20:
836:
269:, in which huge amounts of Roman and Roman inspired arms and equipment were found. Many of these were probably produced in Scandinavia; many had Scandinavian "factory seals" after a Roman model. This not only tells us that the Germans did indeed use Roman arms, but it also tells us that they had the required knowledge and
670:
Jørgensen, Lars, 2001 The
Warriors, Soldiers and Conscripts of the Anthropology in Late Roman and Migration Period Archaeology, in Military Aspects of the Aristocracy in Barraricum in the Roman and Early Migration. Periods: Papers from an International Research Seminar at the Danish National Museum,
452:
A popular belief is that
Germanic barbarians suddenly invaded and destroyed Roman civilization. Others argue the opposite is true. Hilaire Belloc observes, “What we are told is that the Western Empire was overrun by savage tribes, but there was no barbarian conquest. There was a continuation of what
689:
Storgaard, Birger, 2001 Himlingøje - barbarian empire or Roman implantation?, in
Military Aspects of the Aristocracy in Barbaricum in the Roman and Early Migration Periods: Papers from an International Research Seminar at the Danish National Museum, Copenhagen, 10–11 December 1999, edited by Birger
456:
Norman Cantor points out, “The great invasions were not a war of the barbarians to defeat and subjugate the Roman Empire. Rather, the
Germans sought to become part of the Empire and were fighting for concessions, in the form of land or money. They came as settlers and as allies. They did not defeat
304:
Ulla Lund Hansen and Birger
Storgaard have also suggested that Roman interests in Scandinavia were strong, and that there was direct contact. Storgaard alluded to a text written in accordance with an expedition led by Tiberius in year 5 A.D., in which Tiberius describes what has been interpreted to
659:
Hansen, Ulla Lund, 2001 The nature of centres, i
Military Aspects of the Aristocracy in Barbaricum in the Roman and Early Migration Periods: Papers from an International Research Seminar at the Danish National Museum, Copenhagen, 10–11 December 1999, edited by Birger Storgaard, p. 113-117,
206:
of
Denmark. Indeed, the Roman Empire maintained trade-routes and relations with Danish or proto-Danish peoples, as attested by finds of Roman coins. Depletion of cultivated land in the last century BC seems to have contributed to increasing migrations in northern Europe and increasing conflict
423:
As the
Western Roman Empire collapsed, Germanic tribes reclaimed land taken by the Roman Empire. Thus many Roman objects were obtained, proliferating throughout much of Germania, most likely via the already existing trade networks, all the way to Scandinavia. War spoils may have also added to
136:
incursions into Roman Italy were thrust back in 101 BC. These invasions were written up by Caesar and others as presaging of a
Northern danger for the Roman Republic, a danger that should be controlled. In the Augustean period there was—as a result of Roman activity as far as the
663:
Hansen, Ulla Lund, Jensen, Xenia Pauli og Jørgensen, Lars 2003 Den germanske hær: krigere, soldater og officerer, in
Sejrens triumf, Norden i skyggen af det romerske imperium, edited by Lars Jørgensen, Birger Storgaard and Lone Gebauer Thomsen, p. 310-328, Nationalmuseet,
300:
have suggested Germano-Roman alliances, in which Romans supported a Germanic power in today's Denmark. According to Jørgensen, this was either to destabilize Scandinavia, or to create a Roman friendly power which could help ensure peace and stability in the border areas.
148:
Caesar's wars helped establish the term Germania. The initial purpose of the Roman campaigns was to protect Transalpine Gaul by controlling the area between the Rhine and the Elbe. In AD 9, a revolt of their Germanic subjects headed by the supposed Roman ally,
719:
412:, especially towards the end of the Roman Empire, when it became ever increasingly weak. Pitts points out that ”…it is apparent that, apart from short periods of hostilities, relations between Rome and the Marcomanni and Quadi were friendly…”.
