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- Germanic Tribes and the Romans
After
all the migrations and intermingling of different tribal groups,
by approximately 100 BC three major Germanic tribal groups
could be identified:
The eastern Germanic peoples lived along the
Oder and Vistula rivers.
The northern Germanic peoples
settled in what today is the southern
part of Scandinavia.
The western Germanic peoples
inhabited the region found between
the North Sea and the Elbe, Rhine and Main rivers.
Between the 2nd Century BC and 5th Century
AD there was frequent contact between the Germanic tribes
and the Romans. It was the Rhine River that set a temporary
border between Roman and Germanic territory. The warlike tribes
presented a threat to the Romans and prompted them into pursuing
an expansion campaign into Germanic territory to rid themselves
of problematic rivals and continue increasing their Empire.
This expansion was stopped by the Germanic victory at the
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 A.D. and much of Germany
was freed from Roman domination. However, this was not to
last. The Romans re conquered Germanic territory, this time
building the Limes, a fortification that stretched 300 km.
Tensions between the Romans and the various tribes always
ran high. Conflict was constant and involved tribes such as
the Cimbri, the Teutons, the Suevi, the Franks, the Alamanni
and the Burgundians. As time passed the golden age of the
Roman empire passed on to a stage of decline and in the 4th
and 5th Centuries AD the thoroughly weakened Romans succumbed
to the pressure exerted by tribes such as the Ostrogoths,
Visigoths, Vandals, Franks, Lombards, among others, and the
Roman Empire was overrun.
Roman Gaul was conquered by Frankish tribes and this marked an especially
significant event in European history. The Franks were to
become the founders of a civilized German state.
