This is a chronology of warfare between the Romans and various Germanic peoples. The nature of these wars varied through time between Roman conquest, Germanic uprisings, later Germanic invasions of the Western Roman Empire that started in the late second century BC, and more. The series of conflicts was one factor which led to the ultimate downfall of the Western Roman Empire in particular and ancient Rome in general in 476.
List of campaigns Cimbrian War (113–101 BCE) Battle of Noreia (112 BCE) Battle of Burdigala (107 BCE)Theodor Mommsen, Römische Geschichte. Vol. 2. Von der Schlacht von Pydna bis auf Sullas Tod.. 3.Ed. Weidmann, Berlin 1861, S. 178. (Roman History: From the battle of Pydna down to Sulla's death.) Römische Geschichte: Bd. Von der Schlacht von Pydna bis auf Sullas Tod Battle of Arausio (105 BCE) Battle of Aquae Sextiae (102 BCE) Battle of Vercellae (101 BCE) Battle of Vosges (58 BCE) Battle of the Sabis (57 BCE) Clades Lolliana (16 BCE) Roman campaigns in Germania (12 BCE–16 CE) Drusus' Germanic campaign (11–9 BCE) Battle of Arbalo (11 BCE) Battle of the Lupia River (11 BCE) Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (9 CE) Germanicus's Germanic campaign Campaign against the Marsi (14) Campaign against the Chatti (15) Campaign against the Bructeri (15) Battle at Pontes Longi (15) Battle of Idistaviso (16) Battle of the Angrivarian Wall (16) Campaign against the Chatti (16) Battle of Baduhenna Wood (28) Revolt of the Batavi (69–70) Domitian's Campaign against the Chatti (82) Clashes along the Danube (92) Marcomannic Wars (166–180) Battle of Carnuntum (170) Crisis of the Third Century (235–284) Battle at the Harzhorn () Battle of Nicopolis ad Istrum (250) Battle of Beroe (250) Siege of Philippopolis (250) Battle of Abritus (251) Siege of Thessalonica (254) Battle of Thermopylae (254) Battle of Mediolanum (259) Battle of Augusta Vindelicorum (260) Siege of Mainz (268) Battle of Lake Benacus (268) Battle of Naissus (269) Battle of Placentia (271) Battle of Fano (271) Battle of Pavia (271) Battle of Lingones (298) Battle of Vindonissa (298) German and Sarmatian campaigns of Constantine (306–336) Siege of Senonae (356) Siege of Autun (356) Battle of Reims (356) Battle of Brumath (356) Battle of Strasbourg (357) Great Conspiracy (367–368) Battle of Solicinium (368) Battle of Noviodunum (369) Gothic War (376–382) Battle of Marcianople (376) Battle of the Willows (377) Battle of Dibaltum (377) Battle of Adrianople (378) Siege of Adrianople (378) Battle of Constantinople (378) Battle of Thessalonica (380) Battle of Argentovaria (378) Frankish invasion of 388 Gothic Revolt of Tribigild (399–400) Gothic War (401–403) Siege of Asti (402) Battle of Pollentia (402) Battle of Verona (403) War of Radagaisus (405–406) Battle of Faesulae (406) Crossing of the Rhine (406) Sack of Rome (410) Gothic War in Spain (416–418) Castinus' campaign against the Franks (420–421) Vandalic War (422) Gothic revolt of Theodoric I (426) Frankish War (428) Vandal conquest of Roman Africa (429–432) Battle of Calama (429) Siege of Hippo Regius (430–431) Aetius campaign in the Alps (430–431) Frankish War (431–432) Burgundian Revolt of Gunther (436) Gothic War (436–439) Battle of Narbonne (436) Battle of Mons Colubrarius (439) Battle of Toulouse (439) Vandalic War (439–442) Frankish War (441-446) Battle of Vicus Helena (445) Sack of Rome (455) Gothic War in Spain (456) Battle of Órbigo (456) Gothic War (457–458) Battle of Arelate (458) Battle of Cartagena (461) Gothic war against Aegidius Battle of Orleans (463) Vandalic War (461–468) Battle of Cap Bon (468) Gothic revolt of Euric (468-471) Battle of Bolia (469) Battle of Arles (471) Spanish War of Euric (473-475) Battle of Ravenna (476) Franco-Roman War (486) Burgundian Civil War (500–501) Franco–Gothic War (507–511) Vandalic War (533–534) Battle of Ad Decimum (533) Battle of Tricamarum (533) Gothic War (535–554) Siege of Panormus (535) Siege of Naples (536) Siege of Rome (537–538) Siege of Ariminum (538) Siege of Auximus (539) Siege of Ravenna (539–540) Battle of Treviso (541) Siege of Verona (541) Battle of Faventia (542) Battle of Mucellium (542) Siege of Naples (543) Sack of Rome (546) Siege of Rome (549–550) Battle of Sena Gallica (551) Battle of Taginae (552) Battle of Mons Lactarius (553) Battle of the Volturnus (554) Byzantine–Lombard wars (568–750)