685:
Randsborg, Klavs, 1988 Byen, Magten og Jorden: Europa i det første årtusind, in Fra stamme til stat i Danmark: jernalderens stammesamfunn, vol. 1, edited by Peder Mortensen and Birgit M. Rasmussen, p. 9-18, Aarhus universitetsforlag:
712:
62:
hands, and why a vast amount of Roman objects still can be found as far north as Norway. It is noteworthy to understand how Roman objects brought elements of Roman culture with them, and how they to some extent shaped Germanic
674:
1991 Våbengrave og krigeraristokrati. Etableringen af en centralmagt på Bornholm i det 6. - 8. årh. e.Kr., in Fra stamme til stat i Danmark: Høvdingesamfund og kongemakt, vol. 2, p. 109-24, Aarhus universitetsforlag:
681:
Pitts, Lynn F.,1989 Relations between Rome and the German 'Kings' on the middle Danube in the First to Fourth Centuries A.D., in The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 79, p. 45-58, Society for the Promotion of Roman
705:
693:
2003 Kosmopolitiske aristokrater, in Sejrens triumf, Norden i skyggen af det romerske imperium, edited by Lars Jørgensen, Birger Storgaard and Lone Gebauer Thomsen, p. 106-125, Nationalmuseet, Copenhagen.
399:
The Roman Empire became increasingly vulnerable as they expanded, thus stretching their military capacity. Pitts go on to write that the Marcomans were a very strong military power, with a standing army of 7000
656:
Granscay, Stephen V., 1949 A Barbarian Chieftain's Helmet, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, Vol. 7, No. 10, p. 272-281, The Metropolitan Museum of Art: New York. From Jstore.org.
336:, via Germanic chieftains to Scandinavia. These trade networks may have been established prior to the Roman Empire and suggest a complex and advanced social structure and organisation among the
395:
Rome was perhaps concerned to cultivate these Germanic tribes in order to counterbalance their neighbours. Diplomacy rather than military strength kept the peace along the frontier.
457:
the Roman Empire in one cataclysmic battle; instead, they permeated the Roman world over the course of three centuries and transformed the fundamental nature of Roman civilization.”
125:. The peoples of this area were sometimes at war with Rome, but also engaged in complex and long-term trade relations, military alliances, and cultural exchanges with Rome as well.
329:
It's thus very likely that a lot of the Roman objects found in Scandinavia arrived via trade and trade networks. Grain was a significant commodity in the Roman society.
211:: Roman artefacts are especially common in finds from the 1st century in Jutland. It seems clear that some part of the Danish warrior-aristocracy served in the
453:
had been going on for centuries, an infiltration of people from outside the Empire because within the Empire they could get the advantages of civilization.”
516:
This article is based entirely on a paper written by Are Skarstein Kolberg as part of the Bachelor's degree in Archaeology at the University of Oslo in 2007.
929:
227:. It's probable that Germanic chieftains who fought with the Romans tried to adapt to and adopt Roman culture, and that they sought to identify with the
678:
Kolberg, Are Skarstein, 2013. Aspekter ved utveksling mellom Romerriket og Skandinavia i yngre romersk jernalder. Nicolay arkeologisk tidsskrift, Oslo.
415:
It became more and more common, as the Roman Empire neared its end, that the Romans paid tribute to Germanic armies who threatened to invade Rome.
887:
653:
Dobson, Dina P., 1936 Roman Influence in the North, Greece & Rome, Vol. 5, No. 14, p. 73-89, The Classical Association. From Jstore.org.
852:
751:
121:
rivers, it incorporated many societies into the Empire. The tribal homelands to the north and east emerged collectively in the records as
288:. Archaeological sources tell of Roman equipment and arms that have been discovered as far north as Scandinavia. Danish archaeologists
538:
667:
Ilkjær, Jørgen, 2000 Den første norgeshistorien: Illerupfundet: ny innsikt i skandinavisk romertid, Kunsthistorisk forlag: Tønsberg
161:) ended in the withdrawal of the Roman frontier to the Rhine. At the end of the 1st century two provinces west of the Rhine called
820:
877:
671:
Copenhagen, 10–11 December 1999, edited by Birger Storgaard, p. 9-19, Publications from the National Museum: Copenhagen.
