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Rome's Greatest Defeat: Massacre in the Teutoburg Forest
Over four days at the beginning of September AD 9, half of Rome's Western army was ambushed in a German forest and annihilated. Three legions, three cavalry units and six auxiliary regiments—some 25,000 men—were wiped out. It dealt a body blow to the empire's imperial pretensions and was Rome's greatest defeat. No other battle stopped the Roman empire dead in its tracks. From the moment of the Teutoburg Forest disaster, the Rhine, rather than the Elbe as the Romans had hoped, became the limit of the civilized world. Rome's expansion in northern Europe was checked and Rome anxiously patrolled the Rhineland borders, awaiting further uprisings from Germania. Although one of the most significant and dramatic battles in European history, this is also one that has been largely overlooked. Drawing on primary sources and a vast wealth of new archeological evidence, Adrian Murdoch brings to life the battle itself, the historical background, and the effects of the Roman defeat as well as exploring the personalities of those who took part.
234 pages, Hardcover
First published April 20, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
August 27, 2016
If you're interested in the Varian/Kalkriese disaster in AD/CE 9, you need to buy this fine textbook by Adrian Murdoch. Firstly, there aren't many texts out there on this subject, which is surprising, given that it was one of the greatest defeats that Rome ever suffered. Secondly, the ones that are around aren't as well written or presented as this volume. This book is firmly based on research, both of the ancient texts and the archaeological finds in Germany, from the sites of forts to the reputed site of the battle, which is in a little place called Kalkriese, some distance east of the Rhine.
One of the other reviews on here complains that there's not much in this text about the battle itself. That comment reflects the ignorance of the reviewer more than anything else. Like so many events from Roman times, very little material survives about the Kalkriese disaster. If Murdoch had confined himself to that, the book would be very short indeed. Readers would then also miss out on the background to the battle - Rome's campaigns into Germany for the preceding 20 years or so, and descriptions of the German tribes, of Arminius and Varus. After the story of the battle, Murdoch delves into its aftermath, and the effects that the clash had on later German history.
If you were to buy two texts on this famous battle, I would go for this book and one other - a magazine, actually, the 2009 Ancient Warfare special - The Varian Disaster. Buy it at karwansaraypublishers dot com
I give this great textbook five solid stars out of five.
One of the other reviews on here complains that there's not much in this text about the battle itself. That comment reflects the ignorance of the reviewer more than anything else. Like so many events from Roman times, very little material survives about the Kalkriese disaster. If Murdoch had confined himself to that, the book would be very short indeed. Readers would then also miss out on the background to the battle - Rome's campaigns into Germany for the preceding 20 years or so, and descriptions of the German tribes, of Arminius and Varus. After the story of the battle, Murdoch delves into its aftermath, and the effects that the clash had on later German history.
If you were to buy two texts on this famous battle, I would go for this book and one other - a magazine, actually, the 2009 Ancient Warfare special - The Varian Disaster. Buy it at karwansaraypublishers dot com
I give this great textbook five solid stars out of five.
February 27, 2010
"Varus, Varus, give me back my legions" So said Augustus when he received both the news of the loss of the Roman legions in Germany and Varus' head in a basket.
The battle in the Teutoburgerwald, the rout and almost complete destruction of three veteran Roman legions, is the stuff of legend to those who read Roman history. Murdoch's book came highly recommend to me by a source at Historicon. this is the veriorum report of what happened to the Roman legions in the Teutobergerwald.
The battle in the Teutoburgerwald, the rout and almost complete destruction of three veteran Roman legions, is the stuff of legend to those who read Roman history. Murdoch's book came highly recommend to me by a source at Historicon. this is the veriorum report of what happened to the Roman legions in the Teutobergerwald.
December 5, 2016
I have mixed feelings about this book. On the plus side, it is extensive, providing historical context, discussing the literary source material, the archaeological record and its development, and highlighting the impact and cultural appropriation of the battle throughout history. The writer is careful to draw conclusions and prefers to refer to academic consensus and/or provides the source material with the appropriate caveats for the reader to judge. An exception to this, however, is the linguistic analysis of proper names, which he performs himself, unimpeded by any onomatological background (which bothered me a bit with a background in historical linguistics).
