Germanicus: The Roman General Who Restored Honor To The Empire 

I made a dumb speaking error at 4:55 when I said 12,000 "legions" instead of "legionaries." I somehow missed it during editing and I hate the fact that I cannot fix it. Sorry for the mistake.

I think an appropriate title for this video is: “The Empire Strikes Back: Germanicus’s Glory”

At first, I was like, “good dude, good story!” .....then “father of Caligula, grandfather of Nero”.....well, damn

Can’t wait for him to show up in season 2 of Barbarians

I knew germanicus was a hero but according to what he accomplished this guy was a living legend.

What a joy at 58 years of age to hear an amazing story of Roman history I haven't read, or listened to before. Well done!

Germanicus making Rome great again. Too bad he got assassinated, had he lived long enough to become Emperor, he would have built his wall before Hadrian, and then made Arminius and his barbarian tribes pay for it.

Germanicus was the most "Caesar" Of all Caesars heirs

*The greatest emperor Rome never had*

Being of Germanic blood, I want to root for my ancestors. But I fully realize that the Romans represent western civilization and technology. Without Rome our current world would not exist. I may well still be living in a mead hall in some dark European forest. Time waits for no one. And progress marches on.

Drusus and Germanicus are like the cool older brothers that Tiberius and Claudius are always left in their shadow

The missing emperor. Germanicus, hero of Rome.

Germanicus was a hell of a leader!! I love history. Thanks for the video!

The virgin Arminius vs. The chad Germanicus

Tiberius should have let Germanicus finish the job. It ended up costing Rome immensely in dealing with the forest savages for the next few centuries.

Had Germanicus lived to reign, it is unlikely Claudius or Caligula or Nero would have ruled. His sons Nero and Drusus would have reigned after him and the world would be a different place. Enthralled by his story and love the Getty image before his first shave, apparently at 18 or 19 just before he married Agrippina. Hats off for making this!

*”SERVANT OF THE REPUBLIC”*

It is interesting to reflect that Germanicus had all the qualities to make a superb Roman Emperor but for his untimely death. His family was treated very poorly by Tiberius but one of his sons, Caligula, "little boots" as his father's soldiers called him, followed after Tiberius as Emperor with high hopes that he would be just like his dad. Caligula quickly turned into a full blown monster, as terrible as any Emperor, before he was assassinated after 4 of so years.

The Good Emperor that never was. One of the great what ifs of history.

Another epic story of the SPQR. Thanks, again, for these videos!!!

Top quality as usual, great work

"Rome was in her six hundred and fortieth year when the alarm of the Cimbrian arms was first heard, in the consulship of Caecilius Metellus and Papirius Carbo. Reckoning from that year to the second consulship of the emperor Trajan, we get a total of about two hundred and ten years. Such is the time it is taking to conquer Germany. In this long period much punishment has been given and taken. Neither by the Samnites nor by the Carthaginians, not by Spain or Gaul, or even by the Parthians, have we had more lessons taught us. The freedom of Germany is capable of more energetic action than the Arsacid despotism. After all, what has the East to taunt us with, except the slaughter of Crassus? And it soon lost its own prince Pacorus and was humbled at the feet of Ventidius. But the Germans routed or captured Carbo, Cassius, Aurelius Scaurus, Servilius Cacpio, and Mallius Maximus, and robbed the Republic, almost at one stroke, of five consular armies. Even from Augustus they took Varus and his three legions. And we had to pay a high price for the defeats inflicted upon them by Gaius Marius in Italy, by Julius Caesar in Gaul, and by Drusus, Tiberius, and Germanicus in their own country. The boastful threats of Gaius Caesar ended in farce. After that came a lull, until the Germans took advantage of our dissensions and civil wars to storm the quarters of the legions and make a bid for possession of Gaul. This attempt ended in another defeat for them; but the more recent 'victories' claimed by our commanders have been little more than excuses for celebrating triumphs." TACITUS Germania

Great video,thank you so much for sharing

I hope this is what we see in Barbarians Season 2! This is super interesting! Germanicus is such an incredible leader! If he was allowed to continue campaigning he probably would’ve conquered all of Germania

Father of the most insane Emperor Caligula.

I love that you played Synaulia as the background music! I love that first song.

Thanks for this added detail that is often omitted for the sake of brevity in discussing the Roman Empire/

Keep the good job man !!

Love these!

Great video,keep it up!