441:
309:
in Denmark. Archaeologists have found Roman coins and scrap metal at Lundeborg, a trading place in relation to this complex.
158:
317:
The Roman Empire depended on trade in many different ways, such as the import of grain. This was especially the case in the
19:
882:
800:
474:
903:
825:
493:
Kolberg, Are Skarstein (2013). "Aspekter ved utveksling mellom Romerriket og Skandinavia i yngre romersk jernalder".
805:
154:
862:
768:
697:
262:
228:
306:
872:
867:
325:…At all periods Rome needed to have some kind of relationship, friendly or otherwise, with her neighbours….
368:
91:
were invaded by migrating Germanic tribes. This culminated in military conflict with the armies of the
297:
293:
857:
289:
380:
270:
815:
469:
305:
be Jutland, in Denmark, although this interpretation is based on myth. Jørgensen points to the
141:—a first definition of the "Germania magna": from Rhine and Danube in the West and South to the
924:
761:
534:
166:
162:
68:
810:
746:
232:
198:
106:
invoked the threat of such attacks as one justification for his annexation of Gaul to Rome.
778:
429:
409:
376:
337:
277:
255:
248:
59:
31:
259:
251:. Germanic tribes who fought against the Romans seized weapons and armor as war spoils.
79:
The first contacts happened by the late 2nd century BC, when Roman authors recount that
186:
157:
and the destruction of three Roman legions in the surprise attack on the Romans at the
92:
23:
Map showing the biggest extension of Roman conquests in "Germania" during the reign of
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790:
756:
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333:
240:
224:
142:
103:
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This trade may have been carried out via already existing trade networks, from the
236:
99:
96:
55:
35:
408:. It's obvious that the Romans wanted to maintain peaceful relations with certain
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in order to enhance and strengthen alliances, bonds and the likes. Archaeologist
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785:
345:
384:
318:
244:
212:
138:
38:
can be divided into four aspects as defined by archaeologist Are Kolberg: the
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Storgaard, p. 95-107, Publications from the National Museum: Copenhagen.
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Another aspect of Germanic-Romanic inter-relations is the exchange of gifts.
273:
to support large armies, as well as produce standardised arms and equipment.
202:, there were only trade contacts between Romans and Scandinavia, mainly with
372:
341:
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proliferation of Roman artefacts. This may also explain the high number of
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88:
39:
24:
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285:
266:
174:
133:
64:
51:
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The Spoils of Victory - The North in the shadow of the Roman Empire
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Members of different Germanic tribes and communities served in the
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84:
54:
aspect. All these aspects give probable answers as to how and why
43:
18:
208:
110:
80:
47:
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and organisation as well. This can be discerned from the huge
276:
It has been suggested that the Romans supported and equipped
16:
Historical contact between the Romans and Germanic tribes
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hands, despite the Roman arms embargo. Two silver cups
896:
843:
737:
660:Publications from the National Museum: Copenhagen
550:Ilkjær 2000: 67,74,78,88,90,92; Jørgensen 2001: 9
207:between Teutonic tribes and Roman settlements in
169:were established. Important medieval cities like
440:, are likely to have been war spoils from the
713:
8:
383:writes about the Roman relationship to the
720:
706:
698:
321:of the Roman Empire. Lynn F. Pitts wrote:
145:and the Baltic Sea in the East and North.
485:
153:, (along with his decisive defeat of
7:
247:prohibited the exporting of arms to
193:were part of these Roman provinces.
14:
930:Foreign relations of ancient Rome
834:
254:The Romans probably influenced
495:Nicolay Arkeologisk Tidsskrift
442:Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
159:Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
1:
95:, in particular those of the
475:Netherlands in the Roman era
371:may have been traded to the
904:Borders of the Roman Empire
946:
832:
728:Territories with limited
256:Germanic military tactics
155:Publius Quinctilius Varus
740:partially or temporarily
533:, Nationalmuseet, 2003.
