Tacitus & the Lost Legions of Varus
article by Ted Wright of EPIC Archaeology
Truth is indeed stranger than fiction, because we have made fiction to suit ourselves –
G.K. Chesterton
Rome’s Greatest Defeat: The Nightmare of the Battle of Teutoburg Forest
The sound of a slow and dreary rain could be heard tinking on helmets, shields and armor, and nearly everything was covered in mud. Horses, mules, and men alike found it difficult to move through the muck. The dank smell of peat bog was strong, and if fear had a smell it would have been overpowering. Rumors of an attack and ambush from the Germanic tribes were beginning to take hold among the ranks. The Teutoburg Forest was a dark and foreboding place 700 miles north of Rome, where marbled streets were filled with dazzling monuments, statues and arches dedicated to glorious Roman victories of the past.
It was September of AD 9, and the decorated and battle hardened Roman general, Publius Quinctilius Varus was leading three legions, six cohorts of cavalry and five auxuliary units into a narrow path, winding its way through the Teutoburg Forest in the untamed and uncivilized lands of Magna Germania (Germany).
Varus had been informed by a Roman educated, but Germanic born officer by the name of Arminius, that a rebellion was brewing in a nearby region. Arminius was from the Cherusci tribe, but he had been captured as a child and trained in Rome, eventually earning his Roman citizenship and making his way into the equine rank, serving as an officer in the Roman army. Varus and his three legions were on their way back across the Rhine (a natural border between the Roman empire and Germania), when he recieved the so-called “intelligence” from Arminius.
Rumors of a surprise attack and ambush were true. Varus had indeed been decieved by Arminius who, months earlier, had carefully planned the attack involving several other Germanic tribes to ambush the Romans as their lines thinned out through the forest. Having been trained in Roman tactics and military strategy, Arminius would have known that Varus’ legions would have been at their weakest as they marched through the dense forests, surrounded by bogs and wetlands. That is exactly where he planned to attack.
The Roman historian Tacitus recounts the geography of the area in his work, The Annals:
The marshes themselves are of an uncertain soil, here full of mud, there of heavy sticking clay, or traversed with various currents [streams of water]. Round about are woods which rise gently from the plain, and were already filled with soldiers by ARMINIUS, who, by shorter ways, and a running march, had arrived there before our men, who were loaded with arms and baggage [1].
In open warfare, no army could match the disciplined, well equipped Roman army with its cavalry and auxillary troops. Several decades earlier in 55 BC, Julius Caesar built two bridges across the Rhine to confront the Germanic tribes in their own land, and he gained great fame and glory fighting against them. He recorded his campaigns in the Gallic Wars.
At this time, Rome had reached a zenith of her power and influence in the ancient world. The Mediterranean was essentially a Roman “lake.” Her influence was spread far and wide and one of the only territories left to conquer and settle was Magna Germania. In Rome, the emperor was “Augustus Octavius” who had fought for, and won sole rulership of the empire after nearly 30 years of conflict and civil war, brought on by the assasination of his uncle, Julius Caesar. In AD 27 Augustus issued the Pax Romana (Peace of Rome), sometimes called the Pax Augustus (the Peace of Augustus) – a period of relatively long peace in the Roman empire lasting at least until the time of Hadrian (AD 76-138).
It sounds like a cliche, but it was truly the stuff of legend. In three days Arminius and his confederation of German tribes destroyed three entire Roman legions (XVII, XVIII, XIX “17-19”) of around 15-20,000 men.
The floor of the Teutoburg Forest would have have been a gruesome sight, littered with the corpses of around 20,000 Roman soldiers including cavalry horses, pack mules, and their entire cohort of attendants, servants, wives, and even some children. A few survivors were carried off as slaves by the Germans. Officers who survived were brutally tortured and then sacrificed to the Germanic gods.
On the third day of the battle, Varus and his senior officers seeing the futility of the situation fell upon their own swords and committed suicide. Varus was then beheaded by Arminius and shown off as a trophy.
