Roman Germania

In 117 AD, the Roman Empire was at its height stretching from Britain in the west to as far as the Euphrates in the east, while the Gabreta Silva (Bohemian Forest; spread through Germany, Czechia and Austria) served the northernmost boundary. The Roman Empire would fill its southern envelope on coastal North Africa and the farthest boundary would be made by the Nile River valley in Egypt. But in any case, even at its peak under the Roman Emperor Trajan (Caesar Nerva Trajanus) between 98 to 117 AD, the Roman frontiers wouldn't cross Bohemia and thus would be in constant conflict with the various Germanic tribes. 

The Roman provinces that would border Germania were as follows:

• Decumates - today's German areas between Rhine, Main and Danube rivers. 
• Vindelicia - the land of the Celts, around today's Bavaria territory. 
• Noricum - another Celtic land that extended over today's Austria and Slovenia. 
• Pannonia - the territory around western Hungary, eastern Austria and neighbours. 
• Germania - with the same name as Germania Superior and Germania Inferior; around today's Rhine river separating France and Germany. 

The territories to the east of Germania would be the tribes of Bastarnæ, Sarmatia and Venedæ that would consist of today's Ukraine, European Russia and the Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. To compare it with today's boundaries, the Germanic tribes were sandwiched between Kaliningrad, Warsaw and Krakow in the east and Cologne and the Netherlands in the west. 

So what was unique about the Germanic tribes that even the mighty Romans couldn't conquer them? 

There is a definite pattern among the nomadic tribes that makes them unconquerable. It might be a coincidence but drawing parallels to the Mongols, the Germanic people were essentially nomad warriors, fierce with their attacking styles, devoted to their chieftains and a strong military that would create enough trouble at the Roman frontiers. These constant ambushes over centuries were one of the key reasons for the downfall of the Roman Empire and the establishment of Germanic kingdoms such as the Kingdom of the Franks, the Kingdom of the Goths, the Vandals, etc. 

Some of the key Germanic tribes much before it expanded in Europe are as follows: 

• Bructeri
• Cherusci
• Langobardi
• Burgundiones
• Rugii
• Guttones
• Lugii
• Quadi
• Frisii
• Saxones
• Chersonesus Cinbrica
• Suebi
• Semones
• Marcomanni
• Boiohaemum
• Batavi
• Sarmatici
• Chatti
• Hermunduri
• Franci
• Angli
• Gothinburi
• Omanni
• Alemanni

This post shall discuss the expansion of Germanic tribes and how numerous today's civilisations have their roots deep submerged in these tribes. It shall primarily focus on civilisations that migrated out of mainland Germany and were settled down in different corners of Europe. 

Interestingly, the origin of Germanic tribes started not from mainland Germany, but from Scandinavia. In 1000 BC, these tribes slowly migrated and spread throughout today's Denmark and regions around the Baltic Sea. By the time the Roman Empire was at its downfall in the 4th century AD, these Germanic tribes started to settle down in various parts of Europe. The Franci or Franks migrated to regions such as Francia, Aquitaine, Normandy and Occitania to give birth to modern-day France. The Suebi tribe migrated from eastern Germany to Gallicia and Portugal in around the 1st century BC to establish the Kingdom of the Suebi (Regnum Suevorum / Regnum Gallæciae) which would be one of the first post-Roman kingdoms to break out. The Lombards or Langobards migrated from the region around Hamburg and settled down in the Italian peninsula in the northern region. The province of Lombardy (with its capital at Milan) derives origin from the same source. The Burgundiones or Burgundians settled from central Germany to the region between Francia and Lotharingia, which exists in today's Burgundy region of France. The Angli (Ængle) and Saxones tribes migrated from the Schleswig and Holstein regions of northern Germany into what today is called England. The Batavi and Frisii tribes are the origins of the Dutch and Frisian ethnicities, both belonging to the Netherlands. In fact, the former name of the Indonesian capital city Jakarta was Batavia (between 1619 to 1942), after the Batavi tribe. It's noteworthy how an ancient Germanic tribe name still found its way into southeast Asian islands for about 3 centuries. The Gutones living around the Pomerania and Lechia regions of Poland would be the origin of the Goths, which would later be seen expanding as Ostrogoths and Visigoths, all around the Mediterranean Sea, majorly in Spain and Italy. 

So what all tribes remained in mainland Germany? The Alemanni tribe that settled down in the Swabia region of southern Germany makes its presence felt even today as the name 'Germany' is referred to as Alemania, Alemanha, Alman, Allemagne etc. in various languages. The Hermunduri tribe settles in what today is Thuringia, central Germany. Descendants of Saxones and Suebis still reside in the territories of Saxony and Swabia. And so on. 

Moving on to some of the settlements that existed during this time. Listing down below its ancient names with modern locations in parenthesis. 

• Treva (possibly Hamburg)
• Phabiranum (Bremen or Bremervörde, Lower Saxony)
• Tuliphurdum (possibly Verden an der Aller, Lower Saxony)
• Mediolanium 
• Bogadium (possibly Salzkotten, North Rhine-Westphalia)
• Segodunum
• Mattium (possibly Fritzlar, Hesse)
• Nicesium 
• Tulisurgum (possibly Braunschweig, Lower Saxony)
• Castelum Caterum 
• Galægia
• Calancorum
• Lugindunum 
• Callisia (Kalisz, Poland)
• Arsenium 
• Setidava (near Kalisz, Poland)
• Virunum
• Budorgis (Wroclaw, Poland)
• Eburodunum (Brno, Czechia)
• Rhedintovinum 
• Singone
• Bibacon
• Locoritum (Lohr am Main, Bavaria)
• Melocabus (Bad Hersfeld, Hesse)
• Bergium
• Tropæa Drusi
• Luffurdum

On the borders of Germania, were the towns of Colonia Agrippina or Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, which points to modern-day Cologne, in North Rhine-Westphalia; Noviomagus Veromanduorum (today's Noyon, France), Vindobona (today's Alter Berghof, Vienna, Austria), Lentia (Linz, Austria), Laureacum (today's Lorch, Austria) etc. The water bodies to the north of Germania were known to the then world as Oceanus Germanicus / Mare Germanicum (North Sea) and Mare Suevicum / Cordanus Sinus (Baltic Sea). Below here is a map of Germania dating around the 2nd century AD with towns marked in (blue) and tribes in (red).