On the minus side, the book is crammed with convoluted sentences that prevent a good 'flow' of the text and that sometimes force you to back up and reread (though I should probably say at this point that English isn't my native language). Also, the writer presumes a lot of background knowledge that is particular to England, its culture, and its colonial history, in the analogies and comparisons that he frequently sketches out. I also lost a degree of respect for the writer as a historian when I read on p.118 the nonsensical and unacceptably anachronistic sentence "What is often ignored is the strong element of jihad in Arminius' crusade." followed by a paragraph on Germanic blood sacrifice, providing no justification for having invoked a comparison to both the Christian concept of crusade and the Islamic concept of jihad in one sentence.
All in all, a rating of three stars seems appropriate to me.
On the minus side, the book is crammed with convoluted sentences that prevent a good 'flow' of the text and that sometimes force you to back up and reread (though I should probably say at this point that English isn't my native language). Also, the writer presumes a lot of background knowledge that is particular to England, its culture, and its colonial history, in the analogies and comparisons that he frequently sketches out. I also lost a degree of respect for the writer as a historian when I read on p.118 the nonsensical and unacceptably anachronistic sentence "What is often ignored is the strong element of jihad in Arminius' crusade." followed by a paragraph on Germanic blood sacrifice, providing no justification for having invoked a comparison to both the Christian concept of crusade and the Islamic concept of jihad in one sentence.
All in all, a rating of three stars seems appropriate to me.
May 30, 2014
This is a topic that deserves far better coverage than it has so far received. The author himself says that it is shocking how little is written on it.
This is. "Big picture" book ranging from the political machinations of the Roman Empire at the time, the background of the famous Varus right through to the politicisation of the event through history and a nicely detailed description of the discovery of the battlefield itself.
You would have to give the author 10 out of 10 for research and also for confidence in his opinions. He gives a few hefty backhand wallops to inferior writers, which I always find to be fun.
I would have really liked to have seen more on the battle itself, there is a gap in the book over this. Perhaps the writer was uncomfortable with the horror of the actual events?
Anyway, great book on a vital topic. It shows the deep roots of the northern/southern split in Europe and should be a must read for anyone serious about understanding European history.
This is. "Big picture" book ranging from the political machinations of the Roman Empire at the time, the background of the famous Varus right through to the politicisation of the event through history and a nicely detailed description of the discovery of the battlefield itself.
You would have to give the author 10 out of 10 for research and also for confidence in his opinions. He gives a few hefty backhand wallops to inferior writers, which I always find to be fun.
I would have really liked to have seen more on the battle itself, there is a gap in the book over this. Perhaps the writer was uncomfortable with the horror of the actual events?
Anyway, great book on a vital topic. It shows the deep roots of the northern/southern split in Europe and should be a must read for anyone serious about understanding European history.
January 3, 2020
Good read about an obscure (to me) battle in Germany between the Roman Empire and the native Germans in AD 9. The author does a good job of putting the battle in context of the time and then goes on to show how the battle resonated down through the centuries for the Germans.
Made me want to visit the dig site!
Made me want to visit the dig site!
March 20, 2011
I like the fact that Mr. Murdoch does not draw conclusions where facts or reasonable deduction preclude them, particularly when it comes to the two main players in this saga. He does an admirable job of avoiding the various cults of personality around Arminius and Varus, detailing the biases of the day and of the Roman historians that passed down history as they interpreted it. By doing so he expunged some of the negatives heaped upon Varus, while fully accounting for Varus' complicatedness in the disaster. Men and women on the periphery of the battle, and their roles, are well explored, as well as how Arminius and the battle was perceived by the German people through the centuries. This is an all encompassing book. I did not give it five stars because the writing did lack passion IMO, especially when it came to the battle itself where I would have forgiven the author for more conjecture and a infusion of flair. The scholarly tone left me wanting more in that chapter, but is otherwise not out of place for such a historic moment in time.