According to historian Peter S. Wells:
It was one of the most devastating defeats suffered by the Roman army. The effects of the catastrophe were profound. It ended Rome’s designs on conquest farther east beyond the Rhine and resulted in the emperor Augustus’s decision to expand and strengthen a series of miltary bases along the Rhine frontier, creating a densely miltarized zone in the middle of Europe… The psychological effect of the crushing defeat on Augustus and his successors contributed to their ending the policy of miltary expansion not just in Europe but in Africa and Asia as well. This battle truly changed the course of world history [2].
As a result of the shocking defeat, Rome did not settle Germania and some historians surmise that the effects and subsequent Roman policy towards isolating Germania from their empire and culture had a ripple effect which eventually gave rise to figures like Napoleon Bonaparte and German nationalism which in turn, brought on WWI, WWII and Hitler.
The Discovery and Re-Discovery of Varus’s Lost Roman Legions
Several years later, the Roman general and proconsul Germanicus, along with Tiberius were dispatched to Germania in AD 11 to protect Rome from a potential invasion. The mission was also to exact revenge on Arminius and the German tribes for the Varus defeat as well as locate the remains of the lost legions and respectfully bury them. In additon to these things, Germanicus was also to recover the lost Roman Eagles which were usually made of gold or silver and carried on poles before the legions in battle. The Eagles carried great significance to Roman pride, nationalism as well as superstition.
Roman Eagle with “standard” SPQR (“the senate and the people of Rome”)
One of the greatest historians of ancient Rome during that period was a man named Publius Cornelius Tacitus – or “Tacitus.” In his work Annals of Imperial Rome (written circa AD 116) he describes the moment when Germanicus and his men discovered Varus’s lost legions. Tacitus states:
Here the commanders of the Legions were slain: There we lost the Eagles: Here VARUS had his first wound; there he gave himself another, and perished by his own unhappy hand. In that place too stood the tribunal whence ARMINIUS harangued: In this quarter, for the execution of his captives, he erected so many gibbets; in that such a number of funeral trenches were digged; and with these circumstances of pride and despite he insulted the ensigns and Eagles.”
THUS the Roman army buried the bones of the three Legions, six years after the slaughter; nor could any one distinguish, whether he gathered the particular remains of a stranger, or those of a kinsman: But all considered the whole as their friends, the whole as their relations, with heightened resentments against the foe, at once sad and revengeful. In this pious office, so acceptable to the dead [3].
We later learn that Germanicus did recover two of the three lost Eagles, but the Roman writer Seutonius tells us that upon hearing of the massacre, Augustus banged his head against a door and cried out loudly, “Varus! Give me my legions back!”[4].
Archaeology Affirms Tacitus on Details of Varus & the Lost Legions
For nearly 2000 years the geographical location of the battle and the physical remains of the Roman army were lost to the ages. In the 19th Century the great German classical historian Theodor Mommsen researched a possible location and proposed the place of the final battle of Varus was near the Kalkriese depression (near Osnabrück in lower Saxony). In 1963 a Roman coin was discovered near there which dated to the Augustan period, and in 1987 a retired British officer discovered a scattered hoard of 160 denarii as well as some other artifacts from the Roman period. After this discovery, between 1987-1992 a systematic survey was conducted leading to a full scale excavation in 1989.
Site of Kalkriese as it appears today. It is an archaeological park with the likely path of the Roman legions marked by stones. Archaeologists have created an enclosure which recreates what the land would have been like 2000 years ago. [Wikipedia]
The surveys and subsequent excavations led to the discovery of the exact place where the final slaugher of Varus’s legions took place — a wooded depression called Kalkriese, affirming Mommsen’s theory. At Kalkriese archaeologists have uncovered conclusive evidence of the slaughter of the three Roman legions of Varus. Nearly 5,500 Roman objects have been recovered so far – including many human remains, 3,100 Roman military items such as Roman swords, daggers, spear points, arrow heads, and three lead sling stones – used only by the Roman army at that time. Hobnails used on soldier’s sandals were recovered, as well as other gear such as fragments of helmets, and parts of Roman armor (Lorica). A Roman style disc brooch was also discovered indicating the presence of women.
