |author=unknown | year=1387}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title= Altnordische Kosmographie: Studien und Quellen zu Weltbild und Weltbeschreibung in Norwegen und in Island vom 12. bis zum 14. Jahrhundert |author= Simek, R. |journal= Berlin/New York | year=1990}}</ref> states that Sigurd "slew the dragon" in the Gnitaheidr—today the suburb Knetterheide of the city of [[Bad Salzuflen]], located at a strategic site on the [[Werre]] river which could very well have been the point of departure of Varus' legions on their way to their doom in the Teutoburg Forest. One of the foremost Scandinavian scholars of the 19th century, [[Guðbrandur Vigfússon]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Grimm centenary; Sigfred-Arminivs, and other papers
|author= G. Vigfusson, F. York Powell|publisher=Oxford Clarendon Press|year=1886|url=https://archive.org/details/grimmcentenarysi00gudb}}</ref> identified Sigurd as Arminius. This educated guess was also picked up by [[Otto Höfler]], who was a prominent [[Nazi]] academic during [[World War II]].<ref>O. Höfler, "Siegfried Arminius und die Symbolik," ''Heidelberg'' (1961), 60–64, and also in ''Siegfried, Arminius und der Nibelungenhort'' (Vienna 1978); F.G. Gentry, W. McConnell, W. Wunderlich (eds.), ''The Nibelungen Tradition. An Encyclopedia'' (New York–London 2002), article "Sigurd".</ref> Other scholars have described attempts to connect Arminius with Sigurd as improbable and unfounded.{{Sfn|Momigliano|Cadoux|Levick|2015}}

===German nationalism===
After Tacitus' [[Annals (Tacitus)|''Annals'']] were rediscovered by [[Renaissance humanist]]s and [[editio princeps|first published]] during the [[Gutenberg Revolution]] of the 15th century, Arminius became an important symbol of German [[national identity]], as a figure who successfully opposed [[colonialism]] and prevented the [[Romanization]] of his people by outgeneraling and defeating one of the world's first superpowers. Indeed, learning of his victory over the Roman army was especially important to [[Renaissance humanism in Northern Europe|German Renaissance humanist]]s, as the Renaissance only reached the [[Holy Roman Empire]] much later than southern Europe and German humanists were widely looked down upon by their Italian colleagues.{{Sfn|Doyé|2002|p=587}} The first literary adaptation of the Arminius story came in 1520 with [[Ulrich von Hutten]]'s Latin dialogue [[Arminius (dialogue)|''Arminius'']], which inserts the Germanic leader into a reimagining of the twelfth chapter of [[Lucian]]'s satirical ''Dialogues of the Dead''; a debate between [[Alexander the Great]], [[Hannibal]], and [[Scipio Africanus]] before the underworld judgment seat of [[Minos]] over who most deserves the position of history's greatest general and military strategist. Arminius argues his own claim and calls upon [[Tacitus]] to bear witness, and ultimately wins the case and the eloquent praise of Minos.<ref> {{Cite journal |last=Benario |first=Herbert W. |date=April 2004 |title=Arminius into Hermann: History into Legend |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3567880 |journal=Greece & Rome |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=83–94 |doi=10.1093/gr/51.1.83 |jstor=3567880 }}</ref>

This version influenced later adaptations of the story, and reflected a wide interest in Arminius during the years of the [[German Reformation]]; the name ''Arminius'' was interpreted as reflecting the name ''Hermann'' by [[Martin Luther]], who saw Arminius as a symbol of his religious followers among the German people and their resistance to the [[Papacy]] and the [[Roman Catholic Church]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=German Pagan Antiquity in Lutheran Historical Thought|author=W. Bradford Smith|journal=The Journal of the Historical Society|volume=4|issue=3|year=2004|pages=351–374 | doi = 10.1111/j.1529-921X.2004.00104.x}}</ref> 