March 24, 2023
This book was so helpful to give me further insight and understanding into both the early Roman Empire as well as the German tribal mentality. The plot line of a German serving as a Roman officer turned traitor who leads an insurrection and destroys three Roman legions - some 22,500 men - is iconic. History reads like a novel in this story telling. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
November 20, 2024
The battle of Teutoburg Forest has an immense amount of myth and legend about it. A massive defeat in which Varus leads three roman legions to their doom. The might of the greatest war machine the world had seen up to this point is brought low by the pluck and courage of the German tribes. A wailing Augustus crying ‘Varus give me back my legions’. So most people with any interest in history will have likely heard of the battle. Adrian Murdoch in his book Rome’s Greatest Defeat tries to lift the lid on the battle and explain the details. What was the context in which it was fought? Why did it come about? How did the battle go? What were the consequences?
As with practically any ancient event, not as much information as we would like has survived the ravages of time, but there are a few sources here. And the battlefield itself has been discovered helping to build a reasonably detailed picture. Nonetheless the course of battle itself is a small part of the book that is mostly taken up building up the picture when the campaign was launched so we understand the context in which it was fought. Until the last couple of chapters Murdoch gives us a more or less chronological narrative making the book easy to read and follow. Those final chapters are about the legacy of the battle and the discovery of the battlefield.
Rome had a fair few great defeats during 1000 years of republic and empire. Does the Teutoburg Forest really deserve to be considered the ‘greatest’. Probably not; it is not the biggest in terms of numbers killed or the balance of losses - the loss to Hannibal at Cannae would be greater, nor is it the most consequential defeat as Adrianople would surely rank higher for setting the course to the end of the Empire. So there is a bit of hyperbole. But Teutoburg Forest was the greatest defeat for when the empire was at its height. And probably had the greatest consequences too; no Roman province covering much of Germany. But the biggest consequence here was cultural; the cultural dividing line on the Rhine. And more recently the battle being a significant part in German nationalism with all its attendant baggage
Murdoch tries to put the battle into context and to help us understand the position Varus was in - and so at the same time reassess his actions. We clearly know Varus as a terrible general but that is solely for this one action, whereas in Judea he served well. Murdoch explains how Varus’ actions in the lead up the the battle were what would be expected of a Roman general of the time. So while he clearly missed some signs of the impending conflict and was not as prepared, or suspicious as he could have been, this was entirely understandable and most other Roman generals would likely have done the same.
By far the biggest disappointment is the lack of a map of the battle, either a plan of how it went or of the battlefield itself. Although in the past there has been controversy about where the battlefield is this has been pretty much put to rest. Murdoch provides a lot of detail on how the action was dependant on the geography of the battlefield so it should have been comparatively simple to provide some kind of map, which would have been a significant aide to the reader. I should note there is a much wider map of Germania and the Rhine frontier and of Judea - though I feel both to be less necessary to the book.
A good book for the general reader wanting to puncture those myths or simply find out more about this famous battle.
As with practically any ancient event, not as much information as we would like has survived the ravages of time, but there are a few sources here. And the battlefield itself has been discovered helping to build a reasonably detailed picture. Nonetheless the course of battle itself is a small part of the book that is mostly taken up building up the picture when the campaign was launched so we understand the context in which it was fought. Until the last couple of chapters Murdoch gives us a more or less chronological narrative making the book easy to read and follow. Those final chapters are about the legacy of the battle and the discovery of the battlefield.
Rome had a fair few great defeats during 1000 years of republic and empire. Does the Teutoburg Forest really deserve to be considered the ‘greatest’. Probably not; it is not the biggest in terms of numbers killed or the balance of losses - the loss to Hannibal at Cannae would be greater, nor is it the most consequential defeat as Adrianople would surely rank higher for setting the course to the end of the Empire. So there is a bit of hyperbole. But Teutoburg Forest was the greatest defeat for when the empire was at its height. And probably had the greatest consequences too; no Roman province covering much of Germany. But the biggest consequence here was cultural; the cultural dividing line on the Rhine. And more recently the battle being a significant part in German nationalism with all its attendant baggage
Murdoch tries to put the battle into context and to help us understand the position Varus was in - and so at the same time reassess his actions. We clearly know Varus as a terrible general but that is solely for this one action, whereas in Judea he served well. Murdoch explains how Varus’ actions in the lead up the the battle were what would be expected of a Roman general of the time. So while he clearly missed some signs of the impending conflict and was not as prepared, or suspicious as he could have been, this was entirely understandable and most other Roman generals would likely have done the same.