One very sobering discovery was made along a sod wall, believed to have been built by Arminius to funnel the Romans into a narrow pass. Two complete mule skeletons were discovered. Mules were used by the Roman army to help transport gear and supplies. One of the skeletons was discovered with the metal hardware from the bridle as well as a bronze bell which hung around its neck. The bell was stuffed with grasses intentionally by the mule driver to keep it from making noise as the Roman soliders made their way through the dark Teutoburg forest – perhaps so they could listen for an impending attack by Arminius and the Germans.
Evidence from paleo-botanical studies of the grasses inside the bell indicated that the stage of growth of the plants revealed that they were torn from the ground in late summer/early fall – matching the September date drawn from the Tacitus account.
Additonal evidence included a dolabra (or an axe-like tool) used by Roman legionaries to clear underbrush, and dig ditches and ramparts around Roman miltary camps.
One of the most remarkable and haunting discoveries was a silver plated Roman face mask used by Roman cavalry officers to strike fear into their opponents.
Remarkably well preserved silver plated face mask discovered at the battle site. The mask would have been worn by a Roman cavalry officer in battle or during military parades
In 2017 archaeological work has commenced once again at Kalriese[5] to further clarify what happened there. One discovery in particular has been able to confirm a small but key part of Tacitus’ account of the discovery of the bones by Germanicus in the Annals.
Tacitus mentions that when Germanicus finally came to the forest where the legions were attacked, the bones had already turned white, but that he carefully buried them with honor with his troops. Forensic anthropologists examining the human bones recovered from Kalkriese have been able to show that they had lain above ground between 3-5 years but were then buried, affirming Tacitus’s account of the Germanicus mission to bury the lost legions [6].
Tacitus: An Accurate Historian
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was born c. AD 55 probably in Narbonese or Cisalpine Gaul. He was in Rome at the latest by AD 75 where he served under Vespasian, Titus and Domitian [7]. Tacitus is most remembered for two works, Annals and Histories. The Annals is composed of 16 books (some are lost) and covers the period, beginning with the reign of Tiberius in AD 14 to the end of Nero in AD 68. The Histories covers the period beginning in AD 69, around 6 months after the death of Nero and ends in the reign of Domitian in AD 96.
Statue of Roman historian Tacitus located outside the Austrian parliament building (Wikipedia)
Many Classical scholars believe that as a Roman senator, Tacitus would have had access to the Acta Senatus [8] – or the minutes of the Roman senate pertaining to all matters happening in the Roman empire. He certainly had access to all matters of official Roman political and civil affairs to conduct research for historical studies.
Aside from gleaning valuable information of the early Roman empire from Tacitus, he was also known as a gifted writer and rhetorician, known for using his skill with language to adorn his histories [9].
Why would I write an article about the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest and the archaeological disoveries which surround it, on a website dedicated to affirming the historical reliability of the Bible? The answer is two-fold: First, the story is fascinating in its own right and has far reaching implications in ancient history, even modern history. Secondly, Tacitus is also a historical source for the life of Jesus and the Early Church. If it can be established that Tacitus is an accurate and careful historian of his time, then we can also trust him as a reliable historical source for the life and times of Jesus. Archaeology and history are two pieces of the puzzle on how we are able to reconstruct the past. The Roman historian Tacitus is a key link in that chain.
Tacitus, Christ & the Early Christians
According to Harold W. Hoener’s landmark study, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, Jesus would have been only 12 years old [10] in AD 9 when a thousand miles away in Germania, Varus’s legions were being slaughtered by Arminius and the Germanic tribes.
Jesus mythicists and other radical skeptics like to point out that the life of Jesus in the Gospels is a pure fabrication with little or no historical reality, but Tacitus, as well as other ancient writers affirm many of the same truths contained on the pages of the New Testament as well as the book of Acts.
In The Verdict of History, New Testament scholar and historian, Gary Habermas states that, “Tacitus recorded at least one reference to Christ and two to early Christianity, one in each of his major works. The most important one is found in the Annals, written about AD 115” [11].
Habermas continues. He says that, “From this report we can learn several facts [15 total!], both explicit and implicit, concerning Christ and the Christians who lived in Rome in the 60’s A.D..”