During the military occupation of the German States, first by the [[French Revolutionary Army]] and then by the [[French Imperial Army]] of [[Napoleon Bonaparte]], ''Hermann der Cheruskerfürst'' once again became a national icon and a martyr within both [[German Romanticism]] and the [[anti-colonialism|anti-Colonialist]] [[romantic nationalism]] fueled by the [[Napoleonic Wars]], which are still termed in Germany the [[Wars of Liberation]]. This may particularly be seen as in [[Caspar David Friedrich]]'s 1812 painting ''[[The Tombs of the Old Heroes]]''.<ref name="Klein/Käppel">Dorothea Klein (ed.), Lutz Käppel (ed.): ''Das diskursive Erbe Europas: Antike und Antikerezeption''. Peter Lang, 2008, {{ISBN|9783631560136}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=yvfqcAjU9wsC&pg=PA329 p. 329]</ref> During the [[unification of Germany]] in the 19th century, Arminius was hailed as a symbol of German unity and liberation.<ref name="Spiegel" /> 

[[File:Gehrts Armin verabschiedet sich von Thusnelda 1884.jpg|thumb|Arminius says goodbye to [[Thusnelda]], [[Johannes Gehrts]] (1884)]]
In 1808, [[Heinrich von Kleist]] wrote the play ''[[Die Hermannsschlacht (Kleist)|Die Hermannsschlacht]]'',<ref>Heinrich von Kleist: Die Herrmannsschlacht. Ein Drama [1808] (Frankfurt am Main and Basel: Stroemfeld-Roter Stern, 2001).</ref> but with Napoleon's [[Battle of Wagram|victory at Wagram]] it remained in manuscript, being published in 1821 and not staged until 1860. The play has been revived repeatedly at moments of national crisis and was especially used as [[propaganda in Nazi Germany]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| encyclopedia=The Literary Encyclopedia | title=Die Hermannsschlacht | first=William C | last=Reeve | year=2004 | url= http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13117 | publisher=The Literary Dictionary Company | access-date=6 September 2006}}</ref>

In 1838, construction was started on a massive statue of Arminius, known as the ''[[Hermannsdenkmal]]'', on a hill near [[Detmold]] in the Teutoburg Forest; it was finally completed and dedicated during the early years of the Second [[German Empire]] in the wake of the German victory over France in the [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1870–1871. The monument has been a major tourist attraction ever since, as has the [[Hermann Heights Monument]], a similar statue erected in [[New Ulm, Minnesota]], in the United States in 1897. The Hermann Heights monument was erected by the [[Sons of Hermann]], a fraternal organization formed in [[New York City]] by [[German American]]s as a means of self protection against [[anti-German sentiment]] and discrimination in 1840; and that flourished during the 19th century in American cities and rural areas with large populations speaking the [[German language in the United States]]. [[Hermann, Missouri]], a town on the [[Missouri River]] founded in the 1830s and incorporated in 1845, was also named for Arminius.

Following the defeat of [[Nazi Germany]] in 1945, Arminius became lesser-known among [[West Germany|West Germans]] and the educational system shied away from teaching about his life due to a sense of guilt and shame, rooted in both [[the Holocaust]] and [[Nazi war crimes]], related to any form of [[German nationalism]].<ref name="Spiegel"/> There was, however, a radically different practice in [[East Germany]]. Particularly during the [[Cold War]], Arminius and his warriors were [[anachronism|anachronistically]] reinterpreted quite similarly to the [[Third Servile War|slave revolt]] led by [[Spartacus]] in the [[Marxist-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]] [[official history]] promoted by the State; as an early [[socialist revolution]] and as [[revolutionary terror]] against the "Roman slaveholder society" (''Sklavenhaltergesellschaft''). The legacy of Arminius and his followers was further reinterpreted as symbolic of the allegedly "peace-loving" [[Warsaw Pact]] countries, while Imperial Rome was made into a symbol of the [[capitalism|capitalist]] and allegedly [[Fascist]]ic [[United States]] and the [[NATO]] [[military alliance]], which were cast as the new evil empire needing to be resisted.<ref name=zeit>Tillmann Bendikowski: [http://www.zeit.de/2008/45/DOS-varus-schlacht ''Deutsche Geschichte – Mythos einer Schlacht'']. Zeit Online, 4 November 2008 (German)</ref>