By far the biggest disappointment is the lack of a map of the battle, either a plan of how it went or of the battlefield itself. Although in the past there has been controversy about where the battlefield is this has been pretty much put to rest. Murdoch provides a lot of detail on how the action was dependant on the geography of the battlefield so it should have been comparatively simple to provide some kind of map, which would have been a significant aide to the reader. I should note there is a much wider map of Germania and the Rhine frontier and of Judea - though I feel both to be less necessary to the book.
A good book for the general reader wanting to puncture those myths or simply find out more about this famous battle.
April 20, 2023
This is actually a good book once you ignore the highly contentious title (was it really a greater defeat than Cannae or Carrhae?). It puts the battle into its historical context well and although obviously and undeniably written with a German-centric and pro-German bias viewpoint, this is not a bad thing. The final chapters which cover, essentially 'Arminius' legacy' and how history has viewed him and particularly interesting.
Where the book falls down is when the author moves from narrative history to military history - amply demonstrated by the non-historical and non-military term 'chain-mail' (yes, you can hear screaming from this end). To pick up a couple more points on this theme, he frequently refers to Legions as 'brigades' when they have little similarity to a modern brigade, and why not just use teh word Legion? It works perfectly well. Legio XIV Gemina may mean literally mean 'a twin' (NOT 'The Twins' as the author insists) it is not exactly how the Romans would have understood it - A Twin would have been a better translation but the meaning is as in 'paired' since these legions had been constituted by combing two others. A similar problem lies with translating 'Augusta' as 'The Emperor's Own' - these modern English Regimental type of names do not in any way fit the titles of the Legions. Oddly none of these errors were necessary and could have been avoided. Oh, by the way, the British Army did not fight only four times on the battlefield between 1815 and 1914 - they fought TWENTY-four FORMAL battles in the Sikh Wars alone!
Nonetheless if you can get around these silly mistakes this is still very much a book worth reading and worth having on your shelf if you are interested in the early years of the Roman Empire.
Where the book falls down is when the author moves from narrative history to military history - amply demonstrated by the non-historical and non-military term 'chain-mail' (yes, you can hear screaming from this end). To pick up a couple more points on this theme, he frequently refers to Legions as 'brigades' when they have little similarity to a modern brigade, and why not just use teh word Legion? It works perfectly well. Legio XIV Gemina may mean literally mean 'a twin' (NOT 'The Twins' as the author insists) it is not exactly how the Romans would have understood it - A Twin would have been a better translation but the meaning is as in 'paired' since these legions had been constituted by combing two others. A similar problem lies with translating 'Augusta' as 'The Emperor's Own' - these modern English Regimental type of names do not in any way fit the titles of the Legions. Oddly none of these errors were necessary and could have been avoided. Oh, by the way, the British Army did not fight only four times on the battlefield between 1815 and 1914 - they fought TWENTY-four FORMAL battles in the Sikh Wars alone!
Nonetheless if you can get around these silly mistakes this is still very much a book worth reading and worth having on your shelf if you are interested in the early years of the Roman Empire.
November 4, 2017
This ended up being both more AND less than what I expected, maybe just different. After pretty much dicking around near the Rhine river for decades, the Romans got their asses given to them. They occassionally crossed the river to see friendly tribes, there were traders going back and forth but the Romans were lulled into a false sense of security because they were....Roman I think. After taking too many liberties for too long a former Roman soldier/German tribe leader of the Cheruscans decided it was time to push the Romans west of the Rhine.
He linked together with several other tribes for his planning. His tribe was actually riding with the Romans and were sent out at a particular point to scout ahead. Predicting this, Arminius had already entrenched hundreds or thousands of fighters at a narros choke point. Three Roman legions fell into his trap and were butchered to the man.
The next half of the book was how Arminius legacy was used for propaganda purposed-or nationalist purposes as the founding of the German state and first time that German tribes had allied to repel a tough foreign invader. It was only recently that archaelogists were able to locate the location of the massacre.
He linked together with several other tribes for his planning. His tribe was actually riding with the Romans and were sent out at a particular point to scout ahead. Predicting this, Arminius had already entrenched hundreds or thousands of fighters at a narros choke point. Three Roman legions fell into his trap and were butchered to the man.