Chronologically we may ascertain the following
Christians were named after their founder, Christus (Latin)
He was put to death by Roman procurator Pontius Pilatus (Latin)
This was during ther reign of emperor Tiberius (14-37 A.D.).
His death ended the “superstition” for a short time
It broke out again
It broke out especially in Judea, where the teaching had its origin.
His followers carried his doctrine to Rome
When a great fire destroyed a large part of the city during the reign of Nero (A.D. 54-68) the emperor placed the blame on Christians who lived in Rome
The Christians were hated because of their “abominations.”
These Christians were arrested after pleading guilty
Many were convincted of “hatred for mankind.”
They were mocked
They were tortured, including being “nailed to crosses” or burnt to death
Because of this the people had compassion on the Christians
Tacitus therefore concluded that such punishments were not for public good but were simply “to glut one man’s cruelty” [12]
This is a surprising and remarkable confirmation of the life of Christ just from Tacitus alone!
Nazareth Inscription (Nazareth Decree) – The Nazareth Inscription is a marble tablet inscribed in Greek with an edict from Caesar Augustus ordering capital punishment for anyone caught robbing or destroying tombs. The epigraphy (style of writing) dates it to the first half of the First Century.
The New Testament also mentions several Caesars and government officials by name and in a particular order: Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius and governors, Cyrenius (Quirinus), Pontius Pilate, Felix, Festus, Sergius, Paulus, and Gallio. Commenting on this, G.F. Maclear states, “Classical history attests that these persons existed at the time specified, that they bore the offices here assigned to them, and that the actions ascribed to them are either exactly such as they performed, or at least are in perfect keeping with their known characters” [13]. Furthermore, the order in which the New Testament places these officials is also the order in which Tacitus has them as well.
Maclear concludes that, “…he [Luke], states facts which are in perfect harmony with legitimate inferences from the entirely independent statements of Tacitus and Suetonius” [14].
Of course, Tacitus is not the only non-biblical source where we learn about the life of Christ and the early Church. Others include Seutonius, Pliny the Younger, Flavius Josephus, and Lucian.
Conclusions
In a strange twist of irony, Roman historian Tacitus recorded two world-changing, and epic historical events in the first century with far reaching implications. The two events, however, could not be more different. One was a major battle involving tens of thousands of men and was of utmost gravity and importance to the Roman empire. The other event was a side note to the history of Rome – a reference to the persecuted and pitied Christians with their belief in a risen “Christ.” Yet Christ Himself was also a figure who went to war in a forest of trees, and He engaged in a decisive battle with the enemy. And like Varus, Christ was also betrayed by a friend and died a cruel death. But unlike Varus, Christ rose victorious over death and the grave — unlike Germanicus, however, Christ has not yet returned to execute judgement on His enemies.
The fascinating and terrifying story of the lost legions of Varus serves as a powerful illustration of the historical reliability of Tacitus who also records truths about the life of Christ. By implication, the New Testament and its central figure and message has also been overwhelmingly confirmed by archaeology and history.
ENDNOTES
[1] Tacitus, Annals 1.5
[2] Peter S. Wells, The Battle that Stopped Rome: Emperor Augustus, Arminius, and the Slaughter of the Legions in the Teutoburg Forest (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2004), pg. 15
[3] Ibid.
[4] See Lives of the Twelve Caesars
[6] Wells, pg. 54-5.
[7] For more on his political life and professional career in Rome see, Ronald Haithwaite Martin, “Tacitus,” in Simon Hornblower & Anthony Spawforth, Eds.,The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), pp. 702-4.
[8] For more information on this see Seutonius, The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, “Augustus”
[9] For example, Patrick Sinclair, Tacitus: The Sententious Historian: A Sociology of Rhetoric in Annales 1-6 (University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995).
[10] Harold W. Hoener, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975), see pg. 143.
[11] Gary Habermas, The Verdict of History: Conclusive Evidence for the Life of Jesus (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1988), pg. 87.
[12] Ibid. pg. 88 [emphasis mine].
[13] G.F. Maclear, D.D., Historical Illustrations of the New Testament Scriptures (London: The Religious Tract Society, 1886), pg. 11.
[14] Ibid., pg. 12 [emphasis mine].
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