In the 1st and 2nd century A.D., the Roman Empire bordered on numerous petty GERMANIC peoples such as the Chamavi,
Sugambri, Bructeri, Cherusci, Chatti. These peoples, often at war with each other, had annihilated three
Roman legions led by VARUS in the BATTLE OF TEUTOBURG FOREST in 9 A.D., a defeat which made the Romans give up the idea
of subjugating Germania Libera the land between Rhine, Danube and Elbe. However, they did not pose a serious challenge
to the Roman Empire. The UBII, under pressure from their Germanic neighbours, applied for permission to cross the Rhine and
settle in Roman territori. They were settled in COLONIA AGRIPPINENSIS (modern Cologne), the most important Roman city along the
Rhine. Germanic peoples settling on Roman soil, such as the Ubii and the BATAVII (in the Rhine Delta), served in the defense of
the Empire. Batavian auxiliari forces were stationed in Castra Batava, modern Passau, which was named after them.
On the other side of the Rhine, early in the 3rd century a major change happened : The petty Germanic tribes merged into larger
federations. In the sources, new names appear : the FRANCI, ALAMANNI, SAXONES. The process of forming these federations
was violent : the Romans watched on, as the Bructeri were slaughtered by their enemies. In addition, Germanic peoples
which originated from Scandinavia, such as the BURGUNDIANS, GOTHS, VANDALS appear south of the Baltic Sea, closing in on the
Roman Empire. These peoples were units large enough to undertake raids into the Roman Empire. Although regularly defeated if
taken serious, they caused the Roman Empire (which had suffered under frequent civil wars) to take back its frontier ca. 275 :
DACIA was given up to the Goths, AGRI DECUMATES to the Alamanni, and the Franks were permitted to keep the lands on the
southern bank of the lower Rhine, although the territory formally remained part of the Empire. The Franks were given the status of
FOEDERATI.
B.) THE CONSTITUTION OF A GERMANIC STATE
The key element which constituted a Germanic people was their LAW. Germanic society was stressed in the nobles, the freemen
and the serfs (half-free). Long hair was regarded a symbol of liberty; those who had cut their hair (such as monks) in the eyes of
Germanics had given up their liberty, joined the ranks of the serfs. They viewed the Romans (with their short haircuts) as not really
free men. The Germanic nobility had an assured status, but it, especially the higher nobility (dukes, kings) did not enjoy absolute
authority. First, some peoples for considerable time haf no king or duke. During much of the 3rd and 4th century, we know little of the
leaders of the Franci and Alamanni; they appear as FEDERATIONS rather than kingdoms. In areas they conquered and settled, the
previous population was expelled, killed or enslaved. The arable land was allotted to warrior soldiers in equal shares, in the size of
what one farmer could handle.
KINGS had to gain followership by providing them with something - booty or land to settle on. They needed to be successful warriors;
with military success, the ranks of their followers swelled. The king was expected to have a certain charisma, in Germanic described
as HAIL (fortune, favour of the gods). The Germanics believed that such hail stayed within a family, so they often accepted kingship to
be transferred from brother to brother, from father to son. Lack of success, however, was interpreted as lack of hail, and could lead
to a quick downfall. Like the SOLDIER EMPERORS of the Later Roman Empire, the Germanic kings were bound to succeed. Alaric
seemed to be aware of that, when he, before invading Italy in 410 (after three failed attempts) said "in Italy I seek a kingdom or a grave".
The first successful Germanic kingdom was that of the GOTHS, which in the 3rd and 4th century established an Empire reaching from
the Baltic Sea to the lower Danube, eastward to the Don. We have to assume, that numerous other peoples, especially VLACHIANS,
as well as unnamed SLAVIC and BALTIC peoples, lived within the Gothic Empire.
C.) GERMANICS AND ROMANS : A QUESTION OF IDENTITY
The earlier Germanic peoples living on Roman soil, the Batavians, Ubians, Treveri, were assimilated into Roman civilization, and their
names disappear from the records. The Germanic peoples appearing in the sources from 200 onward, no matter if settling outside
the Empire, or, as foederati, within its borders, preserved their identity. They strictly separated from the Romans and kept their institutions,
their law and their hierarchy, up. Relations with the Romans were basically restricted to two areas - trade, limited and dominated by the
Romans (which, at times, forced the Germanics to pay their debts by selling their wives and children into slavery), and military service;
over time, more and more Germanics enlisted in the Roman army, which late in the 4th century was almost entirely Germanic.
The Germanics were warlike; they believed that a warrior who was victoriuos in many battles and finally met his death on the battlefield,
would enter VALHALLA, the Germanic version of paradise.The GERMANIC PANTHEON, of which (for this period of history) little is known, is
believed to be heavily influenced by Roman mythology.
On the other hand, beginning with WULFILA's return to the VISIGOTHS in 325, Germanic peoples converted to christianity. At the time of the
BARBARIC PEOPLE'S MIGRATION (400-430), most of the people settling on Roman soil, the Visigoths, OSTROGOTHS, VANDALS,
BURGUNDIANS, were ARIAN CHRISTIANS. When they plundered a Roman city, they spared Catholic churches, so acknowledging a
common bond with the Romans who were christians.
The Germanic peoples entering the Roman Empire in 406 following were not, or not openly, seeking to conquer the Empire. Instead, they
were striving to become a part of it, by achieving their people to be given the status of federates (foederati) and settled in one of the better
provinces, and by themselves being appointed to a powerful office, the most prestigious being that of MAGISTER MILITUM (commander
of the Roman forces). Even ALARIC's Visigoths, after the successful sack of Rome in 410, were content with being settled as federates
in AQUITANIA in 418. Still in 451 they served as auxiliaries in the Roman army lead by AETIUS in the BATTLE OF CHALONS. Similarly,
GAISERIC's Vandals, who had conquered the province of Africa, when sacking Rome in 455, were not conquering an enemy town, but
taking a town held by a party they competed with for the most influential position in the Empire (the strongman who opposed Gaiseric was
RICIMER, another Germanic (Ostrogoth) who controlled a number of PUPPET EMPERORS. The Barbaric Migrations therefore should be
regarded as a continuation of Roman civil wars, in which by now foreign entities were not only involved, but dominated.
click here to read about the Barbarian Peoples' Migration
This page is part of World History at KMLA Last revised on August 28th 2001