The next half of the book was how Arminius legacy was used for propaganda purposed-or nationalist purposes as the founding of the German state and first time that German tribes had allied to repel a tough foreign invader. It was only recently that archaelogists were able to locate the location of the massacre.
April 26, 2024
This was a very interesting book to read and i enjoyed most of it. Although i think that the title is a bit misleading. Yes it covers the Battle of Teutoberg Forest, however this is only a fraction of the book. Most of the book is the history of the main players (Arminius, Varus etC) and the locations and people linked to them. After the battle section there is also a significant amount of writing about associated artwork that was produced a few hundred years ago, something i have no interest in reading in a book about a battle. I would have called it something like "The history and events of the Massacre in the Teurtoburg Forest". But then again, i'm not an author.
However, it is obviously a very difficult battle to research as the author himself states that most of the area is now gone and that nobody knows the entire boundary of the battle. They are also trying to piece it all together using roman historians, so they need to be sure they are right and aren't just glorifying the Romans.
However, that aside i did enjoy it and there is some good information in there. It's definitely worth a read.
However, it is obviously a very difficult battle to research as the author himself states that most of the area is now gone and that nobody knows the entire boundary of the battle. They are also trying to piece it all together using roman historians, so they need to be sure they are right and aren't just glorifying the Romans.
However, that aside i did enjoy it and there is some good information in there. It's definitely worth a read.
October 3, 2021
Accounts of the eponymous battle are, by the author’s admission, few and fragmentary. As a result the section of the book dealing with the actual battle is disappointingly small, the gaps being ‘sketched in’ using archaeology, accounts after the fact and knowledge of the practices of the combatants at the time. The rest of the book is padded out with the events that led up to and spawned the battle, Romes response to the humiliation and even the use of the battle as a propaganda tool by later Germans and even the nazis
This is still a well-written and interesting book, despite the scarcity of evidence. The author makes every attempt to describe as much detail as he feels he can legitimately use and keeps the writing vivid and exciting
This is still a well-written and interesting book, despite the scarcity of evidence. The author makes every attempt to describe as much detail as he feels he can legitimately use and keeps the writing vivid and exciting
December 22, 2023
Fantastic and far reaching
I came to this battle via Tom holland's description in dynasty and am glad this is the book I went for. Murdoch situates the battle and major characters with tremendous knowledge of the geopolitics of Rome, and lays great emphasis on the limitations of our knowledge, without it ruining the narrative. What makes it stand out though is the incredibly long and fascinating legacy of arminius on the German consciousness since the classical texts were found in the 15th century. And he doesn't stop at the second world War but pursues Arminius into the modern age and Germany's more recent attempts to absorb this incredible episode into its modern history. The book ends with a pithy but fair-minded description of the museum. It's excellent
I came to this battle via Tom holland's description in dynasty and am glad this is the book I went for. Murdoch situates the battle and major characters with tremendous knowledge of the geopolitics of Rome, and lays great emphasis on the limitations of our knowledge, without it ruining the narrative. What makes it stand out though is the incredibly long and fascinating legacy of arminius on the German consciousness since the classical texts were found in the 15th century. And he doesn't stop at the second world War but pursues Arminius into the modern age and Germany's more recent attempts to absorb this incredible episode into its modern history. The book ends with a pithy but fair-minded description of the museum. It's excellent
December 22, 2018
I first heard about the Teutoburg battle in the 70's and have wanted to visit the site when it was finally identified. I feel this book is a good second place in that score. Mr. Murdoch, in my opinion, did not favor one side or the other about faults and blame. The background of the major players was more then I expected. The horror of the battle itself he did not linger to much on and for that I was pleased. I enjoyed this book a lot. I highly recommend this to any who may have any interest in the time or place of this battle.
July 29, 2024
Great read for more detailed information on the Battle of Teutoburg Forest. Love the background information about the primary Romans and Germans involved in the battle and events leading up to it. I did NOT care for the section about the modern time depictions / portrayals of Arminius and other information. Was a bit dry and not interesting to me. I'm sure that some people may want to know this but it felt kind of out of place in the book and subject. Overall though the first 75% of the book was 5 out of 5!