Chronology
Second century BC
113–101 BC, Germanic Collision with the Roman Republic, Cimbrian War, Beginning of Germanic Wars. 112 BC, Battle of Noreia, Suicide of Consul Gnaeus Papirius Carbo. 107 BC, Helvetii defeat the Romans in the Battle of Agen, Consul Lucius Cassius Longinus dies in battle, General Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus dies in battle. (Battle against Allies of the Cimbri) 105 BC, Battle of Arausio, Execution of Roman General Marcus Aurelius Scaurus, Proconsul Quintus Servilius Caepio and Consul Gnaeus Mallius Maximus exiled. 102 BC, Consul Gaius Marius defeats the Sciri and Teutons in the Battle of Aquae Sextiae, Capture of King Teutobod, Extermination of the Teutons, Cimbri defeat Consul Quintus Lutatius Catulus in the Adige Valley.Florus, Epitome 1.38.16–17 and Valerius Maximus, Factorum et Dictorum Memorabilium 6.1.ext.3 (in Latin) 101 BC, Roman consuls Gaius Marius and Manius Aquillius defeat the Cimbri in the Battle of Vercellae, King Boiorix dies in battle, Extermination of the Cimbri.
First century BC
58–51 BC, Conquest of Celtic Gaul to the Rhine by Julius Caesar, Gallic Wars.Caesar. In: (1960): Geschichte in Gestalten (History in figures), vol. 1: A-E. 37, Frankfurt 1963, p. 214. "Hauptquellen [betreffend Caesar]: Caesars eigene, wenn auch leicht tendenziöse Darstellungen des Gallischen und des Bürgerkrieges, die Musterbeispiele sachgemäßer Berichterstattung und stilistischer Klarheit sind" ("Main sources [regarding Caesar]: Caesar's own, even though slightly tendentious depictions of the Gallic and the Civil Wars, which are paradigms of pertinent information and stylistic clarity") 58 BC, Caesar decisively defeats the Helvetii in the Battle of the Arar and the Battle of Bibracte, Caesar decisively defeats the Suevi, led by Ariovistus, in the Battle of Vosges.Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 1.31–53Dio Cassius, Roman History 38.34–50; see also Plutarch, Life of Caesar 19 57 BC, Battle of the Sabis. 55 BC, Caesar's intervention against Tencteri and Usipetes, Caesar defeats a Germanic army then massacres the women and children, totalling 430,000 people, somewhere near the Meuse and Rhine rivers, Caesar's first crossing of the Rhine against the Suevi, Caesar's invasions of Britain. Archaeologists with Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam claim they've found the first physical evidence that the battle took place in what is now the Netherlands, near the city of Kessel, North Brabant. 54 BCE, Destruction of the legion Legio XIV Gemina by the Eburones led by Cativolcus and Ambiorix,Florus, III. 10. § 8. Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta dies in battle, Quintus Titurius Sabinus dies in battle. 53 BC, Caesar's retaliation against the Eburones second crossing of the Rhine, Extermination of the Eburones. 52 BC, Fall of Celtic Gaul, Gaul becomes a Roman province. 46 BC, Execution of Vercingetorix the Celt.Birkhan, Helmut, 1997, Die Kelten, p. 238. (The Celts) 30–29 BC, Rebellion of the Morini and Treveri with aid of the Suebi crushed by proconsuls Gaius Carrinas and Gaius Cornelius Gallus.Dio LI.20.5; LI.21.6 20 BC, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Governor of Transalpine Gaul, Construction of military roads and especially the military road Lugdunum--Divodurum--Treverorum--Agrippinensium (from Lyon to Cologne). 16 BC, clades Lolliana,Suetonius, Augustus, 23, Tiberius, 12; Tacitus, Annals, I.10, III.48; Velleius II.97, 102; Pliny, Nat. Hist. IX.35 (58); Dio, liv.6. Destruction of the legion Legio V Alaudae by Sicambri and their allies, Fall of the Kingdom of Noricum. 