According to journalist David Crossland: "The old nationalism has been replaced by an easy-going [[patriotism]] that mainly manifests itself at sporting events like the soccer<!-- Do not change this to "football". This is a direct quote. --> [[FIFA World Cup|World Cup]]."<ref name="Spiegel"/> The German Bundesliga football club [[DSC Arminia Bielefeld]] is named after Arminius. In the [[German diaspora]], on the other hand, the 2,000-year anniversary of the battle was celebrated in [[New Ulm, Minnesota]], proudly and without restraint. There were mock battles between Romans and club-wielding barbarians and also a lecture series in an auditorium.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.twincities.com/2009/09/20/new-ulm-celebrates-2000th-anniversary-of-battle/|title=New Ulm celebrates 2,000th anniversary of battle|date=20 September 2009|website=Twin Cities|language=en-US|access-date=19 April 2020}}</ref>

==Cultural references==
=== Literature ===
Fictionalized versions of Arminius or commentary upon his legacy appear in:
* ''[[Arminius (dialogue)|Arminius]]'' (1520), by [[Ulrich von Hutten]]
* ''[[Die Hermannsschlacht (Kleist)|Die Hermannschlacht]]'' (1808) by [[Heinrich von Kleist]]
* ''[[Germany. A Winter's Tale]]'' (1843) by [[Heinrich Heine]]
* ''[[The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World]]'' (1851) by Sir [[Edward Shepherd Creasy]]
* ''[[I, Claudius]]'' (1934) by [[Robert Graves]]
* ''[[What If? (essays)|What If?]]'' (1999), edited by [[Robert Cowley]]
* ''Give Me Back My Legions!'' (2009) by [[Harry Turtledove]]
* ''Eagles At War'' (2015) by [[Ben Kane]]
* ''Wolves of Rome'' (2016) by [[Valerio Massimo Manfredi]] (first published in Italian as ''Teutoburgo'')
* ''Dead Romans'' (2023) by Fred Kennedy and Nick Markinkovich (published by Image Comics)

=== Music and opera ===
* ''[[Arminio (Biber)|Arminio]]'' is a 1692 opera about Arminius by the Bohemian-Austrian composer [[Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber]].
* ''[[Germanico in Germania]]'', a 1732 opera by [[Nicola Porpora]]
* ''[[Arminio]]'' is a 1736 opera about Arminius by [[George Frideric Handel]].
* ''[[Arminius (Bruch)|Arminius]]'' is an 1877 oratorio about Arminius by the German composer [[Max Bruch]].

===Film===
* ''[[Massacre in the Black Forest]]'', (German: Hermann der Cherusker – Die Schlacht im Teutoburger Wald), a 1967 historical film

=== Television ===
* ''[[Barbarians (2020 TV series)|Barbarians]]'' is a 2020 TV show that features a fictionalised version of Arminius (portrayed by [[Laurence Rupp]]) as one of the central characters.

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* [[Ariovistus]]
* [[Bato the Breucian]]
* [[Bato the Daesitiate]]
* [[Boudica]]
* [[Divico]]
* [[Gaius Julius Civilis]]
* [[Teutobod]]
* [[Vercingetorix]]

