How Knowledge Stopped and Empire
In the First Century AD, the 17th, 18th, and 19th Legions (a legion was around 5,000 soldiers) of the Roman Army, as well as their auxiliaries, were annihilated in the thick forest of Teutoberg in what was then known as Germania. Germania, which laid just beyond the Rhine, was seen by the Romans as being beyond civilization, and inhabited by backwards, uncivilized people: the tribal Germanic peoples. The land beyond the Rhine was full of superstition and myth to the average Roman soldier. Some of the mythological creatures from horror today come from beliefs of what lied beyond the Rhine. The defeat of the Roman legions—an unprecedented defeat for the Roman army at the time, was made possible by the leadership of …show more content…
Arminius, who was trained in both the theory, and practice of how the Roman military functioned, knew the weakness of the legions. A Roman Legion required that it have the time to form its lines, use its artillery, use its archers, and use its infantry all in concert with one another; the Romans were the best, most well-funded professional military the world had ever seen at the time, but they had weaknesses. Part of that weakness was their …show more content…
Today, Arminius is viewed as a symbol of German nationalism. Every year, there is a celebration of the Battle of Teutoberg Forest. To read more about Arminius and the ancient peoples of Germania, I refer you to The Battle that Stopped Rome, by Peter S. Wells, as well as The Germania and The Annals by Tacitus. One man with knowledge can stop an
In the First Century AD, the 17th, 18th, and 19th Legions (a legion was around 5,000 soldiers) of the Roman Army, as well as their auxiliaries, were annihilated in the thick forest of Teutoberg in what was then known as Germania. Germania, which laid just beyond the Rhine, was seen by the Romans as being beyond civilization, and inhabited by backwards, uncivilized people: the tribal Germanic peoples. The land beyond the Rhine was full of superstition and myth to the average Roman soldier. Some of the mythological creatures from horror today come from beliefs of what lied beyond the Rhine. The defeat of the Roman legions—an unprecedented defeat for the Roman army at the time, was made possible by the leadership of …show more content…
Arminius, who was trained in both the theory, and practice of how the Roman military functioned, knew the weakness of the legions. A Roman Legion required that it have the time to form its lines, use its artillery, use its archers, and use its infantry all in concert with one another; the Romans were the best, most well-funded professional military the world had ever seen at the time, but they had weaknesses. Part of that weakness was their …show more content…
Today, Arminius is viewed as a symbol of German nationalism. Every year, there is a celebration of the Battle of Teutoberg Forest. To read more about Arminius and the ancient peoples of Germania, I refer you to The Battle that Stopped Rome, by Peter S. Wells, as well as The Germania and The Annals by Tacitus. One man with knowledge can stop an