16–13 BC, Emperor Augustus on the Rhine, Reorganization of the Three Gauls (capital Trier), Decision to fortify the left bank of the Rhine and conquest of Germania to the Elbe, Rome pays tribute to the Frisii, Begin of invasions east of the Rhine by Rome, Construction of the modern city of Mainz begins. 12–9 BC, Invasions of Drusus up the Elbe from the North Sea, the Lippe and Main, Battle of the Lupia River, Cherusci, Marsi and SicambriDio, Roman History, LIV.33. subdued, Chatti, Mattiaci, Tencteri and Usipetes are overrun, Frisii and other the Germans along the lower Rhine defeated,, Roman History, Bk LIV, Ch 32. Canal of Drusus constructed, Establishment of new forts by Rome of Haltern am See, Xanten, Haltern, Oberaden, Holsterhausen, Anreppen and Beckinghausen.Interaktive Karte der Römerlager an der Lippe in Ulrike Kusak: Nach Sensationsfund fehlt das Geld für Grabungen , vom 6. Dezember 2014, auf ruhrnachrichten.de 9 BC, Creation of Magna Germania (capital Cologne), Pacification campaigns against the Germanic tribes by the Roman Empire, Marcomanni defeated and forced to flee into the territory of the Boii.Strabo 7, 1, 3; Velleius 2, 108, 2; 2, 109, 2f.; Tacitus, Annals, II.45 8–7 BC, Construction of military forts on both sides of the Weser, Deportation of 40,000 Sicambri and Suebi west of the Rhine.Cassius Dio, liv. 59Cassius Dio, LV, 6.4–5Suetonius, Augustus 21 6–2 BC, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus leads a Roman army across the Elbe. Construction of military roads, called the pontes longi, amid the vast swamps between the Rhine and the Ems.Tacitus, The Annals 1.44 Hermunduri subdued and forced to flee into the territory of the Marcomanni.
First century
1–4 AD, Rise of the ChattiSeveral examples by Max Ihm, s. v. Cheruski, in: Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft (RE) III.2, Stuttgart 1899, cols. 2270–2272. ) and Bructeri (immensum bellum)Velleius, Compendium of Roman History, book 2, 104,2. suppressed by Tiberius, who reaches the Elbe. Canninefates, Chattuarii, Cherusci are again subdued. Lombards, Semnones, Chauci and other tribes who dwelt on both sides of the Elbe are subjugated.Velleius, Hist. Rom. II, 106. Schmidt, 5. 5, The Roman navy reaches the Cimbrian peninsula for the first time. Cimbri, Charudes, Semnones and other Germanic tribes who inhabit the region declare themselves friends of the Roman people.Velleius Paterculus, II.106.Res Gestae Divi Augusti, 5.26. 6–9, Uprising in Illyricum, which cancels the major Roman project of war against Suevic Marcomanni. Romans forced to move eight of eleven legions present in Magna Germania to crush the rebellion in the Balkans and Pannonia. 6, Varus succeeds Saturninus as governor of Germania with the mission of peacekeeping and the implementation of tax and judicial administration. 9, clades Variana, Destruction of the legions XVII, XVIII and XIX by Arminius in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest, Suicide of Administrator Varus, Loss of military camps east of the Rhine.,Wells, Peter S. The Battle that stopped Rome. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 2003, p. 187 Roman Empire is forced to strategically withdraw from Germania. Pro-Roman Germanic coalition led by Maroboduus and Segestes turns against Arminius. The resistance of the Roman garrison of Aliso and the arrival of Roman reinforcements on the Rhine prevent Arminius from invading Gaul.Velleius Paterculus, Compendium of Roman History II, 120, 4; Cassius Dio, Roman History LVI, 22, 2a-2b 10–13, Military command of Tiberius in Germania and interventions in the valley of the Lippe, replaced by Germanicus, Construction of Limes Germanicus begins. 14, Mutiny of the legions of Germania. 14–16, Roman retaliation against Cherusci, Chatti, Bructeri and Marsi, capture of Thusnelda, recovery of two legionary standards lost in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. Battles of Idistaviso and the Angrivarian Wall.