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'Germanicus Julius Caesar' (24 May 15 BC–October 10, 19 AD) was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty of the early Roman Empire. He was called either 'Nero Claudius Drusus' or 'Tiberius Claudius Nero' at birth and received the agnomen '"Germanicus"', by which he is principally known, in 9 BC, when it was awarded to his father in honour of his victories in Germania.

Contents

Early life

Commander of Germania

Asia and Death

See also

External links

Early life

Germanicus' parents were Nero Claudius Drusus, son of Livia Drusilla, wife of Caesar Augustus, and Antonia Minor, daughter of Mark Antony and Octavia Minor, sister of Caesar Augustus. Claudius was his brother. Germanicus married Agrippina the Elder, a granddaughter of Augustus, who gave him nine children. Two died whilst very young, another Gaius Julius Caesar died in early childhood. The other six survived to grown age:

★ Nero Caesar

★ Drusus Caesar

★ Gaius, commonly called Caligula, future Emperor

★ Agrippina the Younger, mother of Nero

★ Julia Drusilla

★ Julia Livilla
Germanicus was very popular among the citizens of Rome, who celebrated enthusiastically all his victories. He was also a favourite with Augustus, his great-uncle and his wife's grandfather, who, for some time, considered him as heir to the Empire. In 4, at the persuasion of Livia (Augustus' wife), Augustus decided in favour of Tiberius, a stepson from Livia's first marriage. Augustus compelled Tiberius to adopt Germanicus as a son and name him as his heir. (Tacitus, Annals IV.57)
Germanicus assumed several military commands leading the army in the campaigns in Pannonia and Dalmatia. He is recorded to have been an excellent soldier and inspired leader, loved by the legions. In the year 12 he was appointed consul after five mandates as quaestor.

Commander of Germania

After the death of Augustus in 14, the Senate appointed Germanicus commander of the forces in Germania. A short time after, the legions rioted on the news that their recruitments would not be marked back down to 16 years from the now standard 20. Refusing to accept this, the rebel soldiers cried for Germanicus as emperor. But he chose to honour Augustus' choice and put an end to the mutiny, preferring to continue only as a general. In a skillful move that established both the loyalty of his troops and his own popularity with them and with the Roman people, he led them on a spectacular but brutal raid against the Marsi, a German tribe on the upper Ruhr river, in which he massacred much of the tribe.
During each of the next two years, he led his 8-legion army into Germany against the coalition of tribes led by Arminius, which had successfully overthrown Roman rule in a rebellion in 9 AD. His major success was the capture of Arminius' wife in May 15 AD. He was able to devastate large areas and eliminate any form of active resistance, but the majority of the Germans fled at the sight of the Roman army into remote forests. The raids were considered a success since the major goal of destroying any rebel alliance networks was completed.
After visiting the site of the disastrous Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, where 20,000 Romans had been killed in 9 AD, and burying their remains, he launched a massive assault on the heartland of Arminius' tribe, the Cheruscans. Arminius initially lured Germanicus' cavalry into a trap and inflicted minor casualties, until successful fighting by the Roman infantry caused the Germans to break and flee into the forest. This victory, combined with the fact that winter was fast approaching, meant Germanicus's next step was to lead his army back to its winter quarters on the Rhine.
In spite of doubts on the part of his uncle, Emperor Tiberius, Germanicus managed to raise another huge army and invaded Germany again the next year, in 16 AD. He forced a crossing of the Weser near modern Minden, suffering heavy losses, and then met Arminius' army at Idistoviso, further up the Weser, near modern Rinteln, in an engagement often called the Battle of the Weser River. Germanicus's leadership and command qualities were shown in full at the battle as his superior tactics and better trained and equipped legions inflicted huge casualties on the German army with only minor losses. One final battle was fought at the Angivarian Wall west of modern Hanover,repeating the pattern of high German fatalities forcing them to flee. With his main objectives reached and with winter approaching Germanicus ordered his army back to their winter camps, with the fleet occasioning some damage by a storm in the North Sea. Although only a small number of soldiers died it was still a bad ending for a brilliantly fought campaign. After a few more raids across the Rhine, which resulted in the recovery of two of the three legion's eagles lost in 9 AD, Germanicus was recalled to Rome and informed by Tiberius that he would be given a triumph and reassigned to a different command.

Asia and Death

Germanicus was then sent to Asia, where in 18 he defeated the kingdoms of Cappadocia and Commagena, turning them into Roman provinces. In the following year, he died suddenly in Antioch, Syria, of a wasting illness - or poison. His death was surrounded by speculation, with several sources claiming he was poisoned by Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, governor of Syria, under orders from Emperor Tiberius. This was never proven, and Piso later committed suicide while facing trial, but Suetonius suggests Tiberius' jealousy and fear of his adopted son's popularity and increasing power as a motive.
The death of Germanicus in what can only be described as dubious circumstances greatly affected Tiberius' popularity in Rome, leading to the creation of a climate of fear in Rome itself. Also suspected of connivance in his death was Tiberius' chief advisor, Sejanus, who would then turn the empire into a frightful tyranny throughout the 20s, before himself being removed and executed by Tiberius in a bloody purge in 31 AD.
For Tacitus, the historian to whom we owe much of the information in this article, Germanicus was the epitome of Roman virtue and manliness, and his death symbolic of the decline of such virtue in the face of the rise of corruption and tyranny. His account of the German campaigns systematically contrasts Germanicus' prowess and popularity to the intriguing jealousy of his uncle, the emperor - and the maliciousness of Sejanus - while on the other hand portraying the war itself as a contest between two worthy heroes, Germanicus and Arminius. If the account downplays the setbacks suffered by Germanicus, the point is not so much to denigrate Arminius as it is to justify Germanicus in opposition to Tiberius.

See also

★ Julio-Claudian family tree

External links

★ (Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici dell'Umbria) "The Bronze Statue of Germanicus" of Amelia (Terni). Circumstances of the chance discovery in 1963 and restoration of this extremely fine heroic portrait bronze.