Germania: The Ancient Germans in Greek and Roman Sources
Geography, Society, Warfare, Religion, and Customs
Seiten
2025
Pen & Sword Books Ltd (Verlag)
978-1-0361-3281-1 (ISBN)
Pen & Sword Books Ltd (Verlag)
978-1-0361-3281-1 (ISBN)
The ancient Germans occupied lands extending from the river Rhine east to the Vistula and from the Danube north to Scandinavia. Their homelands formed the northern frontiers of the Roman Empire, but despite large-scale military and political efforts, the Romans never conquered or fully subjugated the territory they called Germania.
Greek and Roman records provide extensive evidence for the Germanic peoples. These accounts explain the origins, culture, religious beliefs, trade relations, and social practices of the Germans that lived within and beyond the northern frontiers. This book includes early Greek legends regarding the Odyssey, the campaign descriptions of Julius Caesar, the Germania of Tacitus, ethnographic details from the encyclopaedic work of Pliny the Elder and much more besides. The barbaric customs, sacrifices and superstitions of the Germanic people are conveyed in these sources along with Roman prejudices and fears.
The Romans first encountered the Germans in the second century BC when tribes from the Jutland Peninsula migrated south towards the Alps and threatened to overrun Italy. The legions defeated the Cimbri and Teutons, but the Germanic threat remained. In the 50s BC, Julius Caesar fought against the Germans in his conquest of Gaul and was the first Roman general to cross the Rhine. His successor, the Emperor Augustus, sent the legions into Germania to conquer and occupy territories as far as the Elbe. But in AD 9, under the leadership of the war-chief Arminius, the German tribes rebelled and slaughtered three legions in the Teutoburg Forest. The Romans withdrew to the Rhine and Danube rivers, establishing heavily militarized frontiers facing the Germanic lands. Subsequent emperors launched military campaigns against the northern tribes, but the greater part of Germany remained permanently unconquered. The Germans who broke this impasse were the Goths, Vandals, Franks, Angles and Saxons. They breached the frontiers in Late Antiquity and established new homelands in former Roman territories.
This is the first book to present the ancient sources for the Germans. It will be a unique and valuable resource for future scholarship.
Greek and Roman records provide extensive evidence for the Germanic peoples. These accounts explain the origins, culture, religious beliefs, trade relations, and social practices of the Germans that lived within and beyond the northern frontiers. This book includes early Greek legends regarding the Odyssey, the campaign descriptions of Julius Caesar, the Germania of Tacitus, ethnographic details from the encyclopaedic work of Pliny the Elder and much more besides. The barbaric customs, sacrifices and superstitions of the Germanic people are conveyed in these sources along with Roman prejudices and fears.
The Romans first encountered the Germans in the second century BC when tribes from the Jutland Peninsula migrated south towards the Alps and threatened to overrun Italy. The legions defeated the Cimbri and Teutons, but the Germanic threat remained. In the 50s BC, Julius Caesar fought against the Germans in his conquest of Gaul and was the first Roman general to cross the Rhine. His successor, the Emperor Augustus, sent the legions into Germania to conquer and occupy territories as far as the Elbe. But in AD 9, under the leadership of the war-chief Arminius, the German tribes rebelled and slaughtered three legions in the Teutoburg Forest. The Romans withdrew to the Rhine and Danube rivers, establishing heavily militarized frontiers facing the Germanic lands. Subsequent emperors launched military campaigns against the northern tribes, but the greater part of Germany remained permanently unconquered. The Germans who broke this impasse were the Goths, Vandals, Franks, Angles and Saxons. They breached the frontiers in Late Antiquity and established new homelands in former Roman territories.
This is the first book to present the ancient sources for the Germans. It will be a unique and valuable resource for future scholarship.
Dr Raoul McLaughlin obtained his primary degree in Archaeology and Ancient History before completing a Master’s Degree in the same subjects. He completed a PhD in Ancient Economics and Eastern Trade, at Queens University Belfast in 2006. In 2010 he published his research as a monograph, Rome and the Distant East. This was followed by publications with Pen and Sword to advance a new model for the Ancient world economy. In 2014, The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean, was published, followed in 2016 by The Roman Empire and the Silk Routes. He also co-authored Rome and China: Points of Contact (2021).
| Erscheinungsdatum | 17.06.2025 |
|---|---|
| Zusatzinfo | 18 mono illustrations |
| Verlagsort | Barnsley |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 156 x 234 mm |
| Themenwelt | Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Vor- und Frühgeschichte |
| Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Mittelalter | |
| Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte | |
| Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Militärgeschichte | |
| ISBN-10 | 1-0361-3281-1 / 1036132811 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1-0361-3281-1 / 9781036132811 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
Mehr entdecken
aus dem Bereich
aus dem Bereich
Konzepte – Methoden – Theorien
Buch | Softcover (2024)
UTB (Verlag)
CHF 55,85
auf den Spuren der frühen Zivilisationen
Buch | Hardcover (2023)
C.H.Beck (Verlag)
CHF 27,95