Germanicus is in the same camp as the Black Prince. Great princes that died too soon to become great kings.

so interesting! greetings from spain!

Who ever it was killed Germanicus, they made a serious cock up, letting in the likes of Caligula / Claudius and Nero, oh how Glorious it could have been, Had he lived I wonder if Caligula might have turned out differently,and possibly we may not have had the 2 preceding emperors.

Augustus: Now this, this brings me a smile.

I’ve always found Germanicus one of the most interesting people in history

Fighting in Germania must have been close to true terror. Ambushes, treacherous terrain, and what I perceive to be greater societal cohesion than was seen with the Gauls. Vercingetorix's unification came too late against an enemy far too concentrated in mobilization.

The best emperor Rome never had.

T he right man in the right place. Ave Germanicus^^

12 thousand Roman legions, that’d be millions of dudes lol

Well done and I didn't even notice the error as I was captured by the overall story.

where did you get those images? 1:42 great vid as always btw

Incredible!

Keep bringing the history to us nobodies.

I think Russel Crowe's character in _Gladiator_ , "Maximus", was inspired by this general.

Well done.

Soo..germanicus whas a badass

A inspiration to all man

love it

Interesting history )

The right Scenario for a Sequel/Prequel of the film "the Gladiator" Please, someone talk to Ridley Scott and Paramount studio

An excellent read....and little boots the troops loved....

Germanicus was a very competent general and statesman. That combined with the love of the people makes you wonder what if Tiberius hadent sent him off to the boondocks and positioned. His family suffered, and the people suffered at the hands of his family. He could have changed the fate of the Julio Claudian dynasty and with him as emperor continued the golden age of empire. Its all speculation of course, but he would have been a fine emperor and his male prodigy and heirs wouldnt have ended up dead or monsters

Anyone got the source for the background music?

Nice soundtrack

3:20 Arminius was not a Roman ally he was a Captain of the Roman army

The soldiers general..what if what if..why why hasn't an epic film been made about this magnificent roman general...romes enemies were truly mighty warriors and fearless...the romans truly are an awesome people...they have made such huge knowledge for Europe..in untold things..SPQR

I do wonder how history would have played out if one he was allowed to finish up in germany and 2 he lived to become Emperor could Rome have lasted longer without the Barbarian invasion that came form Germany

Very interesting post about an underrated Roman general , who led from the front , and retrieved two of the lost Roman eagle standards .

Does anyone know what the piece at 6:53 is?

Wow! Watching this make me want to play Total War Arena .. anyone from Indonesia / SEA here?

Dude that guy is my grandpa I swear I know him

All Italy stay whit Germanico 🇮🇹

You and History Time should collaborate.

Please tell me the music

...and they lived happily ever after. end.

What a great man!! And his son and grandson were emperors?? They must have been great empe.... oh Caligula and Nero. :/

If he had lived, Rome would've had a far better emperor than his son, and both his son and grandson would've been raised far better, and most likely been better men for it. Such a shame.

From 0:46-0:52 you said that the common people hoped Germanicus would bring back democracy to the former republic??? Why would he bring back democracy if Rome was formerly a republic? Greece instituted democracy while Rome instituted a republic.

Any books anyone can recommend about Germanicus and his campaigns? Thanks Great video

Augustus held tiberius as the last choice of being his heir because he knew that tiberius wasn't the best Drusus and Germanicus were his top choices

The legion that died in Teutonberg? Italian Roman or Gallic Legion?

Before clicking on this video, I thought of Odenathus, but this general certainly brought prestige to Rome!

Then Drusus died as he felt from his horse during the campaign His brother Tiberius arrived as he died. They were following the policy of Augustus to set the border to the Elba river Augustus had failed previous attempt to do this by a fleet of Aenobarbus. Augustus had failed to conquer Germany but Roman propaganda could not admit the failure Augustus admired the virgin strength of the German tribes and his bodyguard was the German guard Tiberius hated Germans and when emperor get rid of the German guard and starts the Pretorian He tought the Germans not suit to integration and abandoned the conquest plan

The trees are speaking: panik Your'e not in Vietnam: kalm Your'e in the Teutoberg forests, 9 AD: PANIK!

Number 15: Burger king foot lettuce. The last thing you'd want in your Burger King burger is someone's foot fungus. But as it turns out, that might be what you get. A 4channer uploaded a photo anonymously to the site showcasing his feet in a plastic bin of lettuce.

Son of Rome

Sounds better !

He was the father of caligula ...who may have been behind his death .