527:Cosmopolitan aristocrats
434:found in a grave in Hoby
640:Storgaard 2003: 110-112
448:End of the Roman empire
307:Gudme-Lundeborg complex
732:occupation and contact
397:
327:
239:objects, although not
27:
393:
323:
102:. Six decades later,
22:
30:The contact between
568:Storgaard 2003: 106
284:, which is today's
271:social organisation
883:Sub-Saharan Africa
622:Randsborg 1988: 13
595:Jørgensen 2001: 13
559:Jørgensen 2001: 13
529:, pp. 106-125 in:
525:Birger Storgaard,
470:History of Germany
351:has been found at
231:. In exchange for
28:
912:
911:
888:Equatorial Africa
762:Byzantine Armenia
752:Caucasian Albania
577:Pitts 1989:45, 46
167:Germania Superior
163:Germania Inferior
58:objects got into
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838:
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377:diplomatic gifts
298:Ulla Lund Hansen
294:Birger Storgaard
235:, they received
233:military service
199:Limes Germanicus
113:expanded to the
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631:Ilkjær 2000: 77
630:
626:
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586:Dobson 1936: 73
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410:Germanic tribes
365:
338:Germanic tribes
315:
280:in the part of
278:Germanic tribes
249:Germanic tribes
221:
219:Military aspect
77:
32:Germanic tribes
17:
12:
11:
5:
943:
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604:Pitts 1989: 46
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419:Plunder aspect
417:
364:
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314:
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290:Lars Jørgensen
229:Roman nobility
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93:Roman Republic
76:
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15:
13:
10:
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6:
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3:
2:
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757:Roman Armenia
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637:
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625:
619:
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613:Pitts 1989:46
610:
607:
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598:
592:
589:
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539:87-7602-006-1
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519:
513:
510:
504:
501:
497:(119): 81–90.
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382:
381:Lynn F. Pitts
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334:Mediterranean
330:
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319:early periods
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241:Roman weapons
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225:Roman legions
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196:North of the
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104:Julius Caesar
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45:
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33:
26:
21:
846:explorations
774:Roman Crimea
730:Roman Empire
636:
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591:
582:
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526:
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366:
346:Scandinavian
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316:
313:Trade aspect
303:
275:
260:Illerup Ådal
253:
222:
197:
195:
147:
127:
108:
100:Gaius Marius
97:Roman Consul
78:
29:
873:Scandinavia
806:Netherlands
801:Mesopotamia
664:Copenhagen.
363:Gift aspect
919:Categories
647:References
444:in 9 A.D.
385:Marcomanni
263:excavation
245:Roman laws
213:Roman army
139:Elbe River
50:, and the
404:and 4000
373:Germanics
369:Artefacts
342:societies
925:Germania
897:See also
821:Scotland
816:Slovakia
738:Occupied
682:Studies.
464:See also
430:Germanic
428:arms in
402:infantry
387:and the
282:Germania
151:Arminius
123:Germania
89:Hispania
69:identity
60:Germanic
40:military
25:Augustus
878:Somalia
868:Ireland
796:Germany
791:Georgia
779:Cherson
769:Assyria
507:Kolberg
438:Denmark
406:cavalry
286:Denmark
267:Denmark
175:Cologne
143:Vistula
134:Teutoni
75:History
65:culture
52:plunder
811:Persia
747:Arabia
686:Århus.
675:Aarhus
537:
391:that:
357:Greece
353:Mycene
191:Speyer
171:Aachen
130:Cimbri
119:Danube
46:, the
42:, the
36:Romans
863:India
858:China
826:Sudan
786:Dacia
481:Notes
436:, in
426:Roman
389:Quadi
355:, in
349:amber
237:Roman
204:Jutes
187:Worms
183:Mainz
179:Trier
115:Rhine
85:Italy
56:Roman
44:trade
535:ISBN
340:and
296:and
209:Gaul
189:and
165:and
132:and
128:The
117:and
111:Rome
87:and
81:Gaul
67:and
48:gift
34:and
375:as
265:in
243:as
109:As
921::
359:.
344:.
292:,
215:.
185:,
181:,
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83:,
71:.
721:e
714:t
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541:.
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