Moosbauer, Günther Die vergessene Römerschlacht

The sensational find at the Harzhorn. 235 AD - in the Orient the Sassanids are threatening the borders of the Imperium Romanum, on the Rhine and Danube Germanic tribes. The legions have lost confidence in Emperor Severus Alexander and in a bloody coup put the experienced officer Maximinus Thrax on the throne. He leads his troops deeper into Germanic territory than any Roman commander has ventured for centuries. There it becomes clear that the old enemy of the empire has lost none of its danger since the Varus catastrophe. But the enormity of the battle only becomes clear 1800 years later, when the forgotten Roman battle at the Harzhorn is excavated.

om is at the height of his power when the forerunners of the Vandals advance south and west from the hinterland of the Roman province of Dacia and cause unrest among the inhabitants of the border regions. Unimpressed by this, in 150 AD Antoninus Pius refused barbarians from the lower and middle Danube the request to be accepted into the imperial federation. A short-sighted decision! In doing so, the emperor fails to create buffer zones. The result is a never-ending series of border conflicts with Germanic units.
This book offers an exciting overview of the military crises of the 2nd and 3rd centuries. It becomes clear how closely interwoven the struggle in the Orient against the Parthians - later the Sassanids - was with developments in the north at the time of Marcus Aurelius' Marcomannic Wars and afterwards during the conflicts with Weser and Elbe Germanic tribes. The overstretching of the military forces of the Imperium Romanum forced the weakening of the frontier regiment sometimes here, sometimes there, and ultimately led to the destabilisation of the empire and the downfall of the Severan dynasty. Their inheritance initially falls to Maximinus Thrax, who must fulfil the expectations of the troops and immediately after taking power leads a campaign deep into Germania that was to be forgotten for almost 2000 years. However, it also becomes apparent that in this situation Rome is still willing and able to defend its apron and borders against the Germanic tribes. No one yet suspects that the time of the soldier emperors is dawning - an era in which, over a period of 50 years, the rulers take turns on the throne, sometimes every month, and the empire begins to totter.

Günther Moosbauer Professor of Provincial Roman Archaeology, is director of the Gäuboden Museum in Straubing. He was scientifically responsible for the "Kalkriese Project" and is considered one of the best experts on the history of the Romans in Germania.


Contents

Chapter 1: Prehistory
Chapter 2: The Superpower in the East and a Cowardly Emperor from the West
Chapter 3: The Germanic Invasions around 233 AD.
Chapter 4: On the eve of the Germanic campaign
Chapter 5: The campaign of Maximinus Thrax in 235 AD Chapter 6: Back in Mainz Chapter 7:Changes in the Barbaricum Chapter 8: The end of Maximinus Thrax Chapter 9: After Maximinus: A test of endurance for the empire Outlook and summary
Appendix: Thanks Literature Picture credits Index