The+Rise+of+the+Germanics

Home   Germanic Essay - The Rise By: Kevin Buck Approximately 3000 B.C., a group of Indo-Europeans spread into northwest Europe, where they settled among earlier populations of Neolithic farmers and Old Stone-Age hunters. They were called the Germanic Tribes. There were six major Germanic tribes, the Visigoths, the Ostrogoths , the Vandals , the Burgundians , the Lombards , and the Franks. All six tribes participated in the fragmentation and the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. __The Germanic tribes were considered a true underdog of that era.__

The Germanics were an alliance of tribes in Northern Europe who would eventually play a key role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire. These tribes resided primarily in areas (modern day Scandinavia) where soil was very poor and the environment extremely cold for most of the year. Plundering new territory for farmland and goods was a mainstay in the Germanic Society. Their search for new lands pushed them into areas controlled by the Roman Empire. In 112 B.C., Germanic tribes from the middle Baltic Sea area invaded Gaul (Spain). During the extensive raid they attacked and destroyed five Roman armies sent against them before turning towards Italy. This event was the beginning of the feud between the Romans and the Germanic tribes.

It wasn’t until 9 A. D.  that the Germanics and the Romans clashed again for another major conflict. The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest took place in 9 A.D. when an alliance of Germanic tribes led by Arminius, the son of Segimer of the Cherusci, ambushed and destroyed three Roman legions led by Publius Quinctilius Varus.

The battle of the Teutoburg Forest was a brutal seven-year war which was ultimately won by the Germanics. The newly established Germanic territory set the Rhine River as the boundary of the Roman Empire for the next four hundred years. Recognizing the strength of the Germanics, the Roman Empire made no further concerted attempts to conquer Germania beyond the Rhine River. This marked the peak in the Germanic era and a turning point for the Roman Empire towards its decline. The united force of the Germanic underdogs was no match for a weakening Roman Empire.

An underdog is defined as some one who is at a disadvantage and is expected to lose. Today we see the underdogs in every facet of life such as, in sports, history, and politics. The Germanics were a brutal fighting force capable of defeating the mighty Roman armies as they continued to plunder and control the Roman Empire territory. A combination of skill, cunning and timing allowed the Germanics to push the Roman Empire into a collapse.

In 395 A.D. the last ruler of the united Roman Empire, Theodosius died. He left the Eastern portion of the empire to his 18-year-old son, Arcadius and the Western portion to his 10-year-old son, Honorius. Even though the Eastern Roman Empire remained strong, the Western Roman Empire began to decline in the face of economic disintegration, a 10-year-old emperor and invading Germanic Tribes. The Roman government demanded more taxes and goods from their people. Panic and alienation drove both peasants and city dwellers from their homes.

In addition to the rapidly declining Western Roman Empire, the Romans had within their ranks hired Germanic mercenaries. These mercenaries were given the responsibility of protecting the heart of the empire, Rome. Recognizing the weakening of the empire, these mercenaries attacked from within. These mercenaries eventually overthrew the Western Roman leader and made the Germanic, Odoacer, ruler.

The strength of the invading Germanic armies and the overthrow of the Western Roman leader ended the Roman Empire in the West. This mighty Roman Empire had been defeated in the west by their underestimation of the determination and desire to succeed of an underdog- the Germanics.