July 16, 2017
Well written description of the battle and what lead up to it and from it. Herman was brought up by the Romans. But he decided to lead his people up against Rome and changed history forever. The Romans had to stop their settlement of Germany at the Rhein River instead of going to the Elbe as they planned. He and his men trapped them in the forest and wiped out three legions. it's hard to imagine what that did to the confidence of the Romans.
February 26, 2020
A good and well flowing account of the battle with plenty surprising connections to the modern day, as well as a well constructed and memorable analysis.
I reccomend one has rudimentary knowlege of Rome to get a good use of this book. A good knowlege of German geography, which this reviewer lacked, gives a good context to the novel.
Importantly you do not need to love rome greatly to find importance in reading this, but those familiar with Roman history will benefit more greatly.
I reccomend one has rudimentary knowlege of Rome to get a good use of this book. A good knowlege of German geography, which this reviewer lacked, gives a good context to the novel.
Importantly you do not need to love rome greatly to find importance in reading this, but those familiar with Roman history will benefit more greatly.
July 16, 2018
Excellent description of the Varian disaster, including its background, how and why it happened, and its aftermath. I especially appreciated how the author teased out the implications for not just the Roman Empire but also subsequent German and European history, in particular its relation to German nationalism.
July 26, 2017
Has some really interesting info and research on early Germanic tribes and their relationship to Rome. But I found the writing to be somewhat confusing and jumpy at times. Glad I read it once, but wouldn't read again.
March 27, 2022
The latest (2006 ) speculation regarding the Massacre in the Teutoburg Forest which probably did not even occur in a forest. Tough sledding throughout. The authors style is difficult. Worth reading.
September 11, 2022
An excellent book combining the written history pertaining to Varus, incorporating the new knowledge generated by the Kalkreise excavations. It puts the Varus disaster in the context both of Varus career and of the Roman colonisation experience in general. Well written, a smooth read.
October 29, 2020
Exceptional book about a little known subject. Fascinating
November 16, 2020
What I particularly appreciated is the author's observations of this battle vis-a-vis German post-WWII
March 4, 2022
In 9 AD, barbarians halted Roman expansion into German lands by destroying three Roman legions. Arminius, a German raised as a Roman and given a trusted position in the Army, betrayed his compatriots and led the barbarian surprise attack on the invaders. Murdoch uses archaeological research to dispel many myths about the battle and traces its influence in fostering a German nationality. A good read, but some may find the detail overwhelming.
February 25, 2021
This was a fascinating look at the formerly invincible Roman military being defeated by a German confederate led by Arminius. Arminius, although German, rose to be high ranking General in the Roman Army. When he found out Rome was going to invade Germany he defected to Germany and led an ambush attack the decimated the Roman legions who passed through it in the Tueutoburg Forest.
After their dismissal loss the Romans tried again and the Germans held them to s standstill. One effect of the loss at the Teutoburg Forest is that the German language was never Latinized.
After their dismissal loss the Romans tried again and the Germans held them to s standstill. One effect of the loss at the Teutoburg Forest is that the German language was never Latinized.
August 22, 2015
Fascinating account of what some historians regard as a turning point in western history. If Varus' three legions had not been massacred, Germany would have become part of the Roman Empire for 400 years at least, and would have learned the values of civilisation, so no Napoleon, no Prussian militarism, no Hitler - or so the theory goes. The site of the final battle was a mystery for two millennia until a retired British Army officer with a metal detector and a mission found it in the 1980s.
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June 7, 2016A great view of the Romans and the Barbarians who defeated 3 legion at Teutoburg. This went very well with Peter Wells book The Battle that Stopped Rome and Peter Heathers the Fall of the Roman Empire. The shock that 20,000 Roman soldiers of 3 Legions was wiped out was incredible to Empire and one can only imagine had the Romans had newspapers how terrified the people would be reading the headlines. This is a pretty good book and worth reading.
July 18, 2021
The author's bias ruined this book. While I have grown to expect anti-German sentiment from some writers the shoehorning of his contempt for Flavius Josephus into an account of Germania and Rome was ridiculous. I can not recommend this book or anything else by this author as he seems grossly incompetent.
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