Thus, even had Germanicus avoided assassination to become emperor, Rome would still have to bear the ruin of Caligula, Claudius might well have followed him, and possibly Nero, too. That is called Fate.

honor is what ever you want honor to be

*THE GOLDEN BOY OF ROME* the best Emperor Rome never had

I also speak in a monotone like I knew nothing of Germanicus, but read every single word from paper

The mutineers was ready to crown him emperor. He had the military, influence. If he wanted he could’ve marched and took it from Tiberius.

I think my fav Roman general

Good effort, but please speak a little slower. It would be easier to listen to and take in all the information you are presenting. It would also lend a bit more weight and gravitas to your words.

The "A" in Germania is short *not* long hence more like Germahnia *not* like Germ-mania. But anyway this is the best presentation of the story I've heard yet

Would you do a collaboration video with us?

What heavenly music is this, you must tell me.

After his murder it all went off the rails.

... and gave us Caligula.

This video brings up a few questions I have had about the tribes of northern Europe at this time: 1. I had thought that during the first millennium BC, the Celtic tribes were the dominant tribal group of northern Europe, and that at one point they controlled what is now Germany, France, Britain, and Ireland. I had thought that the Gauls of France were a Celtic tribe and spoke a form of Gaelic. I guess that Arminius and his people were German and spoke an ancient form of German. When did the Germans replace the Celts as the dominant tribe of what is now Germany? 2. Regarding later tribes, e.g. Huns, Goths, and Vandals, what languages did they speak? Were they Germanic too?

would've been a good emperor.

Germanicus did win battles against Arminius (while severely losing others, and ending some effectively in a tie), but he was most definitely not successful in his campaign objectives into Germania Magna, completely failing to revive the conquest of the territory east of the Rhine. He neither managed to convince Arminius to give in, nor did he capture or kill him, he failed to break the alliance of Germanic tribes and didn't manage to decisively decimate the Germanic forces, which continued to be a considerable threat and lead Rome to change its strategic approach from conquest and expansion to securing and controlling a border with only rather limited campaigns beyond it. The fact that he recovered only two of the three lost Eagles was considered a symbolic sign of failure, much like the fact that he found himself unable to rebuild the memorial tumulus at the Varus battle site after the Germani had first destroyed it. Tiberius considered Germanicus' campaigns as catastrophic and too costly, and recalled him with the promise of preserving his honor regardless. All this hogwash around Germanicus' "superiority" and "minor Roman losses" vs. "huge German(sic) casualties" and a "brilliantly fought campaign" smacks of fiction and propaganda. Apart from that you are missing two things: The near disaster of Caecina (losing 15.000 soldiers in one battle alone at the Pontes Longi) and the panic in Vetera when only Agrippina maiors intervention stopped the garrison from destroying the rhine bridge, saving the withdrawing legions. These incidents of 15 AD don't indicate a very succesful campaign of Germanicus. Considering Arminius being able to defeat Marobodus 17 AD (Marbodus have had a 74.000 srtong army) his losses to Germanicus in 16 AD couldn't have been crippling. Germanicus led 8 Legions into Germania, a third of the imperial army, without lasting success. Compare this with Vespasians 3 legions (plus allies) in Iudaea or Traians 7 Legions in his first dacian war, both successful campaigns. Even Tacitus described Arminius as victorious: "wining some and losing som battles but unbeaten in war and with no doubt the Liberator of Germania".

I thought Biggus Dickus was the one did it?

great ending. The mini series "I, Claudius" doesn't do him justice.

do you think this is where the term "cussing someone out," came from?

Tiberius was a coward and traitor for having him killed. It set back the empire with drastic consequences as he also killed his two eldest sons and kept Caligula “nursing a viper” to become the next emperor who lost his mind.

Germanicus Gen. Aulus Caecina with his Legions was near the same fate like Varus a few years before but he escaped with luck and because the Germanic Warriors did not hear to Arminius to wait with the attack until the Legions are on the march again, Caecina and his Legions escaped with high losses. Also a Stormflood and bad Weather cost the romans under Germanicus many Men during the Campaign. So what about restored honor,? nothing was achieved Tiberius forced them to retreat to the Rhine border and many Men and material lost during the Campaign

Music?

on the map can be seen the Slavic tribe called Iazyges (Jazyci). it is clean Slavic word. another tribes of Slavs are: Silingae (silesians, slezané), Lugii (lučané), Rugians (Rusíni).