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
* {{cite book |last=Cawthorne |first=Nigel |author-link=Nigel Cawthorne |date=2012 |title=Battles That Changed History: An Encyclopedia of World Conflict |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wHpVn68GCogC&pg=PA75 |publisher=Arcturus Publishing |pages=75–77 |isbn=978-1848589544 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Creasy |first1=Edward |author1-link=Edward Shepherd Creasy |title=The Fifteen Decisive War Battles of the World: From Marathon to Waterloo |date=2007 |publisher=Read Books |isbn=978-1-84664-127-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J8loBFKe3LoC}}
* {{cite book |last=Davis |first=Paul K. |author-link=Paul K. Davis (historian) |date=1999 |title=100 Decisive Battles: From Ancient Times to the Present |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nv73QlQs9ocC |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=68–71 |isbn=0195143663 }}
* Dörner, Andreas, ''Politischer Mythos und symbolische Politik. Der Hermannmythos: Zur Entstehung des Nationalbewußtseins der Deutschen'' (Reinbek: Rowohlt, 1996).
* {{Cite book |last=Doyé |first=Werner M |title=Deutsche Erinnerungsorte |publisher=[[Verlag C.H. Beck]] |year=2002 |editor-last=François |editor-first=Etienne |volume=3 |location=Munich |pages=587–602 |language=de |chapter=Arminius |editor-last2=Schulze |editor-first2=Hagen}}
* {{cite book |last=Durschmied |first=Erik |author-link=Erik Durschmied |date=2013 |title=The Weather Factor: How Nature Has Changed History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ESY980GKv3cC&pg=PA1751 |publisher=[[Hachette (publisher)|Hachette UK]] |pages=1751–1770|isbn=978-1444769654 }}
* von Essen, Gesa, ''Hermannsschlachten. Germanen- und Römerbilder in der Literatur des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts'' (Göttingen: Wallstein, 1998).
* Kuehnemund, Richard, ''Arminius or the Rise of a National Symbol in Literature: From Hutten to Grabbe'' (New York: AMS Press, 1966).
* {{Cite book |last=Momigliano |first=Arnaldo |title=Oxford Classical Dictionary |title-link=Oxford Classical Dictionary |last2=Cadoux |first2=Theodore John |last3=Levick |first3=Barbara |date=22 December 2015 |edition=Online |chapter=Arminius, b. c. 19 BCE |chapter-url-access=subscription |chapter-url=https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-781}}
* Münkler Herfried, and Hans Grünberger: "Arminius/ Hermann als nationales Symbol im Diskurs der deutschen Humanisten 1500–1570", In: Herfried Münkler, Hans Grünberger, and Kathrin Mayer, ''Nationenbildung. Die Nationalisierung Europas im Diskurs humanistischer Intellektueller. Italien und Deutschland'' (Berlin: Akademie, 1998), pp.&nbsp;263–308.
* {{cite book |last=Murdoch |first=Adrian |date=2012 |title=Rome's Greatest Defeat: Massacre in the Teutoburg Forest |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pao7AwAAQBAJ |publisher=[[The History Press]] |isbn=978-0752494555 }}
* {{cite book |last=Tucker |first=Spencer |author-link=Spencer C. Tucker |date=2010 |title=Battles That Changed History: An Encyclopedia of World Conflict |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wHpVn68GCogC |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |isbn=978-1598844290 }}
* [[Martina Wagner-Egelhaaf|Wagner-Egelhaaf, Martina]] (ed.), ''Hermanns Schlachten. Zur Literaturgeschichte eines nationalen Mythos'' (Bielefeld: Aisthesis, 2008).
* {{cite book |last1=Winkler |first1=Martin M. |title=Arminius the Liberator: Myth and Ideology |date=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-025291-5 |language=en}}
* Wolters, Reinhard ''Die Schlacht im Teutoburger Wald: Arminius, Varus und das roemische Germanien'' (München: Verlag C. H. Beck, 2008).

==External links==
{{Commons category|Arminius}}
{{EB1911 poster|Arminius}}
* [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Arminius Arminius] at the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''
* [https://www.worldhistory.org/Arminius/ Arminius] at the ''[[Ancient History Encyclopedia]]''
* [http://www.westfaelische-geschichte.de/web840 "Arminius / Varus: Die Varusschlacht im Jahre 9 n. Chr."] – LWL-Institut für westfälische Regionalgeschichte (in German)
* [https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x42a2ep "Terry Jones' Barbarians: The Savage Goths"] – includes a portion on Arminius
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070831030318/http://www.geschichte.uni-osnabrueck.de/projekt/start.html A description of Arminius and his fight against the Romans] (in German)
* [https://www.studenthandouts.com/historical-figures/h/hermann/hermann-biography-workbook.htm Hermann Biography Workbook for High School]
* [https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/they-need-a-hero-1.528707/ "They Need a Hero"] by Clay Risen in ''[[The National (Abu Dhabi)|The National]]'', 9 October 2009 – article on modern German views of Hermann and the 2,000th anniversary of the battle
The Football (Soccer) Team „DSC Arminia Bielefeld“ is named After Arminius
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arminius}}
[[Category:Arminius| ]]
[[Category:10s BC births|010s BC births]]
[[Category:1st-century monarchs in Europe]]
[[Category:21 deaths|021 deaths]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman soldiers]]
[[Category:Cherusci chieftains]]
[[Category:Cherusci warriors]]
[[Category:Roman campaigns in Germania (12 BC – AD 16)]]